Conflicted about Medication

Hi I got ERP therapy paired with Meds anx weaned off the meds 2 years after concluding ERP. I recently had a huge life change and symptoms are back and I'm back in ERP

@[Deleted] I feel I have had poor insight to my condition as well. I don’t know if it’s because I was so young and it scared me and the doubts/ uncertainty was so strong I didn’t know how to handle it.

You know what you feel you need to do ❤️

@alyssa90 Hi just curious if you’re comfortable sharing which medication has worked for you? I know it varies by the person. But I ask this as someone who has taken many in the past several years including SSRIs and antipsychotics. But I’ve never found the relief that I hear people talking about. My longest stint was probably on Zoloft. I honestly didn’t feel a change with OCD symptoms.

@sick&tired I was taking Fluoxetine, generic for Prozac

@sick&tired Zoloft and I stay on it 100mg I’m going through a rough patch right now I used to be on 150mg I might go up to 150mg again I’ll probably stay on 100mg for life. I have had anxiety since 12 years old started with choking I literally could not eat I thought something was stuck in my throat. When I was a kid Zoloft helped me recover from that. Then it came back as harm ocd as a 16 year old and I still struggle with it, I am 36. Zoloft has helped me with those times so I just decided to stay on it because I’m an anxiety mess. Mornings I’m nauseous and can’t eat I have terrible anxiety at times.

@alyssa90 Thanks for sharing and I’m so sorry you’ve had such a long and difficult journey with anxiety and OCD. 😞 I was also diagnosed as a child and I’ve had it for 15 years now. I believe the max dose I was on with Zoloft was 250 mg but honestly I never felt the relief that other people do. I mean I feel almost nothing. But I’m glad you and your providers have found what helps you. Take care 🩷

@LRC Hi thanks for sharing! I just wanted to say that I’m sorry that you’re currently in crisis mode. 😞 I’m having very intense real events ocd and harm ocd now, and I’ve been stuck in bed for over two weeks now. You’re not alone. And I think I’ve had a similar worry to you re: medication. I mean just in general I feel like I don’t know where I end and my disorder begins. I’m also neurodivergent so I’m accepting maybe i have always been different. But I’m glad you’ve found great success with meds in the past and I hope you know that meds don’t erase who you are! All the best. 🩵

Yes please!

Its been part of my new life and it's why I stopped talking meds a year ago. I had a big and really triggering life event and I'm feeling really overwhelmed. I noticed the anxiety creeping up before that event but felt I was managing. Im in the deep end right now.

@LRC - Relapse is normal. Hang in there. I had one also after 4 years of recovery. I got out of it, learnt heaps from it and came out stronger for it and so will you.

Since you've invested and feel confident telling us not to use medication to help live with this Disorder please drop some resources for us. Don't finger wag without a solution, please.

@LRC - What are you talking about. Resources are completely available for you. Have you not bothered looking. This is the problem I mentioned above. Do you want me to send you all the meta analysis proving erp without medication is pretty much on par with treatment on medication. They are available for you to see. The iocdf website just updated its treatment plan for ocd no longer stating that erp with meds is the gold standard to they are not sure wich one is better because the evidence shows there is no difference in outcomes. The science itself says people who where on medication had added benefit with erp but people who got good erp and therapy benefited very litttle to not at all with added medication.

@LRC - Iocdf Combining ERP with medication is a common treatment plan for many with OCD. The research behind this approach is inconclusive as to whether a combined treatment is better than doing either treatment alone. Clinical experience tells us that a combined approach may be better for people with more severe symptoms and/or comorbid mental health conditions. Every person’s journey is unique, please consult with your treatment team to figure out what’s right for you!

the evidence suggests that adding exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) to medication, on average, improves treatment outcomes but (and this is the central point), adding medication to exposure and response prevention does not, on average, improve treatment outcomes. In other words, those participating in ERP and taking medications did not, on average, experience better treatment outcomes than those participating in ERP while not taking medications.

@danny02 Thanks for reiterating what I know about ERP and medication based on ths resources I have sought out. You were talking about the roll of the amygdala and the "paradoxical mind" which I haven't encountered and being pointed in a productive direction would be appreciated.

@LRC - 🙂 I’m glad you’re interested in the parodox. The very disorder is a paradox. The more certainty you try obtain the less certain you become. The more you give into doubt the more you doubt yourself. The more you run from anxiety, depression, uncomfortable feelings, feeling off ect the more you teach your brain you can not tolerate these things, that these things are important and dangerous hence only amplifying them. Understand that being with uncomfortable feelings themselfs is just as important as the uncertainty or thought producing them. Thats why in my mind I no longer see anxiety or intrusive thoughts as threats. I see them as opertunity for more freedom and new learning and to dial down the biological response produced by my amygdala. Recovery is a science as much as a philosophy.

@LRC - Another example the more you strive to feel happy the less likely you will feel happy. The more you try force libido the less libido you will have. Mindfulness is a great adjunct to erp and one I highly recommend everyone to engage with. Learning to not judge the presenth moment or experiences and let them go let them be.

@LRC - Ocd is also not black and white. It can intertwine with faulty beliefs, trauma and other aspects of your life. But you need to feel the pain if you want to get better. You have to go through the storm.

Im not saying its not a positive thing. I'm in ERP, I'm working with a therapist, im even trying to ask you for the resources you're talking about to better understand the how/why of what's going on. You said "paradoxical mind" and its influence over the amygdala... im not a neuroscientist im just out here doing my best to live my life and manage my OCD. So FFS what are these studies and resources you've read that gave you all this insight into the mechanics of OCD? I know ERP+Meds can work and I know that ERP is the most important component of that. I made it clear in my post that I DONT want to take meds, so PLEASE share where all this information is!

@LRC - Look up Jon hershfield he is big on mindfulness with erp

@LRC - Consistency is key in recovery. The more you engage in therapy and do your homework the quicker you change neural plasticity. The more you practice the stronger the new neural pathways get.

@LRC - I want you to be aware of the paradox as it will help you with erp and develope good insight.