![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 11 to 35 of 44. Go back in thread:
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 11:12:17
In reply to OCD , posted by tinker on May 17, 2002, at 8:41:55
These posts have been a revelation. Like you, Tinker, I constantly worry about animals being abused. I love the critters and the thought of someone hurting an animal somewhere as we speak sends me into a helpless fury. Not always, but especially true if I'm going through an agitated depression. I could usually tell where I was at emotionally by the lobster tank at our former local supermarket. If I could walk by the lobster tank without breaking into great gusts of sobbing then I was OK, I could handle the rest of life. A few times, however, I was in the aisles and a few people came up and asked if I needed help cause I was slumped against the shelves weeping, not able to get the cries for help from the lobsters out of my head. They probably weren't terribly happy about their situation, but jeez, I don't think this level of anguish was realistic or healthy for me.
At the height of a bad agitated depression a few years ago I was constantly obsessing about going blind (no reason whatsoever - my vision is near perfect). Like you said, RainbowLight, the thought was always there somewhere in the back of my mind like a running musical score. I'd be about to do whatever and it would grab me "ohmygod, what if I go blind and end up not only old, crippled, depressed but blind as well?' and then sure enough I'd get hit with a massive panic attack. This was all going on, by the way, while I was ingesting 200mg of Zoloft daily and seeing a therapist. Xanax helped somewhat when I ended up in the emergency ward a few times for these attacks (always brought on by some obsessive dread), but my doc wouldn't refill it for 'addiction potentional'. I eventually ended up in a psych ward for 2 weeks during this spell because I couldn't get the disaster thoughts out of my head. I felt like a raw exposed nerve ending with these tortuous thoughts and dreams setting up shop in my mind.
I'm definitely not like this most of the time and am for the most part quite mellow and adaptable - more 'normal' than most folks I see struggling with life. It's just that when the crazies hit, I'm lost until time allows some kind of equilibrium. That's why it's so frustrating cause it's all cyclical and slippery. But I'm seeing my patterns more clearly and think I definitely have overtones of OCD from what I'm hearing from you all. I don't think it's the primary dx however (it's now BPII), and it sounds like the treatment isn't too different from what I'm currently receiving. But who can say anymore with the dx's migrating around from one disorder to another? I probably need alot more CBT, but heck, I KNOW and normally use all that stuff! It just deserts me when I really need it.
> Hi I really enjoyed all of the above posts. I have ocd, but the doctor mentioned that body dysmorphic symptom. I used to obsess about animals being abused. I couldn't go to the mall on a hot day incase I heard barking coming from a car. This would send me into a complete panic. I used to take clomapramine. And it worked really well for me, but it was quite sedating, so this past May the doc swiched me to zoloft. I developed tinnitus. Its almost gone but I cant stop obsessing on the noise, wondering if I am hearing it, if its pulsing, or what its doing. The manufacturer told me it was caused by elevated levels of seratonin. Clomapramine also has elevated levels of seratonin, and now I'm afraid to go back to it. I am caught in a loop right now big time. Tinker
Posted by Kat26 on May 17, 2002, at 12:31:38
In reply to Here's my OCD story, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 0:36:40
Hello Barbara,
these are symptoms of OCD I have had:
- feeling responsible for everything and everybody. For example, seeing something lying in the street and having to get off the bus to pick it up so nobody would trip over it. Or seeing unevenness in sidewalk and having to report it to the city department. Same with any smell that somehow resemles gas smell, even if it is just a whiff outside somewhere and could be ANYTHING (like soup cooking, or sewer, or whatever).
- It got to the point where I just hardly could look outside anymore when riding on the bus or with somebody in a car. The whole world seemed just so cluttered with scary things to obsess about that I just had to keep my eyes closed. Sometimes even when walking. Which made me sad, as I could not enjoy things anymore. I tried to look outside from a bus even for 10 seconds and my anxiety just skyrocketed.
- Also feeling responsible for tiny creatures like insects, checking fountains for drowning insects and collecting bags full of trash to save the ants from being picked up by garbage collectors, etc.
- Also feeling responsible for people on the internet. About 1 1/2 years ago I went through a phase when I would stay at the computer lab till the early hours of the morning making sure nobody was suicidal or otherwise not doing good, and it could somehow be my responsibility for not being there.
- Checking on people I saw, especially homeless people sleeping outside (I live in San Francisco, lots of them here)
- Superstitious thinking: "If I don't do X, something bad will happen". Just random thoughts that popped into my head, and then I would have to do it.
