Advice Needed Please - please comment whatever you may think

Hi all,

I have OCD and have been having a rotten time of it.

I had been on citalopram for 2 years and found them to be effective.

But I tried to go back on (after only 2 days of the OCD "flaring up") and my god were the side effects ROUGH. I managed 18 days, culminating in suicidal urges.

After 24 hours off cit I felt a bit better. Yoga and meditation calmed my anxiety, but obviously it's not going to just disappear.

My worst thing is that I have horrible thoughts I'm going to hurt/kill my daughter - which I can't stand.

At the hospital, I was prescribed Seroxat. I took my first 10mg at about 2pm. Anxiety was already rife at that point, but obviously not sure what's "me" and what's the "citalopram".

Last night, I went to bed feeling "OK", but woke at about 3am drenched in sweat and in a panic. Again, could be me, could be the cit, but (and I dread) could be the seroxat.

Some people don't get heightened anxiety on Seroxat, but some do. Can I really cope with another few weeks of heightened anxiety? But can I deal with this without meds?

I really want some advice from fellow suffers - especially ones who suffer quite badly. Can it be done without meds? Do I have to live this hell to get out the other side? Please advise! Any comments would be so welcome.

I totally feel your pain! I've tried three meds (Saroxat, Mirtazapine and Cit) and couldn't deal with the side effects of any of them. At times, I feel so hopeless and wonder if it can be done without meds also. I know it can, but it just takes a lot more effort and time (and patience). Cit also had me waking me up in a panic and sweating, racing heart. I had my worse panic attack ever on that med. Saroxat gave me terrible nausea and dry heaving...tried to deal with it for 2 1/2 weeks but just couldn't take it anymore. Are you doing any therapy???

I'm doing some CBT.

Did Seroxat give you heightened anxiety? I think I can deal with other SEs, but NOT THAT!! (I know we're all different, but our reactions to cit seem to have been the same).

How does your OCD manifest?

No only cit gave me the hightened anxiety...with saroxat it was more of the intense stomach issues I couldn't handle. I have pretty severe health anxiety (haven't been diagnosed with OCD...although some doctors I've spoken with say that have obesessive thoughts about your health can be a form of OCD...I dunno) so I think that's why it''s really hard for me to stay on meds once the side effects kick in. I'm already so hyper-sensitive to my body that any new symptoms just really get to me.

all ssri s gave me worsened anxiety and uprooted harm ocd same kind as u which is a very common part off ocd i v been informed by many doc s !!
i did 8 weeks on sertaline , been off 11 weeks n still struggling!!
but not as bad as when i was on the evil lil ****ers.....
were all dif , i had every side effect poss.... but im trying and belive u can do it without , im hoping my anxiety calms down n my brain restores its self soon!! been a few months and it s all medicene induced coz i was just a bit sluggish before i went on meds!!
if u wanna chat pm me, xmas is spiking mine and im a woman and on my period which also heightens it all!! :( with good moods n humour u can conquer this crap hun , but ya head take s time to heal after taking stuff that makes it flare up!! good luck and speak soon lots of love :) xxx

hi , dont come off the meds , they take time to get in your system and work , if you do decide to stop taking them it has to be slow withdrawel over a long period of time or you wil go through hell . stick with it seroxit are pretty good better that citalapram , speak to your gp and ask for extra help they might also give you a drug that i take called tranzadone , they help you sleep and relieve anxiety there really good , good luck

---------- Post added at 22:57 ---------- Previous post was at 22:55 ----------

ps side effects are usually only at the begining of the course , they ware off in a few weeks

---------- Post added at 23:03 ---------- Previous post was at 22:57 ----------

Quote:

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Originally Posted by luv2teach

I totally feel your pain! I've tried three meds (Saroxat, Mirtazapine and Cit) and couldn't deal with the side effects of any of them. At times, I feel so hopeless and wonder if it can be done without meds also. I know it can, but it just takes a lot more effort and time (and patience). Cit also had me waking me up in a panic and sweating, racing heart. I had my worse panic attack ever on that med. Saroxat gave me terrible nausea and dry heaving...tried to deal with it for 2 1/2 weeks but just couldn't take it anymore. Are you doing any therapy???

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its a shame you didnt stick it out with the seroxit , the nausia is a sighn that the dopamin in your brain is getting released , after about 3 weeks that goes away , people give up on these meds without sticking it out , i did and theyve changed my life ...sometimes ya gotta take the ruff with the smooth :yahoo: