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.
Hi. I’m writing this post because I don’t know if I should be medicated again. Lexapro worked well for me, but I gained like 30 pounds. I quit because of that and honestly I thought I was able to manage my OCD well better. I was wrong, it got worse again. I wish I can do this without medication…that’s why I expose myself everyday, doesn’t matter how drained and exhausted I get. Are you guys medicated or trying to go without medicine. How is it going for you guys? Many hugs for all of you. We got this.
Has anyone been prescribed Escitalopram for their OCD? And if so what was your experience like. I just got into my 2nd week of it and got bumped up to 20mg. Today has been weird because my anxiety is gone which has been for a bit but the thoughts seem stronger today especially the Harm related ones. Almost like commands now. Can anyone relate?
I used to get very irritable and have severe ocd, while I have only been on Prozac 3 weeks at only 10mg then recently 20mg. I have noticed that although my intrusive thoughts are still there, it’s more manageable like 30% more manageable and I’m hoping with time and if needed an increase of my dosage it could go to 50-90% more manageable. Anyone experience with ssri please share your experience dosage, name, how long it ok to kick in and how is your ocd now on the meds? Thank you
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