Prozac Issue not sure what to do next

Hi I posted my experience in another forum about a month ago but no dice. I figured since I am being treated for OCD I should be in this forum.

I finally went to see a psychologist about 7 weeks ago and they prescribed Prozac. He said there are better drugs for OCD (he mentioned a "gold standard" but I forget what it was). Started me on 20 mg.

Overall the only side effects that are truly annoying is the dry mouth and the weak urination. But if I drink a gallon of water things seem to work. I also have a reduced sex drive but again, things seem to work with a little "coaxing".

During the first week, I started to get into a better mood. Less agitation around people and I started to get along with my family. One problem I had was anxiety around people, a feeling impatience. That seemed to go away. But Google said it was probably a placebo effect.

During week 2, no change until the end. It was almost like switch turned on. My mind went blank and for the first time in my life, everything was quiet. This lasted for four days. I never knew a mind could be so quiet!

Then during week 3, I completely crashed. The clouds washed back over, my mind started chattering again and the meds simply stopped working. So I went back and the doc assured me this was normal and cranked it up to 40 mg. Two days later, the effects kicked in again but not as powerful as week 2.

At the end of week 6 (last week) I went back again and I said it was almost working, my mind was relatively quiet. He cranked it up to 60 mg. That was on Thurs.

I am less anxious around people and able to stay in conversation much longer without switching to some silly thought process. But sometimes the medicine wanes and I find myself stuck in another loop. Things are quieter but not nearly as quiet as week 2/3.

Then last night and today, the meds seemed to be failing. OCD is back today for some reason. Is this normal to have relapses? Or is the dose too strong? Should I dial it back to 40? How long should I give it? Any help here would be great. Please and thank you for your time.

You were prescribed an antidepressant for an anxiety disorder? Have you ever been on any other prescription drugs for OCD?

No. I've dealt with it for 20 + years and finally decided to get treatment when the thoughts became too intrusive to concentrate.

Prozac is used for OCD, usually in high doses it works well for some, although it did not suit me.
It can take up to 8 weeks to fully kick in.
Unfortunately it's simply a trial & error thing with meds till you find the one that suits you.

I take Paroxetine which works well for me.

My OCD is pretty much under control now, only becoming a problem if I'm stressed like say I had a job interview, then I struggle a bit but nothing like as bad as it used to be.

I'm impressed that you've coped on your own for 20 years!

Hi

I replied in your other thread if you want to take a look

Cracked

take some rest, go out and stop thinking too much or at all , you can try some thing traditional , like yoga, it is good for both physical and mental health and peace.. Do some exercises if you're lazy, make a routine, .. keep writing of any progress.......... read books , listen to music, stop worrying, do anything, keep moving , if nothing helps keep complaining, when tired you will automatically forget, that's life you can't keep laughing or crying all the time, if you need help help the helpless, try to do or learn something new , when you' have learned something you would be able to help yourself and others, do anything you liked but left doing, talk sensible talk stupid , solution would come out, darkness is only until you keep your eyes closed, enjoy what you have.........

I have a mood disorder (altho I say it's Bipolar but my Doc disagrees) and I have OCD/Trichtillomania.
My doctor prescribed me Prozac first to help with regulating my moods (it helped it the past) and also for treatment of the OCD/hair pulling. I got up to 60mg and it stopped working. My obsessive thoughts have come back tenfold and I've been pulling more than usual. I let her know this at my last appointment and she prescribed me, Fluvoxamine AKA Luvox, is that the medication that your doctor was referring to? That might be what you'll ultimately work up to but they will not know that you need to move onto another medication until they see how you react at higher levels of Prozac. She wasn't seeing much change in me from 20mg-60mg, so I assume she figured that 80 wouldn't help either. I'm praying that the Fluvoxamine works as I'm tired of obsessive thoughts and hair pulling. It's debilitating.

Thanks for all your replies, I did find them useful and yes Cracked, I saw your reply in teh other thread, thanks.

When I was a kid I used to do things in threes and I counted all the time. Then one day, when I was like 13, I read a book (because we didn't have Internet back then) which told me to challenge the voice and make it prove something bad will happen. When I did that, I quickly learned nothing bad will happen and I stopped obeying the OCD. But the thoughts were always there. Mostly rejection based.

It got to a point where the intensity was so strong, it would stop me dead in my tracks, like I'd literally stop in a hallway just to process an irrational thought process. That's when I knew I had problems.

The Prozac has done a lot for me. I know longer get lost in conversations due to a thought process and I can focus on tasks, when I have a task to do. But then sometimes the thoughts just BURST thru the barrier. It's like, I think I feel it working hard, but just off frequency--if that makes any sense.

cola1016 wrote:I have a mood disorder (altho I say it's Bipolar but my Doc disagrees) and I have OCD/Trichtillomania.
My doctor prescribed me Prozac first to help with regulating my moods (it helped it the past) and also for treatment of the OCD/hair pulling. I got up to 60mg and it stopped working. My obsessive thoughts have come back tenfold and I've been pulling more than usual. I let her know this at my last appointment and she prescribed me, Fluvoxamine AKA Luvox, is that the medication that your doctor was referring to? That might be what you'll ultimately work up to but they will not know that you need to move onto another medication until they see how you react at higher levels of Prozac. She wasn't seeing much change in me from 20mg-60mg, so I assume she figured that 80 wouldn't help either. I'm praying that the Fluvoxamine works as I'm tired of obsessive thoughts and hair pulling. It's debilitating.

Yes it's Luvvox. I just got out of the docs and sitting in the pharmacy.

He said doesn't want to switch it quit yet because I am experiencing good effects from the Prozac. The only chief complaint I really have is constant ruminating about social events.

So he added Klonopin. 5 mg twice a day. Let's give it a whirl!

How is the Luvox working out for you?? It's been about 4 hours since I popped a Klonopin... I'm pretty tired. But the ruminating is at an all time low.