Im scared to take my OCD medicine even though I know it can offer me a way out of OCD. Every day my distress levels are so high so idk how I will be able add something else onto it. Can anyone offer a success story or something positive that happened since they started meds ?
Meds have been really great for me. I take a super small dose and it’s enough to make it manageable. Been on it for over two years and no regrets.
@Anonymous What medicine do you take? Were you scared starting?
I was very scared to take them at first but it really helped with panic. I’m in a low dose and considering going higher. It’s worth it… I know its scary but you can handle it.
@brittanyljohnson Do you have any update on this? I’m really glad it’s working for you.
@rachelss Hi, I did go higher I’m on 50 mg of fluvoxamine still a low dose and I won’t go higher. It’s tough, I’ll be honest the first few weeks I was in a roller coaster, but I got through it.
@rachelss Hope you are doing well!!!
@brittanyljohnson You won’t go higher because it’s enough for you? What did you notice happened when adjusting or are you still getting used to it?
@brittanyljohnson I’m okay, honestly I’m worried I’m never going to make any improvement
@iwillthrive Personally, I feel I’m handling the OCD a lot better and I feel I can handle it without going higher. I also don’t like how I feel when adjusting.
@iwillthrive I know how you feel trust me, I felt the same, the best thing I can tell you is to have patience and do your exposures. I’ve been in recovery since November and today I’m a lot better than where I was. I went from therapy 2x a week for an hour, to 30 min every two weeks. You’ll get your life back trust me!!
@brittanyljohnson how long do you feel like it took you to adjust? Did you get feelings of anxiety? That’s what I noticed when I went up and I had to go back down immediately bc I wasn’t able to sleep and it freaked me out but I wanna try going back up but slower this time
@brittanyljohnson Wow. That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you
@iwillthrive High anxiety for hours, then I would come down and be perfectly fine. I don’t experience that anymore. I got through, but I dont feel I need to go higher and really don’t want to experience that if it’s not needed. What dosage did you switch? I went from 25 to 50.
@iwillthrive I’d say 2-3 weeks
Oh I so feel for you. I was in the exact same position this time last year. Therapy wasn’t working, I couldn’t engage, and I was terrified of meds because of side effect risks and stuff. But, I got on sertraline ( a SSRI) and one of the recommended meds for OCD, and I did a week on a very small dose and then went up to a higher one. Don’t worry, your prescriber/psychiatrist will gently get you used to them. Tell them how you feel, and honestly, once you’ve been on them for a little while, you get used to it and don’t feel scared anymore. It’s now just a part of my life, I take my meds before school each day , I just keep them by my bed :)
@Molly_g Could you tell me any of the positive effects meds have had on your life ?
@rachelss I think I have had less major break downs… before the meds I would regularly have a mental breakdown and just cry against the wall for ages, due to the ocd. I still have many challenges with mood and the whole condition, but it definitely calmed down those meltdown attacks 🙂
If you haven’t tried ERP therapy, try it first. If you aren’t able to succeed and your therapist says you need medication then talk to your psychiatrist about starting on the lowest possible dose and think of that as an exposure if that helps. I am not able to fight my OCD and do my ERP without medication to counteract my brain chemistry.
@Erin P I’ve tried erp and it’s seriously not working
@rachelss Then like me you probably need meds. They are worth the risk. I’ve found two that work well for me and really help.
@Erin P Luvox by any chance ?
@rachelss Zoloft or Lexapro in my case but everyone is different.
For those who have had success with medication for OCD/anxiety, how is your life different now compared to before starting medication?
I know everything im dealing with is OCD. I have accepted that, but I just feel down. I don’t want to live the rest of my life like this. I just want to be free from this horrible illness. Any positive stories and recovery journeys will help. What did recovery look like for you? I used to be so happy, I miss it so much. This feels like it’s taken everything from me. How do you just live your life despite how you feel? Any hope will help!
I am having an appointment with my psychiatrist this afternoon and I am obsessing about what to do with my medication. I think it’s also very ocd like obsessing. I am currently on 30mg mirtazapine. Ive been on this for years (because of insomnia, anxiety and depression) (15mg) and after we tried to switch to another (amitryptiline) because of nerve pain, I went down the road of insomnia and later on ocd again. So I am back on mirtazapine, and weaning off of the amitryptiline. This is/was a very traumatic experience. Because the switch caused a mental breakdown. Now my psychiatrist has mentioned to up the mirtazapine to 45mg. And my obsessive self has done a lot of research and a lot is saying that the higher the dose, the more you can experience anxiety. And for ocd it’s obviously not the first choice. I am obsessing all morning about it. I am too scared to go up. But I am also too scared to try another and to wean myself of off mirtazapine. I feel stuck at this point. Taking two meds is also not something I want. I could really use some words of encouragement right now I think. 🥹
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