I’m starting Mamentine (Namenda)this week to see if it will work on excess glutamate in the synapses. Is anyone else taking this medication? Hope to see better response than SSRI’s.

Cool, I will check it out. I am going to call it a night, but I will keep you posted on my progress. You hang in there too!

No, but I am very interested to see if it works for you! Will you comment on this post in a few weeks to let us know how it goes?

Thanks, good luck! I hope it works!

Underway at 5 mg.

Are you also in an SSRI currently?

Thanks for the update! Hoping it kicks in for you.

I am too. There was a guy on this app several months ago who was taking Mamentine. He said it was a game changer for him. I wish I knew what dose he was taking. I will keep you posted on my progress!

Thanks! Looking forward to the next update, hang in there!

A little, it isn’t my main spike theme.

My main spike is ROCD, but I do have a significant amount of contamination as well.

Hey Noleguy, haven’t heard from you in awhile....everything going ok?

Hanging in there! Holding at 10 mg Mamentine. No changes, no side effects. But my primary doctor will not let me go higher dosage. So I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist. Apparently he has more freedom to try different things. I expect to see some great improvements in 2019. How are things with you? Thanks for following up with me!

Back and Forth, but I’m hanging in there!

In my experience, psychiatrist know their stuff about this much more than primary docs.

So far I have found that mental health professionals know very little about OCD. Supposedly the specialist I will meet at the end of the month is very knowledgeable about OCD. Glad you are hanging in there.

Ha a really good past few weeks! How are you?

Good luck! My psych has been great and really seems to understand OCD, hopefully yours will too!

BTW Noleguy, I was reading that Memantine typically works best for OCD when it is combined along with an SSRI. I know you said you had issues with them in the past, but maybe the Memantine would make it more effective.

Thank you! I heard that too. I will definitely ask my doctor about it tomorrow. Supposedly he is good at mixing up meds to get a positive response. I will keep you posted. I hope that you continue to see improvements!

Trying a prescription supplement called L - Methylfolate to see if it helps convert amino acid to seratonin across blood brain barrier. New psychiatrist says he has couple folks with contamination OCD who have benefited. Will try for couple weeks before follow up appointment. Best of all, these are free samples. I am somewhat encouraged by this doc.

I think I have read some good stuff about that! Are you staying in the Memantine as well?

I think what I was thinking of was L-theanine or something like that.

Maybe it will help since he has some anecdotal experience with other ocd patients.

I hope so! I will keep you posted. I hope you continue to do well. Thanks so much for checking in with me!

Day 4 taking 15mg Deplin, aka L-Methylfolate. This might be working as I just came home from a place that was previously deemed “contaminated.” And I peculiarly feel ok. Hmmmm....

That’s awesome! Did he say how long it would take for it to start working?

Standby while I look it up

Is it genesight?

It is the MTHFR test (DNA). For me, I am homozygous for the C677T mutation, causing methylation issues (converting amino acid to seratonin).

My new psychiatrist offered me to get tested by Genesight, but I am going to ask if this blood test is sufficient. Genesight is a bit pricey so I will avoid if possible.

Is it still going well on the deplin?

Yeah, about the same. I have appointment on Wednesday and will probably add an SSRI to go with Deplin. I was hoping Deplin alone would work, but think SSRI would help.

From what I have been reading, Deplin helps SSRI be more effective.

I’m going to ask my psych about it next time, or at least ask about the test.

It’s also worth the money so that you don’t have to do so much trial and error with different SSRIs!

But if it can help determine best path for success, it will be worth it

But I have read a lot of good things about Deplin when used with appropriate SSRI.

I will let you know how it goes on Wednesday!

Have you tried any ERP therapy?

A little, but it was half-hearted. I had to do some ERP last Saturday when I had to go to a place my brain deemed contaminated. And I did better than I thought

I get therapy via Skype through an OCD center out of NYC because there aren’t many therapists where I live (Nashville area) who specialize in OCD. Here is a link if you are interested. https://www.cognitivebehavioralcenter.com

Your appointment go well?

Yes. Doc says from his experience, it takes about 12 weeks for his patients to see improvement. With that in mind, we are going to hold on introducing a SSRI to see if Deplin alone can stop my OCD...

He gave me a prescription for Deplin so I am going to give it a go until next appointment in April. Doc says 15mg Deplin is considered to be a high dosage amount.

Hey! Good to hear from you. I hope the Prozac works well! You may have to work up to a high dose, but the decline should help give it a boost with the folate

I’m making progress, this book is really helpful and it has a huge section on contamination: https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder-Personalized/dp/042527389X/ref=nodl_

I will!

No SSRI. Didn’t seem to work and it made me drowsy all the time.

Almost one week at 5 mg Mamentine. No changes noticed, but also no side effects either. May go up to 10 mg this week with doctor’s ok.

Going up to 10 mg Memantine tomorrow! No side effects, no change in OCD after 10 days!

Hope you are hanging in there too!

Redhawks, do you have contamination OCD too?

Redhawks, you hanging in there? How are you doing with your OCD?

Great to hear about your success! Keep moving forward, Redhawk! I am meeting a new psychiatrist on Wednesday, so I am cautiously optimistic. I have lots of questions for him. Supposedly he is very good, but I wonder if he has met someone like me??? ?

Yes, he is keeping me at 10mg, but he doesn’t think Memantine is the answer. Under his guidance, I will probably come off Memantine. I am curious if L-methylfolate will help.

In all of my OCD research, I have never come across L-methylfolate.

It varies. I’ve been reading reviews about Deplin on drugs.com. Some saw instant improvement while others saw improvements anywhere from weeks to months. I went through some old lab results and I have genetic mutation that would point to having issues converting amino acid to seratonin.

This could explain why I didn’t have success with a SSRI, I didn’t have enough seratonin to begin with.

That’s makes perfect sense! What lab test shows you those things?

This was a blood test that I took last year by another doctor.

How are you progressing with your OCD?

Ask about the MTHFR test by having blood drawn. The Genesight DNA test is supposed to show which SSRI May be more effective and which ones are not. I will have swab of my cheek done on Wednesday

So, you are doing the genesight on Wednesday?

Yes. Basically having cheek swabbed and they send away for analysis. It’s pricey, but I can have price reduced greatly since my household income is waaay less than $150,000.

Should be no more than $300, at least that is what I am told

Thanks! I will check out the link!

You can probably ask your physician about getting your blood tested for the MTHFR to see if your brain has any issues converting amino acid to seratonin.

Seems like there would be some OCD specialists in the Nashville area. That’s a big metropolitan area.

Check out this link about Deplin! https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/therese-borchard-sanity-break/folate-depression-mthfr-gene-mutations/

In this case, I switch out depression for obsessive compulsive disorder.

No Genesight testing at this time. Blood work showing homozygous mutation is sufficient.

Redhawks, I had appointment with doctor today. After 12 weeks using Deplin, I am going to start taking Prozac 10mg for two weeks before moving up to 20 mg. Didn’t see any improvements with taking Deplin without a SSRI. Hope you are doing well!

Deplin*

That’s what I am hoping. I was hoping Deplin alone would do the trick, but it didn’t. Although some of the reviews indicated that it could take longer than 12 weeks to kick in.

Are you having success with your OCD battle?