- Along the same line: If somebody said certain things like "this is killing me" or "go to hell" I panicked, because I thought it might somehow come true, and I spent sleepless hours thinking how I could make that person "take it back", etc... driving people crazy by constantly asking and reasking things and trying to make them rephrase sentences.
-feeling guilty VERY easily, even about things just thoughtI am sure there was more. As for treatment, I did only a very short term cognitive behavioral thing, but think what really helped me is the prozac. The symptoms have practically disappeared. It didn't even take long.
Trying to cut down my dose from 40 to 30 now... when I lok at my symptom list I get a little nervous about that... LOL...Kat26
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 12:50:20
In reply to Re: Here's my OCD story, posted by Kat26 on May 17, 2002, at 12:31:38
Hi Kat26,
What strikes me about these stories is that so much of what we obsess about is really kind, considerate and compassionate stuff - brave, even. I'm sure there's a special place in the heart of the Divine for someone who is so caring about little bugs. It's almost like there are so many shmucks in the world that a certain group gets to take up their slack. It doesn't help anyone, though, if we burn ourselves out in the process. - Barbara> Hello Barbara,
>
> these are symptoms of OCD I have had:
>
> - feeling responsible for everything and everybody. For example, seeing something lying in the street and having to get off the bus to pick it up so nobody would trip over it. Or seeing unevenness in sidewalk and having to report it to the city department. Same with any smell that somehow resemles gas smell, even if it is just a whiff outside somewhere and could be ANYTHING (like soup cooking, or sewer, or whatever).
> - It got to the point where I just hardly could look outside anymore when riding on the bus or with somebody in a car. The whole world seemed just so cluttered with scary things to obsess about that I just had to keep my eyes closed. Sometimes even when walking. Which made me sad, as I could not enjoy things anymore. I tried to look outside from a bus even for 10 seconds and my anxiety just skyrocketed.
> - Also feeling responsible for tiny creatures like insects, checking fountains for drowning insects and collecting bags full of trash to save the ants from being picked up by garbage collectors, etc.
> - Also feeling responsible for people on the internet. About 1 1/2 years ago I went through a phase when I would stay at the computer lab till the early hours of the morning making sure nobody was suicidal or otherwise not doing good, and it could somehow be my responsibility for not being there.
> - Checking on people I saw, especially homeless people sleeping outside (I live in San Francisco, lots of them here)
> - Superstitious thinking: "If I don't do X, something bad will happen". Just random thoughts that popped into my head, and then I would have to do it.
> - Along the same line: If somebody said certain things like "this is killing me" or "go to hell" I panicked, because I thought it might somehow come true, and I spent sleepless hours thinking how I could make that person "take it back", etc... driving people crazy by constantly asking and reasking things and trying to make them rephrase sentences.
> -feeling guilty VERY easily, even about things just thought
>
> I am sure there was more. As for treatment, I did only a very short term cognitive behavioral thing, but think what really helped me is the prozac. The symptoms have practically disappeared. It didn't even take long.
> Trying to cut down my dose from 40 to 30 now... when I lok at my symptom list I get a little nervous about that... LOL...
>
> Kat26
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 13:14:14
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences, posted by MomO3 on May 16, 2002, at 22:01:13
> It's obsessive - i can't see anything but the defects in my yard mainly weeds, weeds, weeds - I can't sit back and enjoy all of the hard work I have put into it - unless I look at the sky ( I can't fix anything up there).
>
Dear Mom,
Well, that proves that everyone has their own special obsession. My husband is pretty healthy - oh, he has his quirks like anyone else, but for the most part he's laid back and rational. But his big obsessive target is the sky! He looks up there and all he sees are the 'chem trails' that the secret government are laying down in order to carry out their nefarious designs upon us. We'll be looking at a gorgeous sunset or a clear blue sky and he's going 'Look, there's another one! Those f**ckers! Look! that's one over there!' Kinda ruins the moment for me. He'll start grinding his teeth and I have to keep reminding him that you gotta have trust, things are going to be *OK*!He's spent hours and hours calling up the FAA and is on several internet groups that devote themselves to tracking such things. The point is that there probably is something going on that's not quite Kosher, but perhaps it's totally benign and not part of the New World Order conspiracies at all? Interesting how focusing on something for good or bad makes it real for us.
