Posted by Caleb462 on July 2, 2003, at 2:14:01
In reply to Caleb, Re: Help I am a slave to my meds!, posted by McPac on July 1, 2003, at 23:54:25
> Caleb,
> You have helped me so much on this board...I just wanted to say Thank You!Thank you! It's great to hear I've helped. I enjoy your contributions to this board greatly as well. You're a good guy.
>Also, I don't recall you saying much about how you've been doing---is OCD your chief problem? I sure do remember my Anafranil days!! It worked great for my ocd (it was THE first drug that did...now, other drugs work very well for that too)....
Well, OCD is my longest-lasting problem, I suppose that and general anxiety/social anxiety. In the past couple months, depression was my primary problem. It was really killing me... but I was hospitalized (which is where I was prescribed the Anafranil, as well as Seroquel, and a temp. supply of Xanax), and it helped tremendously. I'm now out of the depression, to a large extent, thanks to the combo of hospitalization, new meds, support from family/girlfriend and cognitive therapy. The anxiety is still there though, perhaps not as much. The OCD, I think it may be fading somewhat... though I hesitate to make that assumption. My OCD tends to wax and wane a bit, so it is sometimes hard to tell whether the meds are working, or whether I'm just having a good day. My outlook on life is pretty positive right now though, and that's a good thing. Life is tough, too damn tough, but I'm determined to win this battle.
>Anafranil gave me s/e's to an extreme---EXTREME sweating (I should have joined a swim team, then it might not have been so noticeable!), TERRIBLE sex/dysfunction, extreme fatigue (that MAY have gotten better over time?).
The sweating is pretty bad for me, anorgasmia can also be pretty annoying - but I can still "get there", just takes some work. My main problem though, is constipation... really really bad constipation like I've never experienced before. Pain, blood, the whole works. Hopefully this will pass.
> The ssri's seem to do the trick for me as far as ocd/depression....so far so good w/ my Lexapro...take care!!!!
I found Paxil to be a wonderful drug when I took it a little over a year ago... it gave me AWESOME results as far as social anxiety is concerned. I felt like a new person. It really didn't do much for OCD though. I wasn't depressed at the time, so that wasn't an issue. I ended up upping the dose to 80 mg, to try an combat the OCD... and I just got tired of the side effects... sweating, constipation, and severe sexual problems. It was a mistake I think, getting off the drug. I really wonder whether or not my past year would have been a lot better if I stayed on. Who knows?
Glad to hear the Lexapro is going okay so far... how long has it been? Just a day or two right? I wish you luck.
Sorry if this post was a bit long-winded. I appreciate the kind words and concern. Later.
poster:Caleb462
thread:238594
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030701/msgs/238670.html