fear of meds

what should i do to get over my fear of medication? i know i need to pair meds with my therapy. my OCD is very severe and i have agoraphobia as well. right now im not really seeing any changes with therapy alone and idk if i will see much change with therapy alone. i had a bad reaction to and SSRI once on the LOWEST dose (literally children are prescribed it) during trial and error and now im so terrified of all meds. i cant try a new med without being so anxious that i become symptomatic not necessarily bc of the med itself but just from the stress im under taking it. i also did genesight. my results were extremely upsetting. almost every ssri for me is most likely too strong and will cause me issues. the only ssri my psychiatrist is willing to try is one that i’ve ALWAYS hear d people say if they miss a dose of it, they’re like in shambles bc of withdrawal. i’ve heard the withdrawal from only one missed dose on this med is like unreal. i don’t wanna be STUCK on a med forever bc of withdrawal issues and i don’t want to forget to take it one day and have a bunch of problems bc of it. i also am just scared of having a bad reaction again too. the only other option she’d given me was lamotrigine which has a black box warning for steven johnson’s syndrome and DRESS syndrome. i don’t want to spend so long on it stressing ab if any little mark on my skin is the beginning stages of a deadly rash. i literally would be constantly stressed. i truly don’t know what to do about this and it makes me really emotional bc i do rly think i need a medication that works for me but the trial and error makes my ocd the worst it can get. just constant over thinking, panic attacks and fear. pls someone give advice idk what to do.

kamyrakuhl

Date posted: Yesterday

I say this cautiously as I don’t want to help feed into a compulsion but would like to provide some advice. As someone who is very sensitive to medication, I got genetic testing for mental health medication (some clinics offer it). It provides a pretty good baseline for what will and will not work for you based on genetic markers. However, I will say it’s on the expensive side, but I’d definitely say it’s worth the investment. Good luck 💖

kennadras

Date posted: Yesterday

@kamyrakuhl further into the paragraph i actually mentioned how i did already do genesight and that’s how my psychiatrist determined the only toe medications she’s rly want me to try for now.

kennadras

Date posted: Yesterday

@kamyrakuhl i’m just rly not comfortable with either option still :(

kamyrakuhl

Date posted: Yesterday

@kennadras Oh my, I am so sorry I over looked that. I am in a similar position to you right now, actually (also struggle with Agoraphobia and the OCD scores aren’t going down much). Personally, as much as I don’t want to do this, I’m trying really hard to trust my psychiatrist to put me on the right thing. for me that means just going through the motions of trying the new med, seeing if it works, hoping for the best, and stopping it if any adverse side effects happen. It’s really hard to remain objective about situations that are driven by fear from what I’ve learned. Everyone’s different though and these are the thought processes that appear to be working for me.

OCDHelp@90

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 11h

I had my own issues of why I didn’t want to start medication. My therapist here at NOCD recommended it while also doing ERP and I decided to take the leap and try medication even though I feared it. I treated it as an exposure. The uncertainty of will I have a bad reaction? Will it not work? Will it harm me in some way? Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. I went into it with uncertainty. I am happy to report that I have had amazing results with my medication while continuing ERP though. However, everyone is different. Just wanted to share my personal journey. I wish you the best and you have my support! You’ve got this!

baukje

Date posted: 23w

Obsessing about… medication

I am having an appointment with my psychiatrist this afternoon and I am obsessing about what to do with my medication. I think it’s also very ocd like obsessing. I am currently on 30mg mirtazapine. Ive been on this for years (because of insomnia, anxiety and depression) (15mg) and after we tried to switch to another (amitryptiline) because of nerve pain, I went down the road of insomnia and later on ocd again. So I am back on mirtazapine, and weaning off of the amitryptiline. This is/was a very traumatic experience. Because the switch caused a mental breakdown. Now my psychiatrist has mentioned to up the mirtazapine to 45mg. And my obsessive self has done a lot of research and a lot is saying that the higher the dose, the more you can experience anxiety. And for ocd it’s obviously not the first choice. I am obsessing all morning about it. I am too scared to go up. But I am also too scared to try another and to wean myself of off mirtazapine. I feel stuck at this point. Taking two meds is also not something I want. I could really use some words of encouragement right now I think. 🥹

RememberWhoY...

Date posted: 15w

Medication and shame?

Anyone take medication for OCD? The only medication I take is adderall but I had to stop due to heart issues so now my anxiety and intrusive thoughts are also back and adhd symptoms. My psychiatrist recommended I take antidepressants for my OCD like lexapro. The thing is I never ever thought I would take medication in my life. Here I am suffering from these mental illnesses which is also something I never thought would happen to me. I notice people that have OCD say that they wish they have taken medication sooner made life easier too but idk I’m still hesitant about it. How long do I have to take it for? Do I or should I take medication for OCD with therapy? Overall no adhd meds rn and man I feel so low and depressed lacking motivation and also overwhelmed thinking of doing other work related things.

kennadras

Date posted: 5w

starting medicatation

so one of my biggest struggles lately is that my OCD has gotten significantly worse, and i’ve been seeing a psychiatrist and going through medication management for this as well. my only issue is that i have tried like 6 different anxiety meds or ssri’s now in the past couple of months because everytime i start one, i start having severe panic attacks and have to stop due to spiraling thoughts. it started with paxil(paroxetine) i started that first on the lowest dose, took it around 11pm just to wake up around 5am pupils so big you couldn’t see the color of my eyes, extreme tremors, dizziness so bad i couldn’t stand up and nausea. i went to the hospital because one of my biggest fears is serotonin syndrome, having seizures, all that because a LOT of my OCD is health based. they treated me like i was a crazy person in the ER, just gave me 2 strong Benadryl and hardly checked on me as i sat there shaking, crying, eyes wide open you’d think i saw a ghost. i felt so neglected. every since then when i try new medication, i have what i THINK is just panic attacks from thought spirals but i can’t tell what’s real and what’s not now. i can’t tell if it’s just OCD and my body mimicking those symptoms because of anxiety, or if im having a bad reaction again. it’s made trial and error with medication so exhausting and really really emotional. i haven’t cried this much in a month since i was maybe 17, and im 22 now. i don’t know what to do or how to continue medication management when i can’t tell what’s real and what’s not.

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