How do you guys decide when you should increase your meds? I’ve been on Zoloft 50 mg/day for about 3 months now. I’m doing better, I have good and bad days but more good days than bad days. My obsessions are a little bit better. I still haven’t seen much of a reduction in compulsions, but it’s only been 3 months at a fairly low dose. When should I start thinking about increasing my dose? Or should I give it more time? My psych nurse practitioner is really good and she informs me about all of my options and lets me make my own choices, and every time I see her she asks if I want to up my dose, but I can’t decide because this is the first time I’ve been on meds for OCD.

Meds are not going to stop your compulsions. They'll reduce your anxiety and maybe your obsessions, but the compulsions are a behavioral issue. ERP is necessary for OCD recovery (going to an OCD therapist). Medication will not be a fix-all.

I stopped 100mg Zoloft cold turkey. I wouldn’t recommend it. Bad side effects, emotional roller coaster, odd dreams..felt great one second, down the next, increase in sex drive, loss of weight. I feel much better now after stopping all medications. CBT was a huge help.

@Matt1418 I completely agree! Some may find medication helpful in that it makes them more able to be successful with ERP, but I definitely dont think it should ever be looked at as a replacement for ERP. I think a lot of people make this mistake/misconception. People should also consider the fact that medications can bring on negative side effects and/or make symptoms worse. I personally had severe OCD, and have almost fully "recovered" without medication. I'm glad I'm not stuck on a medication unnecessarily.

Well the meds are going to really affect your anxiety levels not prevent your compulsions. If you’ve been on it for 3 months, I would probably give it a try to 100mg and see how you feel.

I take 100 mg/day of Zoloft. I started taking it 5ish years ago and my doctor has slowly increased my doses. I started with 25, then 50, then 75, and now 100. My doctor told me to wait and see how 100 mg is working after at least 2 months before consulting her about upping my dose again. Personally I would ask about increasing your dose sooner rather than later. 3 months is the perfect time to be able to tell if it’s working or if you need an increase. Since 50 mg is a pretty low dose I think you could benefit from an increase. Let me know if any of that helped :))

@alissaa ERP and working with an OCD therapist is key. Taking meds help cut down on anxiety but it won’t make you stop compulsions.