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Pre existing OCD group


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It seems that there is no group focused on people that were dealing with OCD before entering the benzos or are more prone to obsessions (due to genetic, social context, etc.).

 

I decided to create this as things might get too specific for people with pre-existing OCD and it's a tricky situation deciding how to manage it, mainly in lower doses of benzos.

 

I am now at 125mg of Zoloft and 2.5mg of V. Obsessions are not being a big issue right now but when I reached 0.3mg in my Valium taper it got unbearable. I noticed that Zoloft doesn't give enough help and I am thinking about switching ADs, but Idk how should I do this.

 

Should I adopt the 10% rule to quit Zoloft and only then enter on Lexapro for example? Or should I do a quick cross taper?

 

Anyway, feel free to use this group if you needed to deal with OCD before the benzos.

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Hi there,

 

Well I have been dealing with anxiety and some kind of obsessive thinking/brain since i am a teen.

 

I was on lexapro 3 times during my 20's and it helped me a lot.

 

Then I had an anxiety set back ( but not really only OCD) and I took benzo daily . By the way they never helped.

 

I just tried two days ago to start zoloft on a ridiculously low dose (12,5 mg) and it gave me super bad reaction. I am desapointed because unless i dont want to add med as i have been struggling i was thinking it could be a good back up....

 

-Did you have less OCD on benzo?

- What are your OCD about?

 

Carla

 

 

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Hi there,

 

Well I have been dealing with anxiety and some kind of obsessive thinking/brain since i am a teen.

 

I was on lexapro 3 times during my 20's and it helped me a lot.

 

Then I had an anxiety set back ( but not really only OCD) and I took benzo daily . By the way they never helped.

 

I just tried two days ago to start zoloft on a ridiculously low dose (12,5 mg) and it gave me super bad reaction. I am desapointed because unless i dont want to add med as i have been struggling i was thinking it could be a good back up....

 

-Did you have less OCD on benzo?

- What are your OCD about?

 

Carla

 

Hi, Carla

 

It's nice that you started at such a low dose on Zoloft, not all doctors taper up that slowly (I started on 50mg). It's not unusual to have a worsening in symptoms before getting better when we talk about ADs. But, as far as I know, Zoloft has this more "activating" profile compared to some other SSRIs, with Prozac being the most activating one. Some are more sedating and maybe Lexapro is one of them: I know Paxil is, but it made me an apathetic zombie, despite being very effective for OCD at least for me. I hope you get well along with your med regimen.

 

Less OCD on benzo... it's complicated: I don't think benzos help with OCD, maybe Xanax because its different profile but it's too strong and addictive, more than most benzos. But, tapering off from benzos might cause strong obsessive/ruminating thoughts even in people that didn't have OCD before, maybe due to the glutamate excess.

 

So, when I reached 0.3mg of V my OCD became unbearable and I needed to updose to feel better. In this sense it helps with OCD but only due to the glutamate excess that the benzo itself causes. It's was dependency in this case and not a treatment.

 

I am not having much issues with obsessive thoughts now, my worst symptoms now are burning out easily due to mental fatigue and stomach issues. But the pattern while on low dose of V was religious OCD. How about yours?

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Hi!

 

So now are you holding your dose since November?

 

You have been so low in you taper it is quite amazing already...

 

Im a bit desperate that it is going to be more difficult for me because of my anxious mind, i mean in general for people with anxious thinking.

 

That's why it is nice you started this thread.

 

Do you have pure O or real OCD?

 

xx

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Sometimes pre-existing OCD is really underlooked cause people might confound with wd sx, I know how lonely you can feel under an even more specific scenario.

 

Well, actually, I am at 2.5mg since january, my signature is outdated (I am going to update it lol).

 

I don't know what I am going to do to reach the lower doses without making OCD stronger, but one thing is for sure: at these lower dosages, I am going to embrace the 5% rule or do a DLMT.

 

What kind of OCD do you have?

 

I already had both and already went through multiple patterns, but I guess pure O would define better as my rituals are more mental during stressful times. I have some physical rituals regarding cleaning due to covid but I guess it's on an acceptable level.

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Hey,

 

 

How are you doing?

 

Well my OCD is mainly about issues i'm facing so right now I would say pure O about the withdrawal, thinking about it all the time because you cant be certain of the suffering, thinking to the worst case scenarios... it is so difficult for me to focus on something else and not be worried about the withdrawal...the vicious cycle.

