This is just a whinge really, nothing very helpful I'm afraid.

I've been prescribed Lofepramine, after Citalopram failed to achieve very much. I've been on three doses of it at various points:

- 210mg/day: I'm so spaced out that it may be true that my OCD is less bad. The problem is I that can't work properly or keep a thought in my head, and have no energy whatsoever.

- 140mg/day: my OCD is unshiftable, so I can't function properly in social situations, but when I'm on my own I feel calm and, although depressed, not despairing.

- 70mg/day: similar to 140mg except that on occasions I could forget myself sufficiently almost to enjoy being among people. The down side is that when the OCD gets a grip on me I feel REALLY down and REALLY stressed.

- 0mg/day: I can sometimes go for several minutes, in the right company, without the OCD emerging. I have lots of energy and can enjoy company, BUT when the OCD comes the stress is intolerable, manifesting as headaches and stomach cramp. I'm subject to feelings of despair.

I just wish there was some way out of this. It's doing my head in. I've forgotten what it's like to be able to smile, or not to walk around with constant pressure in my head :(

The usual cycle is that I come off the drugs for a while, feel better in some ways, but then something happens which fills me with despair and I go back on the drugs, not because they help with the OCD - as I said, in some ways they make it worse - but just because they numb the despair.

I would be interested to know what experience other people have of varying their doses but mainly I'm just posting here to whinge

Cheers,

F