So scary 😓

This scares me all the time recently I’ve had intrusive thoughts about being schizophrenic or paranoid because of my ocd intrusive thoughts and it’s been hell I hope we can get out of this soon it’s been 5 months of hell for me so far never thought my mental illness would start getting this bad

Do you panic have you gone to the ER or what do you do

@NrseKris I haven’t gone to the er yes I panic all day long awake and while I sleep I’m scared if I go to er I’ll get another mental health diagnosis that will make me really really down and bad worse than ever

@Chris is existing I’m scared of that too or getting locked away or put on a hold but sometimes I’m scared if I don’t go I’ll snap and do something crazy ugh

Same here it’s a never ending cycle of madness

It sucks that these are the cards life dealt us

Are you getting treatment ?

Yes I’m taking Zoloft 50 mg and clonazepam 1mg both worked really good till my last breakdown 4-5 months ago still on this dose my doctor instead of uppin these two meds has prescribed me a antipsychotic which I don’t want to take I’m scared of all the side effects it says (Rexulti) to be specific is the name of the antipsychotic

May I ask what you mean by breakdown . And what’s the doctors reasons for antipsychotics like is it to calm the mind ?

I have been taking different anti depressants and then prescribed anti psychotic when benzo and anti depressants weren't working effectively or I couldn't take high dose because of side effects. Antipsychotic for ocd are given in very low doses. I take antidepressant desvenlafaxine along with small dose of clonazepam but I don't feel it helps much but what I feel has helped me is the low dose of 0.5mg of risperidone. I do want to stop it and haven't taken this dose for long but the difference it has made I am scared to stop and go back being ocd and anxiety again full time. My other option is starting an unknown and old antidepressant dosulepin instead which also I don't want to start.

How were you feeling before the meds like what made him prescribe the antipsychotic if you don’t mind me asking

@NrseKris Ssri weren't helping much i was on fluvoxamine and clonazepam , so I was prescribed anti psychotic as I feel I suffer from very disturbing thoughts and belief systems about God, guilt, morality etc. I was given lowest dose of 0.5 mg risperidone but I took only 0.25mg for months n it didn't have any effect. Then suddenly fluvoxamine gave very bad side effects so was switched to desvenlafaxine which worked first week but later on anxiety and ocd increased in fact I felt as if it wasn't causing any effects. So I called my doc n she suggested some old tricyclic called dosulepin. Scared of taking another anti depressant I started taking 0.5mg risperidone along with desvenlafexon n clonazepam to reduce my anxiety. But just over a week in n I feel that a lot of my ocd thoughts and beliefs have been brought down and anxiety has reduced. I would attribute this change to risperidone rather than desvenlafaxine

@prathamesh03 Would you have any panic attacks ? And do you any therapy also or other things that help ? Sorry for all the questions and thank you for sharing

@NrseKris Yes the ocd thoughts made me very anxious and I would surely get panic attacks if I went out alone some place. Also there was a lot of avoidance behavior. The strong irrational beliefs also caused a lot of anxiety when I faced my compulsions. I also suffer a lot from physical symptoms of anxiety

@NrseKris I am doing erp and cbt but it isn't helping much to be honest, I feel it temporarily helps but then wasn't helping me a day later although I feel it may have helped to some small extent atleast. But the pace of development in therapy would mean I would require daily sessions literally n I don't have that much money. In fact my sessions happen after a lot of time gap as I can't afford much sessions as they are very costly

@prathamesh03 Ok thanks for sharing I guess when I first heard about antipsychotics being used it made me think that means it because someone was a danger to themselves or others or going to go into psychosis or crazy it just made me scared like imagining myself having to be tied down and tranquilizer

@NrseKris No antipsychotic meds for ocd are given in very low doses and generally only with other meds like anti depressants. They do make a difference but I don't feel they are gently like ssris. I feel some gastric issues on this antipsychotic and also feel may be a kg in weight may have increased and reading other side effects I surely don't want to take this long term but till now ssri meds and the current snri haven't been very effective they have been more like a band aid so dunno wat to do. Just wish if one antidepressant would have worked very well. BTW do u take any meds

@prathamesh03 Can you ever control your Anxiety or panic before or does it get really bad ? See idk when I need to go to the ER like if it’s a panic that I can let calm or if it’s worse than that. I’m not on meds yet but I have my first appointment with a psychiatrist on the 11th. I’m scared of having adverse reactions to meds. I’ve only used things to calm down like a Xanax or kolonopin but I try not to often

@prathamesh03 How old are you and how long have you struggled with this ? I’m 28 and have had this off and on since 19 yrs old

@NrseKris Those meds you mentioned are benzos and I take clonazepam for some years now as it was prescribed but in extremely low dose. I think its better to get prescription meds rather than these benzos as they make you dependent and can cause adverse effects later. Ssri and other antidepressants and even antipsychotic are far safer. The most adverse effects would be on gastric issues or some minor issues although some ppl suffer from sexual dysfunction for time being but can be resolved with some other meds. The antidepressants will make you less panic and reduce the frequency and intensity of your ocd thoughts helping you to also reduce compulsions. They can also help you go through erp better

@NrseKris I am 35 and I have struggled with this since 18 I guess , ocd, anxiety, panic many problems. Finally gave in after I started getting bad panic attacks and started meds in 2018

@prathamesh03 I was prescribed lexapro a while ago but was too scared to start it. I’ve had periods okay but when it flares up I go back into the cycle. I wana believe there’s full recovery

@NrseKris If your symptoms are debilitating to the point where you can't function effectively in daily tasks inspite of therapy then it would make sense to go for meds, I have taken lexapro but stopped it in a month as it gave me bad constipation, you take med when you are sure of taking it for atleast a few months or more than a year

@prathamesh03 I’ve been going to work still and stuff but I just have intrusive thoughts and anxiety thru out the day trying to manage it I just wana recover and be “normal” lol and I’m scared of it getting worse but that’s probably just another fear. I also have a fear of depression. I unfortunately had to cut out alcohol cus it started making my thoughts and anxiety worse sometimes I miss it but I just can’t drink it 😢😢😢

Taking antipsychotic doesn't equal being psychotic