I know for most medication is a lifesaver. But has anyone found that meds made it worse for them? Who here does it without meds, who here does it with meds and what works for you? I don't think my current med Nortriptyline is helping as much as it should.
Medication can be life-changing. Don't be afraid to adjust with a psychiatrist. What we know is OCD often needs higher doses of antidepressants.
It didn’t make anything worse for me, but it didn’t *do* anything as meds don’t work on my. I’m a rare exepction though.
Well for me I think meds also added to my symptoms ... But I m on paxil currently and so fsr it has been the most effective for me with more side effects than the others especially weight gain .yaL what are your experiences with paxil? Plus meds makes it easier to practice therapy and gives you clearer thoughts in my own viee
@mimie28 Paxil was the most effective for me but definitely had the most side effects. Weight gain for sure. Prozac is more weight neutral but I don’t find it as effective.
I had a great experience for years with celexa and lousy experiences with prozac and wellbutrin, it's all pretty much trial-and-error with meds in my opinion
As Schroder stated above, it is a trial-and-error type of process. I feared medication, and went for alternative methods such as supplements and herbal teas, which had little to no effect for the severity of my condition. I’ve had a positive experience on Prozac for the last two years. There was a temporary worsening of symptoms when I began it, but this subsided over time. I began at 20mg and made a gradual increase to 40mg. It’s not a cure, but a tool, and it’s brought me significant relief. Take so much care <3
@EmmaKN Same, tried the supplements, inositol is the only one that helps but it is insanely hard to be consistent when you have to find ways to consume a ton of powder in a day. Also, it takes time to build up as it has a lot of GI issues in the beginning. I hate being on SSRI’s HATE IT but I hate the way I feel off of them even more. I’ve been on Paxil, Prozac, and Lexapro. Paxil was most effective but worst side effects. Lexapro and Prozac are about equally effective for me but Prozac seemed to have the least side effects so switching back to that one. I also take Buspirone and I honestly can’t tell if it’s doing anything. Xanax is also helpful in the moment but I feel like it makes it harder for me later. I have tried NAC, Ashwaganda, and L-Theanine. The L-Theanine did help calm me at night and am going to start that again. Not enough to replace my SSRI’s but definitely noticed an improvement in sleep on it.
View
Lexapro personally made my OCD worse and now I’m on a high dose of Prozac which seems to help.
Yes I ve tried Prozac increasing it made my symptoms extra worst
Ive been trying to reduce paxil with the help of my psychiatrist lately and my compulsions are coming back tbh
I started Prozac about a month ago? And the first week was hell on earth for my OCD - just way into overdrive. Last couple weeks have been better, but still kind of bad, though I can’t tell if that’s because of my stress from the end of the semester (I’m in college) or not.
@rjs671 I noticed a huge increase when starting it, it sucks that you feel worse before you feel better. Lexapro is not the med for me but I keep putting off switching back to Prozac because not ready for those weeks of feeling worse
@OCDMM yeah, it sucks! I’m scared to switch though because it has been helping my depression a decent amount and doesn’t have any real side effects for me except the heightened anxiety/OCD. I just finished my last final though so my doctor and I are gonna play around for the next month with the dose since I’m not at the therapeutic dose for OCD. She mentioned trying Lexapro too - can I ask from your experience why you don’t like it?
@rjs671 They’re pretty close for me, I have had more muscle twitches and weight gain on Lexapro where I didn’t have the weight gain on Prozac. I have terrible dry mouth on both but Prozac also gave me weird post nasal drip. I was tolerating going to a therapeutic dose on Prozac better than Lexapro. Everyone is different, though. Lexapro is supposed to be the easiest to tolerate in general so it’s weird I have more issues with it. The weight gain is more common. I was so insanely hungry getting on it and it’s better but not gone
@OCDMM oh yeah that’s a big worry of mine - I gain weight easily on meds too, it’s why my doctor chose to start with Prozac. Thanks for sharing w me, hope you get your meds balanced soon!
For those who have had success with medication for OCD/anxiety, how is your life different now compared to before starting medication?
I understand that everyone is different but lately I have been debating on medication just because of past experiences but does anyone have any good experiences with medication that has helped them with their OCD as well as therapy or treatment? As of now I’m dealing with it by myself but it feels like it may be getting worse
Has anyone had success treating their OCD without medication and solely ERP or non-medicinal methods. I have pretty severe OCD and just about every sub-type, but I’ve been on various meds (SSRI & SNRIs) for going on 8 years and have never found one that truly relieves me of symptoms. I’m looking to see if it’s worth continuing with the side effects I experience (mostly mild) or if there are alternatives that could work for me. Low key tired of constantly changing meds in an attempt to find something that works when maybe medicine isn’t the route for me…
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