Gee, I sure hope I haven't fouled up your one safe haven... I guess, don't worry about this. He and his cronies are keeping on top of them! - and at least he's not in the bars. - Barbara
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 15:53:06
In reply to Re: Here's my OCD story, posted by Kat26 on May 17, 2002, at 12:31:38
I need your support and some good thoughts sent my way, gang. There's a bulldozer in my back yard pulling down a lovely little hill that has spring flowers growing on it. It acted as a shield for the rest of the destruction going on out there and was my cat's perch. I pleaded with the guy in the big old tractor to please leave it since he's just moving it to another location a few yards away and he just chuckled and shook his head. This guy is a sadist. He just moves dirt around all day long and is trying to pressure us into buying adjacent lots for an outrageous price (he's the owner's nephew).
This is a nightmare and such a heartbreaker. This is the first home we've been able to own and just love it. We knew the lots were there when we bought it, but were assured by many people in town that 'nothing has happened there - the guy's just using them for a tax write off'. I guess we should've known better but fell in love with the area anyway. The land vistas and trees just go on and on. There are birds nesting in those trees. It's quiet and is like a wildlife sanctuary. My cats are now running around freaking out from the noise and the tractor 15 feet from the kitchen windows and I'm on the edge of losing it. I've got to get out of here, I'm so very very sad and the grinding crunching rape of it is horrible.
If I don't work with this and somehow try to find something positive in it I will soon be a total wreck. So here's a plan. For some reason this isn't the place we're supposed to be, it's too threatening to my sanity staying here watching this sacred land turned into a dug out crater and waiting for the manufactured homes to be moved in. But to move will take an awful lot of mobilization, clearing out years worth of clutter from the garage (yes, we moved it from the old place), and coming up with a bunch of money. Also cleaning up bad credit, submitting 4 years worth of tax returns I was too sick and depressed to handle and my husband too complacent to bother with. I'm not going to move again and drag the same old clutter and debts to some other shakey ground. Basically, it means it's time to get off the pot.
This is as good an incentive as any to get well, physically, emotionally, and financially. I've got the whole summer and fall to make alot of changes, hold garage sales, file taxes, get my bod into a lean mean machine before I need to go back to work to start making the big bucks again. To go back to those little gray cubicles and sit in front of a computer all day will take major health and sanity.
I can live with this for that long. Dear Hubby will just have to get off his ass as well and start contributing instead of hanging out on unemployment. OK, I can obsess with the best of them, but this is real, it's a threat that needs action. Here's where the rubber meets the road, folks. I'm going to take all this swirling manic psychosis and the nervous pain in my muscles and hone it like a laser. I need to focus it into constructive action instead of giving into my current fantasy of plotting to kill this guy on the tractor. I'm mad as hell and I ain't gonna take it!!!! But please, anyone who reads this, if you could just take a moment to send me some strength right now, I sure could use it. - Barbara
Posted by Marie416 on May 17, 2002, at 16:03:47
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences » MomO3, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 13:14:14
OCD is not fun to go through but can be funny after the fact. My best friend has to take the trash out as soon as one thing is put in there and the entire house has to be spotless. When we were younger she had to vacuum the rugs in perfectly straight lines and if she messed up, it was back to the drawing board. She also used to have to say things 3 times and if she felt like she messed up, another 3 times and then another. I remember as kids that I thought she was kidding/playing a game when she did that. I too have had my own experience with it, as a child at times I would feel this excessive desire to fix the part in someone's hair and feel very frustrated if I couldn't do it (especially watching TV) In my 20's I experienced the worst of all my obsessions, the obsession that I had a very hard time talking about to anyone and when I did I felt like an idiot. I started having anxiety attacks and developed tinnitus and my hearing just felt really acute all the time. I could not stop obsessing over the Phantom sounds and then I couldn't stop obsessing over the fact that I felt I was going crazy and then I started repeating sounds to myself. It was as if I was checking to make sure the sound was real and whether I was going crazy or not. Every time a door slammed or any object clicked or made a sharp noise I would repeat the sound in my mind over and over and over again until I would replay sounds so often I felt that I could constantly hear the sound. It was the most excruciating time in my life. I even started trying to put objects down lightly so I wouldn't make a loud noise. And on top of that I would repeat in my mind what anyone would say as soon as they were done saying it. OCD is different than obsessing, obsessing is linked to depression, OCD is repetitous. It's not so much obsessing about different topics, that's more straight anxiety. It's the same one or two thoughts over and over from morning until night.
