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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by coplo on March 14, 2005, at 17:17:14
I have a problem regarding diagnosing what my condition really is. When I first doagnosed at 18, they said it was OCD (it was the first and only major obsessing episode i've ever had - debilitating fear of death and aging). Ever since I have been on one SSRI and another. For now I settled on Paxil or Luvox- they seem to work best.
Hwoever, 4 years later another doc said I had generalized anxiety disorder and that the OCD is just the tip of the iceberg of that.
Accordingly, I was put on klonopin, which I have had absolutely no problems with and it has changed my life anxiety wise.(i like to work with ppl and when i don't take it my extreme social anxiety makes me unable to function around people).
Interestigly enough I found out that since I take the Klonopin for anxiety the doses of SSRI's I take can be minimal (20 mg paxil every other day).
The reason I take the SSRi's still is b/c my ocd (if that's what it is) manifests itself by me talking really fast and loud if I don't take my SSRI, to a degree very anonoying to people around me. Howver if I stopped taking ssri alltogether and just took the klonopin, I don't believe I would have a major ocd episode...i would just be rambling and talking fast, jumping from subject to subject. It seems to me like the klonopin is taming down my ocd and there are periods of time (especially those when i want to be able to function sexually) when i just take the klonopin and no ssri and i do fine.
So my question is whether I truly have OCD, or whether since OCD is an anxiety disorder anyway- I just have generalized anxiety disorder (which could encopass social anxiety, general anxiety and OCD flare ups (when under extreme stress) if I don't take my klonopin.
Any comments appreciated.
Also, what sort of OCd is this, where if I don't take my ssri's I just have thoughts racing trough my head, talk fast and loud? Is that a mild OCD or just obsessive personality disorder which when my anxiety is not controlled can flare up into pathological OCD (like the one time I actually could not functions b/c of my obsessing about death/aging)?
thanks
Posted by Sebastian on March 14, 2005, at 18:09:50
In reply to Please diagnose me. OCD or Anxiety disorder?, posted by coplo on March 14, 2005, at 17:17:14
My advice, stop the SSRI, thats what I'm doing, it is preventing me from interacting with people.
Posted by greg diamond on March 14, 2005, at 18:30:09
In reply to Re: Please diagnose me. OCD or Anxiety disorder?, posted by Sebastian on March 14, 2005, at 18:09:50
stopping the SSRI because it is another's experience is a bad idea. you have to do what is right for you. i am much like you in that i have had generalized anxiety disorder with OCD in the foreground. the OCD goes through phases, but the underlying cognitive patterns are quite similar. i am doing remeron and zoloft, and unlike others here haven't gained any weight. the ssri has me a little zombified if anything.
anyway, you are young and you should explore as many therapeutic avenues (including meds) if you can tolerate them. don't worry too much about your pathology, just focus on feeling well. CBT is best, but even better with meds. meds help in crisis situations or if you have a disorder like BP or something more serious. they are great for OCD, they knocked about 60% of my symptoms away the first time.
good luck and keep us posted
craig
Posted by Phillipa on March 14, 2005, at 18:38:13
In reply to Re: Please diagnose me. OCD or Anxiety disorder?, posted by greg diamond on March 14, 2005, at 18:30:09
Well, as I posted today, I am gaining wt on zoloft and remeron, and at my age I can't afford to. So, Sebastian I'm with you i want off AD's Babble me sometime. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on March 14, 2005, at 19:57:41
In reply to Please diagnose me. OCD or Anxiety disorder?, posted by coplo on March 14, 2005, at 17:17:14
> I have a problem regarding diagnosing what my condition really is. When I first doagnosed at 18, they said it was OCD (it was the first and only major obsessing episode i've ever had - debilitating fear of death and aging). Ever since I have been on one SSRI and another. For now I settled on Paxil or Luvox- they seem to work best.
I resonate with the fear of death and aging; I don't think I've ever completely gotten through those thoughts. As for whether they are OCD for me, I don't know, it's certainly a form of some spectrum of anxiety. I've had OCD since 13, some hoarding, mostly washing/cleanliness issues. I eventually settled most all of it with CBT, although racing thoughts still remain from time to time. I also went through the gamut of SSRIs, but mostly actually after I did CBT.
> Accordingly, I was put on klonopin, which I have had absolutely no problems with and it has changed my life anxiety wise.(i like to work with ppl and when i don't take it my extreme social anxiety makes me unable to function around people).
The fact that you improved on Klonopin is a definate deduction that you indeed perhaps also suffer from GAD, which a number of people with OCD do.
> Interestigly enough I found out that since I take the Klonopin for anxiety the doses of SSRI's I take can be minimal (20 mg paxil every other day).
This also makes sense, a high enough dose of Klonopin would make some of the activity of an SSRI superfluous for some people. Of course, the tradeoff is that Klonopin has more cognitive impairement than most SSRIs, but that's not a reason in itself to stop something that works fine.
>It seems to me like the klonopin is taming down my ocd and there are periods of time (especially those when i want to be able to function sexually) when i just take the klonopin and no ssri and i do fine.This is understandable; some of the SSRIs are worse at sexual dysfunction than others.
> Also, what sort of OCd is this, where if I don't take my ssri's I just have thoughts racing trough my head, talk fast and loud? Is that a mild OCD or just obsessive personality disorder which when my anxiety is not controlled can flare up into pathological OCD (like the one time I actually could not functions b/c of my obsessing about death/aging)?
The racing thoughts sound like one of many forms of OCD as I outlayed before, I experience those from time to time, jumbled words, racist thoughts (antithetical to my nature), mental word games of "good" and "bad" words; they aren't a primary makeup of what I currently suffer from but they are there in the background.
The talking part I'm not sure about... it could be a mild form of Tourette's, which is related to OCD or as you mentioned OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder), which is more or less unrelated to OCD directly. Another theory is that all the racing thoughts and talking fast could be a form of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) combined with your OCD; in which case, you might benefit from a trial of Stratterra perhaps (talk with your doctor).
Hope that helps
Tidings
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