Anyone older with issues still?

Last helpful Thing I found: my NOCD therapist explained that OCD will be with me for life, unfortunately. It will go on vacation with me and go everywhere I go. once I learned that, I started the grieving process for that piece. But with tools like the ERP and such, I’m hoping for being able to manage it to a great degree with much symptom relief. I’ve always been hopeful but here we are in our 50s, incredibly frustrating at times. Sending healing hearts to you.

I am 54 and was diagnosed in my 20's, though I'm pretty sure I had it before then too. I've been on various SSRI's. I was on Lexapro most recently and was still struggling mildly to moderately; I went off it for a sleep study and also to try microdosing psilocybin. After months off lexapro, my ocd symptoms were severe again (and psilocybin did not help me), Two weeks ago I started prozac; I remember relief with this one from decades ago, even more than with the lexapro, so I am hopeful. I have resigned to the fact that I will likely need SSRI for life :( I thought maybe adhd was primary for bit, tried adderall during the off med period, ocd became worse, not for me. Then I read that ocd can often mimic some adhd symptoms. SSRI's give me 30-60% relief. Prozac closer to 60%, Lexapro more like 30-40%. It seems that the medication match is significant. Michelle

It’s crazy how medications impact people so differently. Luvox is specifically for ocd. I almost went that route and may if Prozac is not working 30 years later. I get fomo when I hear people say their ocd was cured. OCD is a huge ‘time thief” for me and can be so relentless. Sorry with the jargon, I’m a late bloomer with a 14 year old so …

Also stress seems to impact my ocd greatly. How is your stress level? I have cptsd and started “inner bonding” and it has helped greatly as well. I dialogue much better with the lies ocd/limiting beliefs tell me. My mom, who lives with me (4 years) and is the source of my cptsd and with a personality disorder, will be moving to a senior center next month and already my ocd is slightly improving (subconsciously I think it came back at full force) so stress in life I think is a factor for sure.

My OCD manifests with over sharing for sure ha, but I do want to help. I wanted to share that I am listening to a podcast about certain tests that one can have and I had no idea that there is a test for our neurotransmitter levels. That would for sure take the guessing came out of medications. I’ll share if I find out how to go about that. Are you with ERP here at Nocd? have found ERP helps a lot with some of my symptoms and then some of them are just much more stubborn and probably will take more time here .

Hello Trudy, Let me first express that I am so sorry for the pain you are going through. I understand from your post that you take medication, but I want to ask, are you currently in therapy, as well?

Hi Trudy, I'm sorry you are struggling with this! OCD is a chronic condition and is likely to be present for life. However, it is very manageable, so please keep your hope alive! You mentioned medication- is this prescribed by an OCD specialist? Often folks go to their primary care MD for OCD meds which is fine for the short term, but a specialist can best determine therapeutic levels for your individual needs. If you haven't done so already, I invite you to learn more about care here: treatmyocd.com. Let me know if this was helpful and whether I can answer any other questions!