hi... I really need help

Hello, I hope this is the right place to post this :\

I'm 19 and I have had OCD for around five years now,along with many other medical problems. It really seemed to start
with my meniere's disease, which started when I was 13, and got progressively worse from there. I think I might have "pure o", I'm always worrying, all the time, and sometimes because of this my thoughts get into a really bad "looping" mode for lack of a better term.. there are just so many things I could list. I feel so horrible as well, my health is in a very bad state and though I have accomplished a lot despite being sick I am very depressed, I just want to stop it all and feel lighter again. I have extremely loud and constant tinnitus, and sometimes it feels like I just can't think at all. It's very hard to get to sleep, I'm a really bad insomniac. I feel like I'm stuck and I don't know how to help myself, sometimes I worry that my mind is never going to be the same, my body is always sore, and I've lost a lot of the hearing in my right ear to Meniere's. I just don't know what to do. I've tried talking to my parents about the OCD before, but they seemed to think that it would just go away (my mom told me that the counting is "normal") and I never told them about my symptoms in detail. sometimes I pick at my skin, sometimes I can't stop pulling out my hair. I feel like I'm at the edge of my sanity. We moved to this new city about a year ago, and I'm so lonely. The past 2 semesters (both of high school and university) I have had to drop out of, and restart, because I have been unable to keep up with my work (I can't concentrate at all these days, and my health is very bad.) I am afraid to go to a psychiatrist or psychologist because I am not terribly comfortable with the idea of taking the medication that they sometimes prescribe; I did try an antidepressant a few years ago, for the depression, but I was very put off by how it made me feel. Is there anything else I can do? I really need help but I don't know where to go. Sorry this post has been so long.. thanks so much

Hi, lutelyrelit! Welcome to the forum. Maybe you didn't get the right med the last time, or the right doctor. Your parents should be more supportive about this. It must be very difficult for you. Posting here is a start and it always calms me down if I've talked to someone about my problems. Maybe working out a bit would help you as well.

Hi lutelyrelit and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering so much from your Meniere's and that your parents don't seem to be concerned about helping with your OCD traits. Besides the tinnitus, hearing loss and insomnia, do you also experience vertigo and headaches related to your Meniere's? Any type of chronic pain condition, or one that interferes with sleep, can cause anxiety... which in turn can result in the development of OCD traits and behaviors in an effort to control the pain and anxiety.

You might want to talk to your parents a little more strongly about seeing a psychologist to help you with your pain-related OCD. Don't ask them whether you have OCD, just tell them you have it and that you need help. Whether a psych determines that you have fullblown OCD or not, you are aware that your obsessive thoughts are causing you real distress and interfering with the quality of your life... that's all you need to justify getting some help (bravo to you for recognizing it). Your trichotillomania (picking at your skin and pulling your hair) alone is enough to justify getting professional help.

I've been on psych meds and either they don't work well for me, I have adverse side effects, or I can't take them because of other health issues. Do you remember which meds you took before? It's possible that it was just the wrong one for you, the wrong dosage, or the wrong family of meds altogether. A recent study has shown that only six antidepressants helped with OCD symptoms at all: fluvoxamine (Luvox), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa), and clomipramine (Anafranil). These are in the class of SSRIs except clomipramine (Anafranil), which is a tricyclic and has been prescribed for OCD the longest.

Because I am so sensitive to pharmaceuticals, my psych and doctor are trying a holistic approach with the help of a nutritionist. We're adjusting my diet, vitamin and mineral supplements, and trying non-pharmaceutical treatments such as accupressure and yoga/meditation. Taking pills isn't the only treatment for many conditions, and if you're not comfortable taking medications there are other options available if you stand your ground and search for a sympathetic doctor willing to try alternative methods.

Hi,

Great advise plick.

There one more anti-D med that worked well for me Wellbutrin,
Bubproprieon as the generic, it is a very old med but while on it
I stopped always need to check things and counting too.

hope everything works out. Sorry you family are not supportive of you. my mom is the same way, She knows I have some real health issues but she does not want to hear the names of them.

keep fighting for your needs, and love thy self.
all else should fall in to place(i hope )

peace.
red