Medication question

I will very soon have an appointment with a psychiatrist! Recently though, my sister mentioned to me that when she took medication for her OCD, she took prozac and did not like it as she felt very tired and sleepy for an entire year, and also gained weight. She decided to stop taking prozac as the only thing it helped with for her was having no thoughts, but overall she hated the tiredness she felt for the entire year. My question is, do any of yall know if the medication side effects can be the same for me as well because of genetics? Would family history be something a psychiatrist asks you about? This is my first time ever taking medication for mental health, so I may sound dumb lol. And if you have any other comments, feel free to share as I am quite nervous about starting medication.

Sheepery

Date posted: 5d

Some meds are genetically compatible or incompatible. The biggest factor I believe tho will be whether you have other conditions. Try to do trial periods with different meds, 2-3 months long. Maybe your psychiatrist could have a follow up with you in a few months to see if you want to try smth else? Also, are you doing a video visit and if so how did you book your psychiatrist?? I’ve tried so hard but no one will take appointments with me except for one person but that’s another story.

soadsvt

Date posted: 5d

@Sheepery I actually am currently uninsured! Its a long story lol but I am also seeing an OCD therapist that is out of network so I am paying out of pocket for it. She really thinks meds will help for my recovery so I am trying to get MediCal (from California). On top of that, I also found a program from my area that helps with emergency medication which is how I am seeing this psychiatrist.

Raven_

Date posted: 5d

Yes and no. You can do the GeneSight test and see how meds affect your metabolism. That doesn’t mean it will work better or you won’t have side effects but usually it’s a good indication that your body will need less of a dose and could experience less side effects. For the most part meds and side effects are a luck of the draw and trial and error. For example, your sister gained weight with Prozac. I actually lost a good bit of weight on Prozac. They all affect everyone differently. Medication is a great tool, it can sound daunting but they are mostly safe and don’t have to be a long term thing

Homelander3003

Date posted: 10h

I took Prozac when I was 16-17 for my ocd too. Although I don’t remember gaining a significant amount of weight I used to be so tired in school that I would actually sleep in lessons. After my teachers brought this up my father came up with a method. He said that if I took the med 1-2 hours before my sleep time instead I should take them 3-4 hours before. This small change actually worked and thought it would be helpful to share it.

Shydog

Date posted: 9h

Every person has their own experience of medication- my brother and I take completely different medications. I have one that really helped with my anxiety and when he tried it he didn’t think it helped his at all. He had a better experience with Zoloft and I didn’t notice a difference. It makes sense to be nervous, but remember that your medical team would only suggest it if it has the potential to help you. And you will know after some adjustment period if it helps you or not

Shydog

Date posted: 9h

You can also say that you don’t want to take medication with certain side effects and ask for an alternate suggestion

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