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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by cycling on August 18, 2010, at 12:05:06
Hey all,
Yesterday I started 100mg Luvox daily. Right now I'm taking 50mg at night and 50 mg in the morning. We added Luvox to my regiment because of my constant rumination. I always overthink everything. I'm a compulsive thinker, and can't help but to think about whatever. I have a tendency to even think about the randomest things just because my mind wants to latch onto something. When I came into my pdoc, he diagnosed me with mania, but with lithium 900mg, I calmed down. He put me on lamictal to calm my mind, but that didn't work. I went up to 400mg now back to 100mg and he doesn't seem to want to take me off of it for some reason. He also put me on 150 mg seroquel. Honestly, I don't think the seroquel has done anything but make me terribly tired in the morning. My psychologist diagnosed me with severe ocd which is why my pdoc prescribed me luvox 100mg. I'm hoping luvox does the trick. I don't feel really feel depressed besides the terrible hangover feeling in the morning. So my question is, do you think luvox was the right choice according to my description above?
Posted by Phillipa on August 18, 2010, at 13:07:00
In reply to Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment, posted by cycling on August 18, 2010, at 12:05:06
For a long time took up to 250mg of luvox and I admit have OCD in the same mind latching and counting rituals. Now only 50mg my body won't let me off it but I do not count as much. so must do something. Will you stay at l00mg or go up if you do highest dose at night. Like l00mg at night and 50mg in am. Phillipa still take benzos too but less
Posted by morgan miller on August 18, 2010, at 14:33:45
In reply to Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment, posted by cycling on August 18, 2010, at 12:05:06
There are some advantages to Luvox, I think one of them is that it does not typically crush libido like other SSRIs.
Really the only way you are going to know if it is the right choice for you is to take it for a while and play around with the dose to see if there is a Luvox sweet spot for you.
If Luvox doesn't workout, Zoloft or Lexapro would be my next choices. Really, I think anything that would make you feel good would have a positive impact on your OCD. The better we feel, the less likely we are to obsess about things like obtrusive thoughts.
I would ditch the seroquel if you haven't already. With lithium and lamictal on board, seroquel just sounds like overkill given your symptoms. I hate most doctors! WTF is the obsession with Seroquel! Sheesh! LOL.
Morgan
Posted by Dinah on August 19, 2010, at 7:56:58
In reply to Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment, posted by cycling on August 18, 2010, at 12:05:06
Luvox is considered the medication of choice for OCD.
I've done better with a small amount of Risperdal as needed for my OCD. It's great with rumination. But then my OCD is not constant. It waxes and wanes. It suits me more to have something when I need it.
It's relatively mild as an antidepressant, isn't it? It was for me until my then pdoc kept raising the dosage without adding a mood stabilizer. You're already on one.
Posted by Dinah on August 19, 2010, at 7:57:59
In reply to Re: Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment, posted by morgan miller on August 18, 2010, at 14:33:45
I found that it did crush libido like a steamroller.
Posted by cycling on August 19, 2010, at 15:27:07
In reply to Re: Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment » cycling, posted by Dinah on August 19, 2010, at 7:56:58
My seroquel hasn't done anything for my rumination. That's the worst part of my OCD, sometimes I don't even notice I'm ruminating. I'm always thinking, its annoying especially when my attention is needed.
Posted by Dinah on August 20, 2010, at 0:05:04
In reply to Re: Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment » Dinah, posted by cycling on August 19, 2010, at 15:27:07
Have you tried the therapies specifically intended for OCD? "Brain Lock" and "Stop Obsessing" both talk about treatments that have proven to be effective, either combined with medications or even on their own.
Of course, my brain seems to form one obsessive rut after another. Even if I stop one, another pops up in its place.
I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I think even the negative obsessions serve to smooth my anxiety by distracting myself with ridiculous fears, instead of looking at the more realistic ones. I think my brain does its best to keep me stable, but I try to channel it into more productive methods. (With mixed success.)
Posted by cycling on August 20, 2010, at 2:40:32
In reply to Re: Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment » cycling, posted by Dinah on August 20, 2010, at 0:05:04
I read Brain Lock, only by scanning through it though. In regards to your coping mechanisms to deal with the anxiety, I don't think obsessing over negative obesessions to smooth out your anxiety is helping. Your brain will always wire itself in such a way to calm yourself down no matter what. That's why we have compulsions. The compulsions act to smooth out the anxiety. With people with Pure O OCD, the compulsions are not physical, rather, they're mental. We compulsively think in order to subside our fears. With Pure O, it's like we're frantically looking for something else to think about than the worse fears, but in reality, all we're doing is allowing it to manifest itself in a different way. By changing the obsession, the problem persists instead of being treated. This is the hardest part with OCD. With the helps of meds, we literally have to rewire our brains. I hope this makes sense
Posted by angels78 on August 20, 2010, at 4:47:49
In reply to Re: Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment » Dinah, posted by cycling on August 20, 2010, at 2:40:32
But if you take 4 or 5 different medications its going to be hard to "re wire" your brain because the theurpatic effect your going to try to get from the 1 drug LUVOX that should the most with the OCD might be tampered with since you are on 3 other heavy medications.
Beit, like Seroquel should of not been added.
Posted by Dinah on August 20, 2010, at 7:58:54
In reply to Re: Advice on Luvox Addition to Regiment » Dinah, posted by cycling on August 20, 2010, at 2:40:32
My OCD falls into the responsibility OCD category, and mostly pure obessive.
What I've come to see about myself, although it might not apply to anyone else, is that that dogged sort of repetition does calm me down. Whether it's positive obsessions (well, not positive exactly because they cost me time and money) or negative anxious obsessions or even endless games of Bejeweled, it seems to be something my brain uses to calm itself.
The studies they do show that therapy geared to OCD does rewire the brain, don't they? Although admittedly it is a bit easier when there are compulsions that respond to exposure and response prevention.
None of it is the cureall, I don't think. But added together they can help substantially.
My personal favorite OCD technique came from "Stop Obsessing". It had to do with singing the obsession. I don't always sing the obsession, but it did help me realize that obsessions don't stick as well if I can manage to find humor in them. Fighting them or taking them seriously just adds to their power.
This is the end of the thread.
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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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