butwhatif

Date posted: 2y

Meds

I was diagnosed last week. The psychiatrist prescribed Anafranil and I had weird, really uncomfortable side effects. She told me to stop taking it but we haven't had our next appointment. I'm wondering what meds y'all have taken that you liked? My OCD is moderate and doesn't always bother me so I might just try the supplements I'm already taking and ERP. Idk yet. The medicine thing freaks me out anyway. I know that my psychiatrist is the expert and all that. We have an appointment set up- I don't need to be told to speak to my psychiatrist. I'm just wondering what meds people found helpful with minimal/tolerable side effects. Thanks.

Lavender.

Date posted: 2y

I hated the anxiety so I'm ready to use medication for the rest of my life if need be. I started Lexapro around two weeks ago and I feel it's already helping me a lot. And my only side effect is yawning a bit more than usual, a bit of sleepiness. But it's manageable and doesn't bother me as much as anxiety does.

68273

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

I take Sertraline

Ifiknewthen

Date posted: 2y

Anafranil is an tricycle antidepressant. Old school. Most doctors stay away from them as side effects are worse. They usually stick to ssri of which there are many. I'm surprised your doctor went right to Anafranil if this is your first time trying medication. I take Paxil. You REALLY must be careful what psychiatrists you are seeing because in my experience they just throw meds at you without deeply caring about your situation. If you are only suffering from ocd and not depression I would really shy away from medication and put your entire focus into an ocd therapist. And be honest with them and do what they tell you to do. I'm talking from experience

butwhatif

Date posted: 2y

@jhbishop80@gmail.com Yeah I didn't look anything up about the meds after the appointment bc one of my main obsessions has to do with side effects of medicine. It's a tricky one. The fact that I had such a crazy time after taking it was really not a great outcome.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

Has anyone tried 5-htp? One of my docs recco’d this as well to first try because I haven’t had success with meds but I also never got put on the proper high dosage that typically could be required for ocd. So right now I’m on Luvox but not standard dose so we’re debating switching to 5-htp first to see if that’ll work before trying Prozac

Ifiknewthen

Date posted: 2y

Every ocd therapist is going to tell you the gold standard treatment for ocd is erp. It's hard to understand that because sometimes we think we'll there's a problem with my brain so medication must be the answer. Erp is very difficult and it was very difficult for me. Imagine having contamination ocd and a therapist telling you to not take a shower until they tell you you can. You'd be just dying for that therapist to finally tell you to take a shower and the therapist looks at you and says "I'll tell you when you can." That's the difficulty of erp. You have to go through hell. Medication is not a replacement for that.

compulsion5000

Date posted: 2y

@jhbishop80@gmail.com Sounds like some bdsm stuff imo lol

68273

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@jhbishop80@gmail.com How successful was erp for you

Ifiknewthen

Date posted: 2y

@68273 - The above example isnt my ocd but that example is good one for erp therapy. All ocd people are going to want to look for a way out. We want to neutralize our anxiety. My story is a long one but i was a weightlifting obsessive compulsive and didnt stop until i was forced to stop because of an injury. All of us have very diverse obsessions and compulsions. I think erp success depends on how well you connect with your therapist.

Ifiknewthen

Date posted: 2y

@68273 - Its funny but once you truly understand erp its rather simple.

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

Prozac is helping me greatly !

avantika 🪻

Date posted: 18w

Medication

So I have been diagnosed with GAD and OCD and my psychiatrist prescribed me with zoloft 🤔 but I dont know im really hesitant to start medication because im scared of the side effects and ik afraid of relying on a medication for a long time. Does anyone else take zoloft? What is it like? Any side effects?

sr.ek

Date posted: 16w

Meds for OCD + Depression (Burnout), mood swings

As my current mental health has definitely reached a new low, I will probably soon start with medication. However, since I am actually somewhat afraid of the typical side effects of antidepressants and mood-stabilizers, I wanted to ask anyone who is or has been taking medication for OCD and or depression (and mood-swings). I recently got also diagnosed with depression (I’ll be further tested for burnout) and I also suffer from pretty intense mood swings and anxiety, both really draining the last bit of energy that I currently have. You can honestly be as specific and descriptive as you want since I don’t know any people in my personal life that take any medication for their mental health and I’m genuinely curious about side effects, how long the different meds take to kick in, etc. The only meds I’m familiar with are beta blockers, specifically bisoprolol but I want to switch to propranolol.

sarah_kate

Date posted: 14w

Treating OCD without medication

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…

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