Anyone else scared to take an SSRI sand you have gotten past it and the med actually helped? I’m so nervous to take my lexapro. I know I want to try but what if I have a panic attack or something?
I do take SSRIs for both my OCD and PTSD and I also used to suffer from severe panic attacks. The SSRI helped a lot! I’m still not at the level I want to be at with my intrusive thoughts and there is a long way for me to go before I’m able to fully live without OCD restricting me. But if you look at where I was before I started taking them and after there is still extremely noticeable improvement. I would let your doctor know you are nervous about taking the medication so they can give you more information and guidance on it. If you are seeing a therapist depending on who you are seeing they can also be really knowledgeable on how medications work in the body and can explain it in a way that makes it a lot less scary to be taking it. They also will always start you on a very low dose and you should be having check in usually once a month at first to make sure you are comfortable with the does and no adjustments or changes need to be made.
@#Lexiriri I wish I could afford a therapist. My dr didn’t say anything about it but that she is starting me off on a very low dose bc I told her I was nervous about meds. I want to have hope that it works. I’m thinking that bad reactions are probably less common on this med
@Bd2 Im very lucky that my insurance covers my therapist for the most part. It never hurts to ask your doctor to go over how the medication works if you think that would help your anxiety! Also if it makes you feel any better a lot of SSRIs have been used safely for a very long time now, I think lexapro has been around for about 20 years now. My therapist usually gives me a ballpark of how long meds have been around because it makes me feel better knowing.
I’m always nervous talking anything new. I’m on lexapro and Wellbutrin. It definitely helped me. It takes 6 weeks. Which is the hard part. The thing that gave me panic attacks was ambien, plus it made my ocd worse. At least you have the upper hand. I didn’t know I had OCD until 2 years after I started taking them.
Starting a new med can be a very scary experience. Especially SSRIs which can have many side effects the extent of which are unique to the person taking it. Finding the right psychiatric medicine is very much trial and error in my experience. Just remember that if u start the med and you start feeling bad on it, you can always stop. You do not have to take or continue taking anything you are not comfortable with. I do think it’s worth tinkering with meds because a solid med regimen is huge. Good luck 🍀
I forgot to add — I’ve been on lexapro for a few years now and I’ve found it very helpful. Lexapro is a great med for OCD, a lot of studies have been done on the positive effects of high doses of lexapro (40 mg) in OCD.
Hey friends, I hope you all are well. I just wanted to check in and ask people's experiences about being on medication. I have had OCD pretty much my whole life, just got recently diagnosed 4 months ago and my therapist recommended that I get on meds for it so I have a psychiatrist appointment set up. I'm a little apprehensive about getting on them, but I've realized that I do have some sort of chemical imbalance in my brain that plays a part in my OCD and anxiety. I would love to hear anyones experiences or words of encouragement. Thank you, I hope you all are well.
6 months ago I had a severe panic attack and it’s changed my life. Scared of 99% of foods, can’t take meds out of fear, been hospitalized a few times cause of blood sugar drops and other health scares due to poor eating. I’m constantly scanning my body finding any little thing that’s uncomfortable and then fixate and panic over the smallest things. Whether be a smell I’m unfamiliar with, a weird sensation in my arm literally anything freaks me out….. who has had success with exposure or has dealt with similar issues. I feel like I’m unintentionally slowly killing myself but I’m too scared for meds and therapy doesn’t seem to make much of a dent right now. Please share some success stories I need hope.
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
