Username: dan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

Wellbutrin making OCD worse?

I was curious if anyone has had a similar situation. I have been on Sertraline for a year now and I've essentially been OCD free the whole time which has been wonderful but because of the extremely low libido my phychiatrist prescribed Wellbutrin as an adjunct to the Sertraline. I tried this once before 2 years ago when I was on Escitalipram but after a week I felt way more anxious and figured it was from the Wellbutrin and went off. I decided to try it again this time as I thought maybe it would be different with Sertraline. Again exactly on the 7th day I started having intrusive thoughts. I decided to stop taking it because I do not want to go back to that place after a year of being OCD free. I stopped yesterday morning and today I still had a couple thoughts this morning. I really hope I didn't just mess everything up in my brain and now my OCD is coming back.

Username: beebibeebi

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 27w ago

wellbutrin made me soooo anxious, i also tried it out two times and both times affected me the same. I was also on mood stabilizers at the same time (have been for years) so I know it was the Wellbutrin making me anxious.

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

Good to know because I honestly wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence or not. I had read online that it can exacerbate OCD but my dad is a phychiatrist and he said none of his patients had that effect but most of his patients were taking it for depression not ppl with OCD plus everyone is different

Username: AllahschildAllahschild

Date posted: 27w ago

I have a question, so I just stopped taking Effexor 75mg and got switched to Zoloft 50mg and have been taking that for about 4 days but last night I had an absolutely terrifying OCD attack to the point my brain almost couldn’t differentiate thoughts from reality and now I haven’t taken any medicine today because I’m just terrified.

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

In the beginning it takes your body a little time to adjust. I am on 175 of Sertraline and it seemed that everytime I went up my anxiety got a little worse but then always got better after like a week

Username: JPOCD516JPOCD516

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 27w ago

I have heard this happens initially when starting the medication but the symptoms dissipate after a couple of weeks * I know crazy a couple of weeks of anxiety*

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

The thing is if I was guaranteed that these meds will for sure help my libido and after a couple of weeks the OCD would be back to normal then I prob could handle a couple of uncomfortable weeks but the fact is it doesn't work for everyone so I could go through hell for nothing

Username: JPOCD516JPOCD516

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 27w ago

@dan_star I take it along with Mirtazipine and I will say here and there I get anxious but it is pretty controlled … I haven’t taken the Wellbutrin straight by itself … but I have noticed my mood is better but here and there I am a little testy

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

@JPOCD516 What do u take the mirtazipine for?

Username: JPOCD516JPOCD516

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 27w ago

@dan_star I originally started that for the anxiety , one of the few ant depressants that don’t have the main sexual side effects of ssri’s . It also has helped with OCD for me slows everything down a bit and lets me get a handle on things before I spiral

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

@JPOCD516 That's good. I have heard that it can be used instead of Wellbutrin as well but I don't know as much about it

Username: LetLOVEinLetLOVEin

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 27w ago

I just stopped Wellbutrin because of this. I was having horrible panic attacks and went to the ER because of one. The thoughts were so bad. I have a drs appointment Wednesday to find another alternative.

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

Yeah I just emailed my phychiatrist to make an appointment to see what else we can try. Apparently there is one that's been approved in the states for women but I live in Canada and I don't think it's offered here yet

Username: LonesomeCreeperLonesomeCreeper

Date posted: 27w ago

I hope you did not bring it back. Hopefully, if you stop the new medication it will go away.

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

Me too! It should be completely out of my system within 4 days so hopefully I didn't trigger something 😭

Username: StephanieJoy222StephanieJoy222

Date posted: 27w ago

I have newly diagnosed OCD intrusive thoughts. I hadn't thought about Wellbutrin adding to my anxiety but reading your post and other's comments I believe it was adding to my anxiety as well. I was on Wellbutrin for years and now I'm on a new set of medication that is helping my Bipolar 2 and OCD. Thanks for posting this question!

Username: dan_stardan_star

Date posted: 27w ago

That really sucks that your dr would prescribe Wellbutrin for your OCD because it is not for OCD and as we've seen can actually make it worse. Wellbutrin is great for depression but for OCD you need an ssri. Wellbutrin can be added to an ssri to help offset the side effects that come from an ssri. I'm glad u are on something different now!

Username: MedStudentAn...

Date posted: 2y ago

I am struggling with a relapse of OCD after years of feeling much better with CBT and Sertraline. I took Sertraline for 7 years and stopped a few months ago, but found my OCD has come back as strong as ever. I have since resumed the medication by titrating back up to what will hopefully be a helpful dosage (under the supervision of my doctor), but I would like to know if anyone else has had a similar issue of relapse after stopping an SSRI. Additionally, did anyone find that resuming the same drug was effective in returning them to their previous baseline? I am new to NOCD and look forward to getting started with my new therapist in March. Thanks for any and all responses in advanced!

Username: Lexilex

Date posted: 2y ago

Wellbutrin and OCD?

I have been on Wellbutrin for a month and didnt see much improvement in my focus or energy. My psychiatrist told me we should try a higher dose to see if it works better. However, I’m worried that a higher dose of Wellbutrin = more focus on compulsions rather than concentration on work? Thoughts ?

Young adults with OCD

Username: breannan20

Date posted: 1y ago

Antidepressants and OCD

Has anyone had experience coming off an antidepressant and how it affects your OCD? I’ve been on antidepressants for years for depression and anxiety and recently made the decision to go off of them. It seems like since I’ve been working off of them, the intrusive thoughts and worries have been increasing. Another time when I previously tried stopping it the thoughts became so bad I was physically ill and ended up in the ER. I’ve seen before that SSRIs/SNRIs can be used too treat OCD, but I’ve never taken them for that purpose. Has anyone else had a similar experience of going off their antidepressant and their OCD symptoms increasing?

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