Seeking experiences on OCD and anxiety medications—benefits and drawbacks?

So everybody who has commented, thank you! And could you say that it had made you’re healing journey better or worse?

I take 3 meds, luvox, lamictal, and abilify. It absolutely works best for me as a cocktail. I have my life back and am actually living again. The draw backs for me personally were mild weight gain, increased gag reflex, some morning nausea, and mild to moderate fatigue. But fighting that fatigue is way easier than the fatigue I had from my brain being eaten away by the OCD. Those ALL are dose dependent for me. I was at higher doses in the past and all the side effects were worse. But finding the right dose gave the correct balance of incredible benefit and mild drawbacks. I've been on them consistently at this dose for almost 2 years and have taken them overall for close to 4. I still have full emotional range, normal sexual function, and all the other stuff. The luvox also makes my digestion weirdly regular. I don't think I would have excelled at ERP if it weren't for meds, and if I could go back, I'd slap myself for being so scared and putting off trying meds. I'd say I'm between 90-95% back to my "normal" in terms of not having intrusive thoughts or obsessions and stopping compulsions was downright easy compared to being off meds. They aren't right for everyone, and you absolutely have to both be patient, but also be an advocate for yourself. It may take multiple tries on picking a med or a dosage. Barring crazy results like serious reactions or major increases in ideation, it's worth sticking them out, seeing what works, and being vocal about what doesn't.

I have taken 3 different medications for my OCD but they have all been for 3, for OCD anxiety and depression. I've taken sertraline which i took for 4 years before it quit working and i had to up the dosage about 3-4 times. Then i switched to prozac which i hated. it helped kinda but it made me feel emotionless. now i am on lexapro and i honestly like it a lot. it doesn't give me personally any side effects and it helps a lot with my OCD.

Been using sertraline for long (years) and it has been helping a lot, i see it helps with my anxiety & ocd together, even mood. only thing is it gives me side effects as digestive problems & nightmares time to time >< What I recommend most is not only the tool of medicine, but having a good relationship with your medic so you can trust them and talk about any issue during the therapy

I use Luvox. It works well for me and I can do ERP much easier with it.

Took kolopine for anxiety. Withdrawaled after being medically dependent (prescribed and took 1 mg daily) since I used it for ocd which is doesn't do nothing to help.

On Lexapro. I have been on Paxil, Prozac and Lexapro. Paxil was the most effective for me but also had the most side effects. Prozac was the least effective, but fewest side effects and Lexapro is right in the middle. I get heartburn and dry mouth on it pretty bad and it sucks. Also grind my teeth more on it and have weird sleep overall. Muscle twitches and stomach issues when I started it but those got better. Mostly now just the dry mouth, teeth grinding and it also makes me hungry and tired all the time. But that being said, it still provides me with enough relief that I deal with the side effects. I can function so much better on it

Very recently diagnosed with OCD, but I’ve been taking meds for anxiety for 3 years. Zoloft first for 2 years (got up to 100mg), did seem to help but I wanted to try something different at a possibly lower dosage (side effects weren’t horrible). Switched to lexapro, little less effective for my anxiety even after going from 10 to 20mg. After 4 months on that I switched to Prozac- hated it. Horrible side effects, extreme nausea which I’m already prone to. Only stayed on it for 4 weeks at 10mg. I’ve now switched back to Zoloft, 50mg, and I’ve just started ERP which has been huge for me. Just don’t be afraid to experiment a little to find what works for you. Keep a daily or weekly log of how you’re feeling to track your progress on the meds, very helpful to see how they’re working. Rating anxiety/intrusive thoughts on a 1-10 scale maybe. Definitely talk to your doctor or psychiatrist about what you struggle with and they can help you get started. Or if you have a therapist that knows you/can give an opinion, my doctor prescribed me Zoloft because my therapist recommended it for me.