Posted by Cindy W on April 30, 2000, at 20:24:54
In reply to OCD without the C, posted by Snowie on April 30, 2000, at 18:32:48
> My pdoc of 5 years has recently decided that along with GAD, an occasional panic attack, and agoraphobia (all controlled with Xanax, although I'm considering switching to Klonopin in the future), I have OCD, but without the C. In other words, he thinks I have uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts, but without being compulsive. Needless to say, I was quite shocked to hear that for the first time in 5 years!
>
> Since I live alone, I don't have anyone to talk to or to get feedback about things that bother or worry me, so I often express these thoughts to my friends and family members, but I don't think they rise to the level of obsessiveness. However, I'm not ruling it out just yet. My pdoc sees me for 5-10 minutes every other month or so, and believes that the information I have gleaned from the Internet has made me ambivalent, and that my only source of information should come from him. I personally think that's poppycock, but I've decided to go with this new assessment for the moment. He has given me a starter pack of 10 mg. of Prozac for the first two weeks, and 20 mg. of Prozac for the two weeks after that. I also take about 3 mg. of Xanax per day. What exactly are obsessive thoughts? Can you have OCD without the C? If his assessment is correct, what can I expect from Prozac?
>
> Also, according to the link below, I don't have OCD. I have an appointment with a new pdoc this Thursday, and hopefully he'll be able to give me some new insight.
>
> http://www.ocfoundation.org/ocf1070a.htm
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
> SnowieHi, Snowie! I have OCD (both the obsessions, and compulsions). I worry constantly and cannot control my thoughts, which make me count over and over, hum songs for hours and hours, repeat stupid activities like checking things, and I also have a feeling of overresponsibility (so I hoard worthless things and also "collect" living things; right now, it's treefrogs). I don't know if your thoughts qualify as "obsessions." People can have just the obsessions without the compulsions. Frequently, the thoughts have aggressive, religious, or sexual content, as you probably noticed from the OCFoundation site. What matters is whether they are time-consuming, cause you distress, and/or interfere with your daily life greatly (social life, work, etc). SSRI's are often used for both OCD and for depression. Many pdocs unfortunately don't know too much about OCD yet (at least yours has heard of it, which is a step!). Prozac is often used to decrease obsessive thoughts; if it's the right med, the thoughts don't keep going around in your head and your brain gets "quiet" (this is what Effexor-XR does for me; I've tried Prozac, Luvox, Serzone, and Zoloft). Usually the dose of the AD has to be higher than for depression, however; they don't know why. Keep reading and see if it seems to fit for you or not. Hang in there!
poster:Cindy W
thread:31784
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000429/msgs/31787.html