Are meds worth it

@ReadyForImprovement I have really bad POCD and just got diagnosed with OCD. It’s been really bad over the past 3 months. I just started a SSRI and have never been on one before. I have exposure to children and my triggers all the time but still have really bad intrusive thoughts

Same for me. Without meds its exremely low level of insight feeling like psychosis but with meds I have a bit more wiggle room to make a choice. Its still very very hard though. I've been on Prozac for about 9 years, recently switched to paxil but went off as it can add estrogen into the body and I am on hormone suppressors do to cancer. Paxil gave me the same outcome as prozac but gave me acne Im thinking its due to the estrogenic effects it has. ( Olanzapine -this med caused me to be very angry and I couldn't stop eating. Also it didnt budge my OCD symptoms). Buspirone- didnt move my anxiety down one bit (xanax- did nothing for me), (apriprozale-this med was horrible AND it didnt help with OCD.)

@Katarinagabriella It will help a little. When I first started prozac it made OCD symptoms much worse. Over time it levels out, but prozac itself makes me a bit anxious and I needed something to augment the general anxiety it gave me. I usually take it at night before I go to bed. The medications only do so much, the rest will be left to therapy.

@McDucko Thank you so much

@blazed Thank you so very much for helping give me hope In such a hopeless time.🤎

@Ella_ Rose I got diagnosed by a psychiatrist for ocd

@ocd_junkie Thank you so much for giving me hope. I’ve been feeling so hopeless lately

@NotAnonymous I’m aware I am just hoping meds mixed with therapy will help

@Honeyshark Are you in sertraline? What dose? I’ve been on 25mg for about a month and a half-ish. Had a good couple weeks there around the 4 week point and now I feel myself slipping again. Hoping an increase in dosage will help?

@erikataylor I was (as I called it) in the pits of hell when I reached out for therapy and made an appointment with my family doctor to start an ssri. I was BEYOND scared to take it. But I did, I was desperate. She started me on a very low dose (25mg). I haven’t noticed too many side affects other than dry mouth and I’m always tired. But I’m normally a tired person in general😩 During the very dark time, I noticed myself not even wanting to converse with coworkers. I felt so ashamed and guilty of my past and had this feeling of unworthiness and undeserving of even speaking to people. If that makes sense. I noticed the med helped that a little. I’m able to laugh with my coworkers again. I had a couple good weeks around the one month point where my intrusive thoughts were there, but they weren’t causing me much anxiety. Unfortunately a few days ago I was triggered by something and now I feel like I’m back in a “slump”. I see my family doctor tomorrow to follow up on my sertraline. I’m hoping with an increase I can get back to that “better” place. It felt so good to not be so anxious and dreadful!

@TaylorR13 I’ve been on sertraline and it was great! Yup, I had to up the dose after a bit of time. I got up to 150mg. It was awesome! So quiet in my head. 🥰 I made the mistake of cycling off it and then when I tried to go back on it didn’t work well for me. Luckily Prozac works really well for me too !

@Honeyshark That gives me so much hope. During those “good weeks” I kept thinking to myself, “wow, if I feel this much better on 25mg, I wonder what even higher doses will do”. How did you know when you needed to up the dose? I’m wondering if being back in the slump means I need to increase. (I’m hoping it’s not that the medication just doesn’t work for me)

@TaylorR13 I talked to my doc! That’s the best route. Don’t try and adjust solo cuz I did that and it messed me up.