|
BluePixieWaves



Registered: 12/19/09
Posts: 1,833
Last seen: 4 years, 8 months
|
Prescribed SSRI's For OCD
#14390508 - 05/02/11 06:48 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Has anyone here whos had OCD benefited from SSRI's? I was suggested Prozac, Zoloft, and Lexpro.
I read on Wikipedia that Zoloft showed the most success in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Personal experiences?
--------------------
Edited by BluePixieWaves (05/02/11 07:58 PM)
|
BluePixieWaves



Registered: 12/19/09
Posts: 1,833
Last seen: 4 years, 8 months
|
|
Anyone?
--------------------
|
ManianFH
living in perverty


Registered: 07/06/04
Posts: 14,831
Last seen: 50 minutes, 10 seconds
|
|
Hey there Pixie, I feel like Ive spoken with you about this in the past? How long have you been dealing with the OCD behavior? On a scale of 1-10 how bad do the obsessions/compulsions/anxiety get? And how often during a given day do you feel like you are dealing with thoughts that feel out of your control?
This is how I feel, and it doesnt have a alot of empirical support; rather it is from my own personal experience in dealing with OCD, please take it as opinion:
Meds can be somewhat helpful when in conjunction with behavioral therapy. The pills don't do a whole lot to stop the OCD, contrary to what you may have been told, but rather the medication is there to suppress the feelings you experience from the behaviors occurring in your mind, both those you can and cant control. This makes it easier for patients to focus on Behavioral modification methods so they can replace the unwanted behaviors with more productive ones, then get off the meds.
If your physician/therapist isnt working on a plan like that for you, then Id get a new therapist and off the meds. I hated the feeling of being medicated. Made life feel like it was 2 zones of reality away. I recommend you purchase the Mind and The Brain, and read through that surgically-written book on the topic of OCD, and really apply yourself to the methods detailed within. I wouldn't say it cured me of my OCD, but it helped me gain invaluable insight into the mechanisms behind OCD, and gave me more tools to be able to cure myself, though all I essentially did was replace OCD thoughts/behaviors with productive ones, such as learning to refocus my attention whenever I needed.
-------------------- notapillow said: "you are going about this endeavor all wrong. clear your mind of useless fear and concern. buy the ticket, take the ride, and all that.... " ChrisWho said: "It's all about the journey, not the destination."
|
BluePixieWaves



Registered: 12/19/09
Posts: 1,833
Last seen: 4 years, 8 months
|
Re: Prescribed SSRI's For OCD [Re: ManianFH]
#14395050 - 05/03/11 03:50 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
My psychiatrist is trying to work me through my OCD with medication and Behavioral Therapy which I think should help more than going without any medication. I don't really know though.
I've been dealing with OCD for about 3-4 four years now and it's been progressively getting worse. I'd rate my OCD at about 5 to 7 on some of my worse days. On any given day I'll deal with compulsive thoughts throughout most of my day. I'd really like to just stop giving in to the compulsions which I've tried and have been successful with but it left me in a strange state. I felt as if I had lost something and had become unhinged.
My compulsions are all based off the fear that somehow I'll loose myself or become someone else.
Sometimes it can be really inhibiting because just the act of getting my guitar out of its case can bring on compulsions.
--------------------
|
ManianFH
living in perverty


Registered: 07/06/04
Posts: 14,831
Last seen: 50 minutes, 10 seconds
|
|
Pretty common OCD thought you described there, you're definitely not alone man. If you feel it might be helpful, go for it with the meds, but put a lot of effort into the techniques you learn as tools to work with; those are going to be what help you long term.
Keep it in your head that what you're experiencing are neural behaviors, and you have the ability to change the patterns of neural behaviors through your own actions. Just like you get better with practice if you were to play the guitar, you get better at dismissing OCD thoughts as neural-patterns the more you practice. Whats interesting is that with continued effort, those neurons that have designated themselves as OCD stimulated neurons (the ones that say would light up on an MRI when you are having an OCD episode) stop becoming stimulated the less you reinforce them, and eventually new neuronal patterns that you reinforce (say choosing to refocus your attention to something else rather than give significance to an OCD thought) will become the dominant pattern of neural behavior. The more you focus on changing, the more youre going to change.
Those uneasy feelings you have when you resist a compulsion occur because your brain is not used to such a response, and anxiety is the result. That primitive side of your brain that was designed to activate when animals, including us, were in a life/death situation, to keep us on our toes and safe, is now misfiring because we trick ourselves into thinking lifting a guitar up the wrong way is somehow associated with danger. It goes away the more you practice, but it can be really hard at first.
Try and understand the mechanisms at work though.. the thoughts themselves are somewhat meaningless, its all in the mental processes behind the thoughts.
Its late and im rambling, im sure thats a lot to digest right now. Let me know if any of it is making sense. And im serious man, pick up this book and read it, there is a great little tool within called the four steps of refocusing that is very insightful and helpful, and they go into GREAT detail on how it is intended to work; its spot on IMO. Ill also try and look for a video on anxiety in the animal kingdom, and its relation to humans, I came across years ago and get it back up here, couldnt find it tonight though.
In the meantime, have hope man. It is one of the greatest feelings to be free from this shit, especially when you know how it used to have a hold on you in the past. Its totally possible.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060988479/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0060393556&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0JB9HMXWZZC8MV30KQ86
-------------------- notapillow said: "you are going about this endeavor all wrong. clear your mind of useless fear and concern. buy the ticket, take the ride, and all that.... " ChrisWho said: "It's all about the journey, not the destination."
|
BluePixieWaves



Registered: 12/19/09
Posts: 1,833
Last seen: 4 years, 8 months
|
Re: Prescribed SSRI's For OCD [Re: ManianFH]
#14400149 - 05/04/11 02:08 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Thanks for the feedback. I'll get to reading that book.
--------------------
|
|