Sickness/Medicine OCD

Does anyone else struggle to take medication? I am fine when it comes to over the counter medication, but I get very anxious when it comes to medications that treat anxiety/ocd… I’m working with a therapist right now in regards to it, but I had a bad experience with one medication and now it’s extremely difficult for me to want to take medication to get better, since I have anxious thoughts about the medication which makes me avoid it. I know it’s kinda ironic since the medication would help those thoughts, but I’m scared to have the symptoms and to feel sick. Can anyone relate to this?

Schroder

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

I can relate

Lulu_20

Date posted: 2y

@Schroder It’s a rough battle for sure. Are you doing anything to help your situation? I am curious to see how other people who struggle with this and what they do to help overcome it.

Schroder

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@Lulu_20 Just working with my therapist, I was on a medication for over 15 years that worked great until it just stopped working, now I've tried 3 new ones and none of them have been any help, just caused lots of unpleasant side effects so my ocd latched on to that now among other things

vlrm

Date posted: 2y

I 100% can relate. I am like this with any new prescription medicine or even over the counter medicine I haven’t used before. I am currently struggling to get my second COVID shot because I am terrified of life threatening side effects like heart inflammation. To me, my OCD makes taking the vaccine feels like getting a lethal injection. I’ve felt that way with other medications too. It really sucks because I WANT to take it, but my OCD is screaming at me not to. It’s even worse because I am equally worried about COVID. Are you doing any kind of ERP exercises? Hang in there and follow what your therapist says!

Lulu_20

Date posted: 2y

@vmcgee Thanks, I definitely am trying with erp, I do have other forms of ocd so it’s like battling that too.. I know that the only way to help it is to take it, but it’s that like sitting in the discomfort and trying to work while having symptoms that I just don’t want to deal with… ugh it’s very frustrating so I get what your saying.

vlrm

Date posted: 2y

I’ve also found once I take whatever medication it is, it helps me overcome the anxiety. But that is the really hard part because you don’t know what is going to happen when you take it!!! OCD is the worst

Lulu_20

Date posted: 2y

@vmcgee How has it helped you? I’m curious to see how the medication works when it comes to ocd. I struggle with different forms of ocd and anxiety so i am curious to see how much it helps with that. If you don’t mind sharing your experience of course.

vlrm

Date posted: 2y

@Lulu_20 I actually have never taken medicine for my ocd. I have found I mostly am able (so far) to deal with it without taking medicine. Like I know what I SHOULD do (face my fears, not do compulsions, etc) the hard part is actually being brave lol. I have had extremely rough patches over the years but the fact that I’ve gotten through each of them, no matter how awful it felt at the time, makes me know I can get through the anxiety again. Once I accept the anxiety is just a feeling and that it will eventually dissipate if I don’t engage in compulsions and do exposures - it really starts to calm down. I saw a therapist who said your brain literally just wants to keep you safe so it would be happy if you sat in a bubble and never did anything your entire life, but what kind of life would that be? It’s hard but you CAN and WILL get through it!

JustMe2828

Date posted: 2y

I can relate. I have an inhaler and my brain keeps telling me it's not good for me even though it's been prescribed to me. Same with my supplement tablets- my brain is so dumb sometimes I swear.

ChaoticCatte...

Date posted: 25w

Contamination/health OCD struggles

Recently, I’ve been struggling a ton with what I eat/put into my body? I’m a first year college student with a few different health issues (including IBS), and lately it’s been hard for me to find food on campus that doesn’t upset my stomach. I also have pretty severe emetophobia, and feel extremely anxious when I feel sick. The ironic thing is that being anxious makes me feel even worse, so I end up sticking myself in an impossible loophole. My OCD has taken hold of these fears over the past few months, and it’s been such a struggle. Especially since people have been getting food poisoning from various dining halls on my campus lately. My OCD has gotten so bad that sometimes I’m too afraid to eat food other than what I buy myself. I feel so trapped. I don’t want my OCD to affect my physical health or prevent me from eating, bc I love eating!! It’s the fear of getting sick that’s the problem. And it’s even harder when everything is so unfamiliar. Just wondering if anyone could relate. Advice is appreciated!

eb123456789

Date posted: 21w

Medication Symptom Management

This is kind of a weird question, but I recently increased my SSRI dosage and have experienced tremendous relief. It has quieted my intrusive thoughts so much and my compulsions are no longer as all-consuming. However, I don’t want to be on this high of a dosage forever and know that medication alone shouldn’t be my only fix. I’m seeing a new psychiatrist on Wednesday and am wondering if the recent decrease in frequency of my symptoms will be a bar to my getting ocd treatment? In other words, if in this present moment I’m doing better, but up until a few days ago my compulsions were taking up pretty much every moment of my waking day, will I still be classified as having ocd? I start getting worried when I feel better that I don’t actually have ocd and just use it as a defense mechanism to avoid consequences of my actions/I’m secretly a terrible person

trinii

Date posted: 14w

Medication or treatment?

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

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Sickness/Medicine OCD

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