Getting Help

Would insurance cover both? Why is it very common that people see both? Is it because one can prescribe medicine?

Thanks!!!!!

Why do many people see both? Is it because a psychiatrist can prescribe medicine?

Or are there other reasons?

@Anonymous It would typically be to support you with medications and other things nocd wouldn’t be able to do ! But yes it’s very common I have a doctor who prescribes me medication and also get therapy with nocd!

@Anonymous Exactly what izzyyy24 stated! Psychiatrists typically are prescribing medication and managing it where as therapists/counselors or psychologists are not licensed to prescribe medication and do the therapy side of things! Having both is super helpful! (Talking from my own person experience).

@izzyyyy24 What other things could a psychiatrist HP with that NOCD might not?

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. Does the psychiatrist look at NOCD in a,different way or some as NOCD tge6rapist? Is it necessary to have both in your opinion?

@Anonymous Some psychiatrists are super awesome at understanding OCD and can challenge that reassurance seeking side of us! But as any human- we all have our own personalities that may or may not be your cup of tea. Living with my own Anxiety and OCD- I have found medication and therapy to be the most helpful for me. But I have had plenty of people who prefer to just try therapy first before adding meds. I have others who swear by the medication and therapy duo being more helpful! But on a clinical side, we have seen that the best outcomes do typically come from therapy and medication management. But again doesn’t mean everyone has to be on meds or will have more or less success than someone else. Such a cliche answer- “Everbodys body responds differently” so it’s hard to give straight answers

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. I see. Is it possible to only take medication? I know someone some years ago whose son had ocd. He told ne his son only took medication. I think he had ocd like even if a fly landed on him he had to take a shower .....every time a fly landed on him on vacation. Not sure if that is contamination fear or what but he only took medicine. I guess I have a sorta fear of being in medication for my entire life. I take some anxiety medicine now. It is not from.a psychiatrist though and may not be the best for ocd....i know it is for anxiety so it might be helping somewhat but since I am not familiar with other medicines I cannot say much. All I remember is,I tried mefication years ago but literally took it for pribably not EVEN a week when I found out I was pregnant. I immediately stopped it and developed terrible headaches!!!

@Anonymous I’ve had people come to me who were only on medication. And sure that can be beneficial for some….but some of us (myself included) don’t want to be on medication and would like a holistic route which is why I am pro therapy. But with any medication there is a potential for some effect-some are more manageable than others which is why we recommend a doctor following along. There is no perfect medication for OCD specifically so often people are prescribed different things and recommended for therapy to really work on exposures response prevention. That is the best “medicine” for OCD.

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. I May I ask what mind ic "effects" you meant? Also, which medicines ? I am still undecided. Also, is it better too see a therapist first and then they psychiatrist or is it better too be on medicibe if you are going to take it.first befote starting the NOCD?

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. May Inam which medicines you feel works?

@Anonymous I don’t have any specific medications in mind as I’m not a doctor. But just like any medication people may experience side effects- for example when I started mine I was a bit tired and started taking it closer to bed time which makes a huge difference. Other effects can be the medication really helping-my example would be consistently being on meds for the last few months and feeling significantly more comfortable (less anxious about literally everything possible). I personally started with therapy first and then decided to try medication. There is no wrong or right way to go about it

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. And then you went off the medicine? Was that difficult? Also, were you not consistently on medication in beginning? You mentioned you were on it consistently at the end.

@Anonymous So I had started medication in college due to anxiety from being away from home and socializing….started doing well by my Senior year and asked my doc to ween off…went to grad school and was doing really well. Remained off meds. Then big life triggers occurred over the last year which had me feeling like medication was going to be more helpful than just going 2x a week therapy. So I started off on the lowest dosage and gradually increased per doctor recommendations and monitoring. I have been consistently on 60mg of Prozac for the last 8 months and have not had any issues (side effects from the meds) and have noticed a decrease in my anxiety (also because I continued with therapy and switched to a job that I actually love and don’t feel burnt out doing)

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. And how about the OCD? Did the medicine help with that? How does the psychiatrist determine which medicines would work for each patient? Does it have to do with wbich ocd you have, how bothersome it is, success rate, etc??? Also if one medicine is not working do they ever switch you? When you went off medicine was your ocd not bothering you at all? And when you went back on did you stay with some medicibe you had been on?

@Anonymous So the type of OCD does not make decisions on which medication would be best. Ultimately that would be the doctor and members collaborative decision. Also yes! It is possible and does happen where you try a medicine and it doesn’t work (perfect example. I had tried Zoloft. I ended up having excessive sweating and felt very uncomfortable from it) we switched to Prozac and have been good since. So some medications work for others and not me and that’s okay. That’s why having the doctor be apart of the treatment is really helpful. Again there is no right medication for OCD, it was with the medicine which helped lessen my anxiety be able to focus more during my therapy sessions and actually do ERP. When I went off my meds I don’t think college me was thinking too much about those symptoms and some came to a pause….then COVID hit and that brought on my contamination and health fears to an extreme. I like many tried to figure it out on my own but I realized I can’t preach to you all toget help and talk about things if I wasn’t doing it myself! So I took the steps to get back into therapy and medication to support.

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. I did not think the type of ocd would determine the medicine a doctor would prescribe but thought there was somewhere that a,psychiatrist had to start. Maybe hiw much the patient is experiencing anxiety, etc, or maybe to help you be able to start the exposures? Thanks,for answeringball these,questions!!! ,I am very happy for you that you are doing so well!!!😊😊😊🙏🙏🙏💕💕💕

@Anonymous The psychiatrist will def help figure out where to start. Most people start on low dosages of medication first before increasing as it takes time for the body to adjust! But you won’t know how your body reacts until you try! And worst case-you hate it and ask to stop. That’s the great thing about it is no one can force you to continue something if you do not want to do it. It sounds like you’re extra motivated to feel better and are taking the right steps of looking at therapy options as well as medicine! I wish you the best of luck in whatever decision you make and can’t wait to hear about progress ❤️✨

@NOCD Therapist - Sara A. Thanks so much!!!