 

Triggering myself by reading so many horrors, and tragic stories. Well I have been struggling a lot too the past months were hell.

 

Now trying to stabilize with the new benzo...

 

Do you experience those fears with the withdrawal?

 

Do you do therapy for OCD, there is more and more good specialized therapists and books...

 

xx

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[ba...]
Hi full of determination. I’m glad you made this thread. I developed very, very bad Pure O symptoms when I got low on my Klonopin taper. I had a history of anxiety and panic but never OCD. Apparently these type of mental illnesses can materialize after a prolonged period of drug addiction. For me I was initially put on Luvox which helped until it “pooped out” and I was tapered down off of that and titrated up on Zoloft while I was inpatient. Getting to a max dose of Zoloft along with doing two hours a day of ERP therapy in a ten week intensive ocd program have helped my Pure O symptoms DRAMATICALLY. I wish I could have gone on Zoloft as soon as my ocd symptoms appeared and maybe the absolute hell I went through wouldn’t have been quite so bad. I hope you find what works for you but I would recommend working with your prescriber and if you don’t already get a good ocd specific therapist. If you need help with this feel free to DM me and I can give you the name and number of my therapist who could help you sort things out. Hang in there, ocd is a bear of a mental illness but it’s highly treatable.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Jay, sorry for the late response. I am glad you had such an improvement and have now your thoughts under control. I don't know if Zoloft is the right AD for me... when I upped my dose my ruminating thoughts got a bit harder I think even after waiting 16 weeks after the change from 100mg to 150mg.

 

Do you feel this "overheat"/burning brain feeling while under zoloft? I have to stop working or stop to think too much by the afternoon because my right temple starts burning as if there was acid in that part of the brain. I wonder if it's related to zoloft.

 

Also, I read your signature and I would love to know more about your gabapentin experience. I am starting to consider it to help the valium taper and it might provide relief for this "overheating" symptom.

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I am sorry Carla, I was going through a rough time some weeks ago and I forgot to answer you after reading your post.

 

Thank God I am better now, I had a presentation that got me really nervous and I had to take an extra dose on the day but I am fine and back to my previous regimen.

 

I don't have intrusive thoughts regarding the symptoms, but I keep trying to figure why the "overheating" symptom I described to JayTay0 happens. This is surely my worst current symptom as it make hard to work properly... I work as a statistician so I wonder about the viability of keeping my job sometimes.

 

I still have some ruminating thoughts some times but they are really manageable and easy compared to the "burning brain". Idk what strategy to adopt for it to get better: reduce AD? Reduce Valium? Start anything else?

 

I hope you are doing ok now. I don't know the benzo you are on now, but I hope you are having a better experience using it.

 

About therapy... I forgot to answer JayTay: I live in south america and I think I would miss the presential possibility after the pandemic. Also, I was working with a therapist for 3 years... his line is CBT but he is very flexible. I don't think I was getting better from the sessions as my complaints were more about my symptoms, and also I think our interactions became very predictable so I think I better look for a new therapist.

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I wonder what else can be effective for pre existing OCD.

 

Maybe inositol? Riluzole? So tired of this med game.

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There never seems much activity on here. cHoping someone will respond. I developed. OCD after withdrawal so don't quite fit the category,  I tried both citalopram and sertraline but actually seemed make things worse for me. Did you all find AD's helped. Really nervous to try them again, been doing exposure therapy for about a year, but so far nothing improving.
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Hey leann,

 

I am sorry you developed OCD. It's not unusual for people who never dealt with it developing OCD. Maybe that's why it's so tough for those who are pre disposed to deal with this. I suspect that it's due to glutamate excess.

 

How long did you kept those treatments and how was the regimen when you tried them? I ask this because it's a common pattern to get worse before getting better.

 

ADs helped me a lot in the past but I wonder if my CNS is now too sensible to deal with big changes. If I taper any AD now, I will do baby steps but that's very personal.

 

There are some people, even in this forum, who had benefits using NAC or Inositol for the ruminating thoughts. But each one is different and some got bad reactions using them. I hope you find a good solution and feel better soon.

