Guys I’ve been very hesitant about getting on meds but my OCD thinking has gotten really bad. So I decided to just get fluoxetine and start it. But my reservations about meds is carrying over into my ocd and i’m scared when I take the medicine i’m going to start freaking out due to “placebo” in a way. Like i am going to start getting symptoms or freaking out and wanting to throw up the meds or something idk
I can’t speak for everyone’s experience, but I’ve been on fluoxetine for three years and other SSRIs before that for maybe two decades. In my experience they’re pretty mild drugs once you get over the initial period where you sometimes have side effects. They basically curb the most extreme feelings, but it’s not this wildly dramatic effect. And they take a few weeks to kick in. ERP therapy is essential, but the meds can help.
@amos.b thank you!
@overthinker1234 You’re welcome! If you have any other SSRI questions I’m happy to give my perspective. I’m sure lots of others here will weigh in too.
@amos.b did you like fluoxetine? did you feel like it helped with the intrusive thoughts? my thoughts are just going wild right now. it’ll cling from subtype to subtype as soon as I get comfortable with one.
@overthinker1234 For me, fluoxetine doesn’t really heighten or lessen the intrusive thoughts. It kinda smooths out the feelings of anxiety more than the thoughts. I look at it the same as pain reliever if I have the flu. It mostly treats the symptoms. The root of the issue is treated with ERP therapy. I hope that helps. You definitely have to be patient with yourself when trying new SSRIs. It’s a trial and error process.
@amos.b so would you say there is an SSRI that helps with the intrusive thoughts or would you say they all pretty much just relax you? would fluoxetine be a good choice like how come you stopped taking it?
@overthinker1234 I didn’t stop taking it, I take 40mg a day now. I’ve been on maybe five other SSRIs over the years, but they had side effects I didn’t like. Fluoxetine hasn’t had that problem. I think it’s the most commonly prescribed med for OCD, but you should confirm with your doctor or psychologist.
@amos.b yeah I just started taking it today. did you used to take a lower dose? my doctor started me at 40mg and i’m unsure why as i’ve heard 20mg is the most common to start off with
@overthinker1234 I started with 20 but didn’t really feel like it was doing much. But these drugs all affect everyone differently, so just keep that in mind, other people’s experience can only tell you so much about how you might react to the med.
@amos.b i know, i’m worried because she gave me 40 but also think 20 wouldn’t work… i also don’t want to keep going in circles like i have been with meds
@overthinker1234 Yeah, the trial and error process is the worst part to me. Hopefully this one helps you. Just try to be patient and kind to yourself and remember it’s a process. Once you find meds that work well, it’s a good feeling. They don’t work miracles but they do help.
@amos.b yeah, I guess I am just worried about 40mg being too aggressive and giving me side effects
@overthinker1234 It might, but they’re usually pretty mild. I had a little vertigo for a couple days, but after that it was mostly just mild dry mouth.
@amos.b see i’m worried that’ll freak my ocd out even more and make me think something is wrong with me. jeez there is no winning here is there?
@overthinker1234 Yeah, it’s tough. I remember when my theme was mostly around my health, I worried a lot about potential side effects.
@amos.b it really sucks ): thanks for your input! really appreciate it
Hi, I agree with pretty much everything Amos.b said. The SSRI’s help me a lot but they don’t get rid of my OCD, just tone it down. I have taken 4 different SSRI’s and I am currently on Lexapro. Paxil had the most side effects for me but was most effective. I liked Fluoxetine but I kept having weird sinus issues on it so switched and they went away. I don’t know anyone else that had that issue on it. Lexapro works for me, seems to have the fewest side effects but not the most effective one I’ve been on, either. It takes time to figure out if it’s going to work for you and see if the side effects will dissipate (most do in my experience), I always have a lot the first 2 weeks going on a new one, it gets better so don’t freak out if this happens. All of the SSRI’s did help me to some degree after about 4-6 on them
I’ve gone through the same thing! I was terrified to take medication feeling like it’s gonna make it worse or I was get the Side effects from It. I’m 20 but I took fluoxetine when I was around 15 I remember it helping a lot. What I do when I’m scared of taking new meds is talking to my psychiatrist about starting on the lowest dose and even taking half and seeing how u feel. Slowly push yourself to start taking it and getting adjusted. Ask your psychiatrist first because I’m not one lol. But maybe that’ll help you out! Good luck!<3
I was prescribed Fluvoxamine today. I hope it works. At first she wanted to put me on Wellbutrin, as it’s a much easier medication to tolerate. But I told her I had done research in Fluvoxamine since it’s specifically made to treat OCD. She scared me when she said it’s not prescribed as often because of the side effects. She called it a “harder drug.” I didn’t really like hearing that. We had it filled anyway but now I’m just scared to take it because of course I’ve been online reading negative reviews. Hope I didn’t make a mistake. Maybe I should have stuck with the Wellbutrin.
I have really bad anxiety over my health. My biggest fear is throwing up. I have contamination OCD, too. Germs terrify me. But I’m also very terrified of medications. I barely want to take Advil for a headache, even though feeling bad makes my OCD and anxiety worse. This is especially hard because I got prescribed anxiety medication in 2021 and never took it because I am too terrified of the side effects and how it would make me feel. I’m tired of having severe OCD and anxiety as well as tics and knowing I will probably never be medicated for it. My family doesn’t make it any better, my parents made me cry because they said I am over dramatic and scared of everything.
So my OCD has gotten significantly worse in the last month or so. Constant anxiety and I decided to get antidepressants. I will begin taking them this weekend. I think there’s anyone have any good things to say about them? A couple years ago I got a script for them took one pill and the side effects were pretty hard to deal with so my doctor told me to cut one and a half and take that for a week but I decided not to take them. I think I’m ready to give it another chance. Does anyone else have anxiety about starting medication? Or does anyone have experience dealing with this?
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