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Thread: Fear of contamination from medication

  1. #1

    Fear of contamination from medication

    Now I posted on here before in the year about contamination from caffeine and alcohol and the possibility of the slightest amount entering my system making me panic.

    I have made great strides against this over the course of the year but something happened the other week that has set me right back almost to square one. My girlfriend is pretty much going to leave me and I can't blame her.

    After the caffeine and alcohol thing I stopped kissing her and would wash my hands obsessively when I come into contact with either substance. I got over this over time by exposing myself to it in gradual ways.

    Now my girlfriend regularly takes codeine and she asked to use my drink to swallow the tablet.

    I said yes of course and thought this is a great chance of for exposure.

    What followed was a night of intense anxiety. It didn't let up for hours until I googled it I thought it could possibly kill me because of other drugs I'm on.

    I know this is highly irrational but it's getting worse it stated on Google it would wear off after 4 hours so the anxiety eased but now I have fears that certain surfaces may have the substance on it and tonight she passed me a used tablet packet to put in the bin.

    I thouht it'll be fine just wash your hands and it'll be gone but now I'm obsessing about it still being on my hand and I don't want to eat with that hand.

    I actually phoned the crisis team today to ask to be admitted and they just stated that I'm getting CBT that should help.

    I feel exasperated and overwhelmed by this as well as some intrusive thoughts.

    I don't know how to get over this as I cannot expose myself to opiates.

    Thanks for any replies

  2. #2
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    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    Quote Originally Posted by Hre2stay View Post
    Now I posted on here before in the year about contamination from caffeine and alcohol and the possibility of the slightest amount entering my system making me panic.

    I have made great strides against this over the course of the year but something happened the other week that has set me right back almost to square one. My girlfriend is pretty much going to leave me and I can't blame her.

    After the caffeine and alcohol thing I stopped kissing her and would wash my hands obsessively when I come into contact with either substance. I got over this over time by exposing myself to it in gradual ways.

    Now my girlfriend regularly takes codeine and she asked to use my drink to swallow the tablet.

    I said yes of course and thought this is a great chance of for exposure.

    What followed was a night of intense anxiety. It didn't let up for hours until I googled it I thought it could possibly kill me because of other drugs I'm on.

    I know this is highly irrational but it's getting worse it stated on Google it would wear off after 4 hours so the anxiety eased but now I have fears that certain surfaces may have the substance on it and tonight she passed me a used tablet packet to put in the bin.

    I thouht it'll be fine just wash your hands and it'll be gone but now I'm obsessing about it still being on my hand and I don't want to eat with that hand.

    I actually phoned the crisis team today to ask to be admitted and they just stated that I'm getting CBT that should help.

    I feel exasperated and overwhelmed by this as well as some intrusive thoughts.

    I don't know how to get over this as I cannot expose myself to opiates.

    Thanks for any replies
    Sorry to hear your GF is about to walk when you probably need her most.

    Of course, you are being ridiculous and epically irrational, but that's OCD for you (I have it too)

    I'd be interested in what led up to this 'relapse'? It's helpful to look beyond an 'event' to find out the trigger.

    I hope CBT helps you.
    __________________
    A thought is harmless unless we believe it.

  3. #3

    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    Quote Originally Posted by NoraB View Post
    Sorry to hear your GF is about to walk when you probably need her most.

    Of course, you are being ridiculous and epically irrational, but that's OCD for you (I have it too)

    I'd be interested in what led up to this 'relapse'? It's helpful to look beyond an 'event' to find out the trigger.

    I hope CBT helps you.
    Well I have panic disorder and really bad anxiety. I'm not sure that it's OCD as I've never been diagnosed with OCD even though I recognise these are OCD like traits but having read up on it it states that if you haven't developed OCD by your late teens the chances are you won't.

    I have been agoraphobic before recovered and then became agoraphobic again. The anxiety would come and go regardless I think if I analyse it properly from an outsiders point of view it is my way of making sense of seemingly spontaneous anxiety.

    I have always tried to link whatever makes me panicor feel anxious to something so then I can avoid it but I've found the more I avoid the more anxious I become.

    I'm just not sure how to get over this one.

    I mean the same logic applies to caffeine and alcohol but since I became comfortable using alcohol on skin again and making cups of coffee for other people then this happened the old things I was avoiding like caffeine and alcohol are starting to crop up again. It seems like to me avoidance is become worse than anxiety or is reinforcing it but sometimes I just feel like I don't have the strength to push on and do things without handwashing and it seems easier to just escape.

    It's a tough one I'm battling a lot of things all at once at the moment.

    Thanks for replying

  4. #4
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    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    Quote Originally Posted by Hre2stay View Post
    It's a tough one I'm battling a lot of things all at once at the moment.
    Fear of contamination is classic OCD.

    Your thread title says it all: Fear of contamination from medication.
    __________________
    A thought is harmless unless we believe it.

  5. #5

    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    If you have experience with it I know you are not a doctor but how do I try and deconstruct these silly thoughts that the smallest amount of codeine or other medication could be disastrous? I know I'm asking a lot and I'm sorry I just have noone to talk to about it.

  6. #6
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    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    Quote Originally Posted by Hre2stay View Post
    If you have experience with it I know you are not a doctor but how do I try and deconstruct these silly thoughts that the smallest amount of codeine or other medication could be disastrous? I know I'm asking a lot and I'm sorry I just have noone to talk to about it.
    You need therapy. OCD presents differently in different people. Mine is a fire/checking thing with some pretty obsessive thoughts - like I've run someone over when I haven't etc.

    Are you getting CBT now? Or are you on the list?
    __________________
    A thought is harmless unless we believe it.

  7. #7

    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    Yeah I'm on a list. I wish I could just get the tools they use and apply them myself. I've been trying exposure on my own but it's difficult without a bit of structure to it.

  8. #8
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    Re: Fear of contamination from medication

    Quote Originally Posted by Hre2stay View Post
    Yeah I'm on a list. I wish I could just get the tools they use and apply them myself. I've been trying exposure on my own but it's difficult without a bit of structure to it.
    I think exposure therapy is great, and it works for me, but you need guidance.

    When you finally see a therapist, or, if you have to do an assessment first (like I did) you must tell them about this obsession because they need to know exactly what the problems are in order to treat you effectively.
    __________________
    A thought is harmless unless we believe it.

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