ocd - pure o - medication

[cofo]

i am having some of the worst ocd of my life right now. it's manifesting itself in HA/food safety as some of you may know.
I'm seriously considering trying lexapro, but am scared to death of it. I have had instrusive thoughts before, the what if i do this or that stuff, and ever since i read that the side effects could be suicidal or homicidal thoughts, or even drug psychosis, i am too terrified to take any SSRI. ( i did take paxil for a bout of depression for about 3 years, and it worked well. that was about 22 years ago though).

has anyone else had to deal with this fear? how did you handle it?

[RadioGaGa]

It's always good for me to read threads from our American friends. We very rarely use branded drugs in the UK anymore. We only use brand-specific in cases where the drug must be a certain brand (e.g. anti-epileptics) - so you're keeping my "brand name" knowledge up to date. Thanks!

Anyway, enough rambling from me

IMHO, the benefit outweighs the risk here. I think you should make an appointment with your doctor and request to start treatment. A combination of an SSRI + CBT etc. And don't forget No More Panic!

Unfortunately, part of health anxiety management (it's not something we're taught, I'm reading into it however) comes from managing "the unknown". Nobody knows what is around the corner and part of dealing with health anxiety is accepting that fact.

Good luck

[cofo]

It's always good for me to read threads from our American friends. We very rarely use branded drugs in the UK anymore. We only use brand-specific in cases where the drug must be a certain brand (e.g. anti-epileptics) - so you're keeping my "brand name" knowledge up to date. Thanks!

Anyway, enough rambling from me

IMHO, the benefit outweighs the risk here. I think you should make an appointment with your doctor and request to start treatment. A combination of an SSRI + CBT etc. And don't forget No More Panic!

Unfortunately, part of health anxiety management (it's not something we're taught, I'm reading into it however) comes from managing "the unknown". Nobody knows what is around the corner and part of dealing with health anxiety is accepting that fact.

Good luck

yes, the unknown is where the devil lies. if the side effect was not something so sinister, then, i could probably force myself to try it.
my therapist has tried to assure me that she doesn't see that as a risk for me, but of course, she can't know 100%.
i am thinking of booking an appt with a psychiatrist that knows more about medications (my therapist is not an MD) and perhaps get some reassurance.

does no one else on this board have this worry besides me?