Medicine

It is not a cure and it takes a few months to get going but I function now and I can be happy. I have good days and bad but before every day was awful.

I am on desvenlafaxine (an SNRI). It is not an SSRI (which are the ones that have been proven to work for OCD in 70% of people), but it works similarly and there is some evidence of SNRIs helping OCD symptoms. Anyways, I feel that my symptoms have become more manageable this past year that I've been doing NOCD. I would not be surprised if the SNRI helped with that (my therapist has explained to me how antidepressants like SSRIs and SNRIs don't make you "feel better," but rather help your brain be more flexible and to change easier. So, I would say there is a good chance that it has helped me grow while doing ERP therapy. Along with that, I am also on buspirone, which is just a simple anxiety med. I very much recommend that one; it has helped me be less afraid of bees which has been a lifelong point of anxiety for me. OCD is an anxiety disorder after all, so I bet buspirone could help as well.

Fluvox

Still repeating bible audio headphones

I'm on fluoxetine (prozac) and it really saved my life. It took a while for it to work but mt symptoms are soooo much better now. I'll take them for life.

I am on Zoloft (SSRI). The recommended dose for OCD is 200-300 mg. I would highly encourage you to find a provider who truly knows OCD, and will prescribe your medication according to the OCD doses. Past providers who didn’t know OCD would try 50 mg, and when it didn’t touch the OCD, would want to try a new medication instead of upping it. The Zoloft doesn’t make life perfect, but it sure helps a lot. My biggest piece of advice is to be patient when starting the meds, because they will have to start you at a low dose and increase over time. But stick it out, and I think with the meds and a commitment to ERP therapy you can see some great changes.

I’m on vilazodone which falls under the “serotonin modulator” umbrella. I couldn’t tolerate any of the 3 SSRIs due mostly to sexual side effects. It’s important to mention that everyone responds to these different meds differently so the process isn’t as straightforward as any of us would like it to be. It took some trial and error and getting with a psych NP that I trusted before I found what works for me. Meds can be an absolute game changer. It’s definitely not a cure but they have helped me calm the obsessions to where I can hear myself think.