Anxious about Seratonin syndrome

Hi there, I have recently been diagnosed with OCD, and was discussing treatment with my doctor. The psychiatrist that diagnosed me said that I could try CBT first before jumping on medication but if things get to hard that I should start taking medication. My doctor wants me start medication alongside CBT, however I'm really anxious about seratonin syndrome, I've read about the symptoms and it's freaked me out to the point of not wanting to take medication. Should I be worried about this? Is this a common occurrence? If anyone knows about this your help would be greatly appreciated.

Dear MIC:

I took Zoloft, an SSRI, for 17 years, for OCD, as well as other psych meds. They did not improve my life those 17 years whatsoever. In the beginning I felt that Zoloft was working, as a matter of fact, the same day, but could be the placebo affect. Getting off those took me a couple of years of failed efforts and misery. I was finally able to get off those following CBT with a focus on Mindfulness. It is this psychotherapy that improved and is improving my life, not all those drugs I took.

atina

Hi Atina, glad to hear that CBT is working well for you that's awesome! 17 years is a long time, did they take the edge of your OCD symptoms, or didn't work at all? I really want to try CBT and exposure and response prevention, my Dr says the meds plus CBT will give me an extra push, but really want to try fight this drug free. I'm freaked out by seratonin syndrome it sounds nasty. I kknow it's probably just my anxiety and OCD causing me to be anxious about this, but I feel if I take medication it's going to raise my anxiety even more because I'll be thinking about what if I get seratonin syndrome or any of the other Medications side effects

Dear MIC:

At first, when I started taking Zoloft I felt better but then I got into a fight a few days later and ended up a few days in jail. I read that it is a ... side effect when beginning Zoloft ! After jail, well, my life was often a blur. Zoloft agitated me (cause for fight)- so the psych added Klonipin and an anti psychotic, to take away the agitation. The combination kept me kind of numb, maybe. But my life situation got worse over the years, my destructive behaviors continued. Getting off those drugs was terrible, heavy duty anxiety attacks.

I didn't have significant psychotherapy until a few years ago and then, as I wrote, it was extremely difficult to get off the drugs, especially the Klonipin, I think. It is hard to know because there were three drugs to wean off.

If you can avoid drugs altogether, please do! It was NOT worth it for me!!!

atina

Hi Atina, that sounds tough, glad psychotherapy is making a better impact. Can medications completely numb you out? So is it like feeling less emotional about things? If you don't mind me asking what time of CBT are you doing? Is it exposure and response prevention? I'm in the process of switching psychologists, I'm trying to find someone who specializes in OCD treatment. I'm also reading You Are Not Your Brain by Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Rebecca Cladding, and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. These books are great and are giving me some great skills to use.

Dear M1C:

I experienced a lot of numbing with psychiatric meds but still felt distressed often enough. It is confusing in that I took those for 17 years. At first I felt better right away, elated. Problem is I felt that way the moment I swallowed the Zoloft, too soon (placebo effect, I am thinking). Then there were the other two types of drugs and I don't know which did what. I was able to ask for and receive the maximum dose of each. Actually I took 400 mg Zoloft per day which is unheard of. It was not a perfect numbing or feel good. It always helped psychologically to take something for my distress, as if it was working. Then the brain adjusts and changes in types and dosages are made and... I am clueless as to what the hell went on. It was easy and cheap for me to get those drugs. And then I got addicted and getting off them (Klonipin mostly I think, but again, there were three...) was as scary as hell, attacks of anxiety where I crawled on all four and thought I would need to be hospitalized for psychosis.

As far as the CBT, it was not oriented toward OCD but toward BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder, so it was not the kinds you mentioned.

Of the two books you mentioned I read The Power of Now and at the time I read it, I thought it was great.

There is a lot I learned from personal experience about my OCD. If you want you can get my comments on other threads on the OCD forum in the last few months or so.

Take care and write again, if you'd like.

atina