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Took them for 6 months, citalopram made my hair fall out, so switched to sertraline but seemed to rack up the OCD and the thoughts. Was only on a low dose, had read you have to take high doses to be effective ? It was gradual but do wonder whether my brain was too damaged for them to be effective? Certainly stopping them was pretty horrendous. Have had lot family stress recently maybe that's exaggerating it?
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Took them for 6 months, citalopram made my hair fall out, so switched to sertraline but seemed to rack up the OCD and the thoughts. Was only on a low dose, had read you have to take high doses to be effective ? It was gradual but do wonder whether my brain was too damaged for them to be effective? Certainly stopping them was pretty horrendous. Have had lot family stress recently maybe that's exaggerating it?

 

In general, OCD treatment demands higher doses of ADs. Anything less than 150mg of Zoloft would be sub therapeutic I guess but each one is different, even more when talking about benzo brain. Zoloft also has an activating profile compared to other SSRIs. Paxil (paroxetine) is the most sedating one for example.

 

Zoloft wd doesn't have a good fame. In particular, the ADs with longer half-life are easier to taper.

 

Clomipramine is not an SSRI but seems to be the gold standard for OCD. Its profile it's also sedating I think.

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That's really helpful. I was only on 50mg sertraline. GP told me to just stop citalopram then after week start the sertraline, in hindsight probably made things worse. I am getting rapid cycling of symptoms now, just hoping might be sign things are happening. The AD's seemed have paradoxical effect on me , maybe benzo brain just couldn't cope. Did see a psych he prescribed high dose of duloxetine which sent me bouncing off ceiling. Did benzos affect your OCD at all. I've always been a bit anxious think being made to CT just opened floodgates for everything else.
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That's really helpful. I was only on 50mg sertraline. GP told me to just stop citalopram then after week start the sertraline, in hindsight probably made things worse. I am getting rapid cycling of symptoms now, just hoping might be sign things are happening. The AD's seemed have paradoxical effect on me , maybe benzo brain just couldn't cope. Did see a psych he prescribed high dose of duloxetine which sent me bouncing off ceiling. Did benzos affect your OCD at all. I've always been a bit anxious think being made to CT just opened floodgates for everything else.

 

If you ever decide to try again the medication route, you have to taper up slowly or you are going to have a rough experience probably. You can check some reviews at drugs.com about each drug for OCD, just remember that we are under different circunstances.

 

Oh, benzos affected for sure. Made my ruminating thoughts unbearable at lower doses to the point that I had to updose. Even my baseline without med were never that intense.

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Thanks for the info as meds caused all this just really worry about trying anything else. It seems that AD's very helpful if you have pre existing OCD, but not sure how helpful they are if it's caused by benzo withdrawal. So are you planning to eventually come off meds or stay on them permanently? I never had any problems on zopiclone was forced to go CT. by new GP.
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Hi Leann,

 

Were you anxious before having OCD?

People can have OCD triggered at anytime in life, with stressful events , anxiety, or meds withdrawal as all result in brain sensitization...

 

Why do you say the AD made your OCD worst ? they can increase the anxiety physical or mental when you start them dont know how long you were on them.

 

Also maybe you reduced them too fast and there is a rebound , it happens months after with ADs

 

Also CBT is not super effective with OCD thoughts, there is very good books specialized on ocd on amazon did you check?

 

Even if you didnt have OCD before, the fact that you react to it and worry about it can entertains it...

 

 

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Was on them 6 months, had adverse reaction to them, have read it happens to some people ,they really didn't suit me. Didn't have any anxiety before withdrawal.
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[ba...]
I didn’t have ocd before Klonopin withdrawal and getting on the right dose of Zoloft made a huge, huge difference for me. Not saying AD’s are a save all, I know not everyone benefits from them but just offering that I didn’t experience ocd symptoms before benzo withdrawal and they did help me a lot. It wasn’t til I got up to 150 and then 200 mg’s that I really got relief from the intrusive thoughts.
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[ba...]
I mean while I was on Klonopin I had severe agoraphobia, dp/dr…towards the end of my taper and when I jumped I started having awful intrusive thoughts like the “Pure O” variety about many things but mostly sex, violence, etc. in acute I had really bad insomnia, insane panic attacks, bad depression…it wasn’t until I was diagnosed and medicated and in treatment for OCD, GAD and MDD that I stabilized and started to really see progress in my recovery.
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[ba...]
I tried a few at low dose (Celexa, Lexapro) for short periods of time but yea I had very bad panic disorder as well as GAD but not Pure O/intrusive thought type ocd til I got low on my Klonopin taper.
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