Posted by pixel8mbb on July 26, 2020, at 1:09:42
In reply to OCD Exacerbation, posted by Bones on July 23, 2020, at 8:14:42
I'm so sorry for your struggle/suffering. Not sure if what I can tell you will be relevant for you but hope it's worth a read.
My mother told me my OCD began when I was age 5. In addition to that I have ADD, generalized anxiety and depression. Having ADD and OCD together are I believe like having an internal conflict going on a lot of the time. Starting in my 20s I had psychiatric therapy for many years with no attention paid to diagnosing my OCD or ADD, just talk that helped in a small and limited way. After that I diagnosed myself, left therapy and tried tons of meds with a meds doc for quite a few years, and none of those helped much. I haven't been taking anything for quite a while, just a little melatonin for sleep at the moment.
But now, I'm finally having something that's helping, deep TMS treatments, approved by the FDA for OCD. I'm guessing you know about that, maybe even tried it. I know not everyone has success, but this is my second try, and I think I was extremely lucky in having a second chance at finding a skilled psychiatrist who administers it correctly, by presenting me with psychological provocations tailored to my OCD triggers beforehand, and using the H-7 coil of the Brainsway deep TMS machine. He first used the H-1 coil for my depression, but switched to the H-7 coil, which Brainsway recommends for both depression and OCD. I'm about halfway through the series, and feel very encouraged.
For me, the way TMS is provided made a big difference. My first provider delegated treatments to less skilled technicians, with nothing done to introduce provocations. Even so, I felt some improvement, even like I was becoming quite a different person. But in the middle of treatment that provider made a mistake in reporting my results to Medicare (I'm at retirement age), making it look like I was cured, and Medicare stopped my treatments.
But leaving that provider led to my finding a better one. After a lapse of a few months I started treatments with him, and I'm now about halfway through the series and even more encouraged than before.
In addition to the provocation protocols, providers need to be knowledgeable about getting equipment settings just right, finding the correct placement of the helmet that aims pulses into the part of the brain where OCD comes from, also the right amount of energy required for your particular response, calibrated before the first session and then carefully kept consistent, and re-checked frequently.
I hope this might be of some help, but in any case, I sincerely hope you find some relief.
poster:pixel8mbb
thread:1111341
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20200711/msgs/1111393.html