i hv been on cipralex for 4 years (please help)

[mecklon]

i have been on cipralex for 4 yrs for OCD.i take 5mg every night after food.for the first two years i used to take 10 mg every day.since i hv intrusive taughts my doctor asked me to up my dosage.But i m so scared to take the medication as i knw it affects the brain chemistry.doctor tells me this is my worry/ocd towards the medication.i still have concern whether taking the medication for so long can damage my brain in anyway.i m an indian guy 20years old who goes to collage my parents r of indian culture and believe that going to doctor every month is waste of money.so i am forced to visit doctor only after every 3 months.this time in between causes anxiety in my mind thinking that i m taking the medication without consulting with the doctor as my parents wont allow me to meet the doctor every month.my question is it ok to visit my Doctor every 3 months and keep on taking 5 mg cipralex without consulting with my Doctor every month and if taking cipralex for so long affect me or damage my brain functioning?(in my case 4years and the doctor has asked me take my medication till my education is over).i have this concern for long so please help me with this and has anyone here been taking cipralex for as long as me?and wen i take the medication i feel headache.plz help

[mecklon]

please guys help me..i m very concerned that taking this medication for so long might damage me

[debs71]

Hi,

I've been on the same medication as you - on and off - for the past 10 years now, and I do not feel in any way,shape or form it has 'damaged my brain'. That is just not how SSRI drugs work.

All they do is increase the level of serotonin in the brain to the level you require it, that is all. If you had a physical problem, you would not think twice about taking a medication to treat it, for as long as you have to, and taking a medication for a mental health problem is just the same.

There are people who have been on these type of meds for decades, and I guess that they too would say that they have seen little to no ill effects or recognizable damage in taking them that long.

Also, 5mg is a tiny, tiny dose. It is virtually nothing. I have been taking 10mg for several years now, and that too is STILL a small dose.....no big deal.

Try not to worry, but if anything, I would wonder if 5mg is really too little for you, as I get the impression your anxiety is not being helped by that dose?