Posted by tinker on May 17, 2002, at 20:19:47
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences, posted by Marie416 on May 17, 2002, at 16:03:47
Marie, I am very interested in your tinnitus experience, as I am going through something very simiar now. Did it end? What medication helped you? How long did it last, and are you over it now for the most part. Thanks for sharing - Tinker
Posted by Kat26 on May 17, 2002, at 21:41:43
In reply to We're all such sweeties! » Kat26, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 12:50:20
You are right about the fact that we won't help anybody if we burn ourselves out. I have realized that now that my OCD is under control, I am able to do much more good stuff than before! Yes, before I would push myself to do so much much much, probably helping some people (and some bugs) on the way, but mostly just building up more and more anger at myself and other people... wearing myself out.
I am now still very involved with helping homeless people. For the first time in my life I can actually have a job in the social services field (beofre it would have just been too much). I can feel love and spread love. And I do still care about bugs :-), oh, I am a vegetarian too. I have realized that there is only so much we can do.Kat26
Posted by oona on May 18, 2002, at 0:15:35
In reply to The bulldozers are here!!, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 15:53:06
> I need your support and some good thoughts sent my way, gang. There's a bulldozer in my back yard pulling down a lovely little hill that has spring flowers growing on it. It acted as a shield for the rest of the destruction going on out there and was my cat's perch. I pleaded with the guy in the big old tractor to please leave it since he's just moving it to another location a few yards away and he just chuckled and shook his head. This guy is a sadist. He just moves dirt around all day long and is trying to pressure us into buying adjacent lots for an outrageous price (he's the owner's nephew).
>
> This is a nightmare and such a heartbreaker. This is the first home we've been able to own and just love it. We knew the lots were there when we bought it, but were assured by many people in town that 'nothing has happened there - the guy's just using them for a tax write off'. I guess we should've known better but fell in love with the area anyway. The land vistas and trees just go on and on. There are birds nesting in those trees. It's quiet and is like a wildlife sanctuary. My cats are now running around freaking out from the noise and the tractor 15 feet from the kitchen windows and I'm on the edge of losing it. I've got to get out of here, I'm so very very sad and the grinding crunching rape of it is horrible.
>
> If I don't work with this and somehow try to find something positive in it I will soon be a total wreck. So here's a plan. For some reason this isn't the place we're supposed to be, it's too threatening to my sanity staying here watching this sacred land turned into a dug out crater and waiting for the manufactured homes to be moved in. But to move will take an awful lot of mobilization, clearing out years worth of clutter from the garage (yes, we moved it from the old place), and coming up with a bunch of money. Also cleaning up bad credit, submitting 4 years worth of tax returns I was too sick and depressed to handle and my husband too complacent to bother with. I'm not going to move again and drag the same old clutter and debts to some other shakey ground. Basically, it means it's time to get off the pot.
>
> This is as good an incentive as any to get well, physically, emotionally, and financially. I've got the whole summer and fall to make alot of changes, hold garage sales, file taxes, get my bod into a lean mean machine before I need to go back to work to start making the big bucks again. To go back to those little gray cubicles and sit in front of a computer all day will take major health and sanity.
>
> I can live with this for that long. Dear Hubby will just have to get off his ass as well and start contributing instead of hanging out on unemployment. OK, I can obsess with the best of them, but this is real, it's a threat that needs action. Here's where the rubber meets the road, folks. I'm going to take all this swirling manic psychosis and the nervous pain in my muscles and hone it like a laser. I need to focus it into constructive action instead of giving into my current fantasy of plotting to kill this guy on the tractor. I'm mad as hell and I ain't gonna take it!!!! But please, anyone who reads this, if you could just take a moment to send me some strength right now, I sure could use it. - BarbaraHi,
We are living in a similiar area that will soon be subdivided. Some of the area neighbors have formed land use orgs to use the laws that are on the books to make it harder for the developers. At any rate we also decided not to run Where is there to go? We do have 30 acres around us so there is a buffer but we decided that when they get to our property line we would build some really good fences and do a lot of creative landscaping..You can not give them the power over you, you can not let them pull your strings and that is what they are doing to you. You are the master of your own universe. OCD or no, Let it go.. (HEY, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT BUMPER STICKER)
OCD OR NO...LET IT GO...Just to update you, I am on week three of Celexa and Risperadol... doing pretty good.. time will tell...
oona
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 18, 2002, at 1:20:29
In reply to Re: The bulldozers are here!! » BarbaraCat, posted by oona on May 18, 2002, at 0:15:35
>
> You can not give them the power over you, you can not let them pull your strings and that is what they are doing to you. You are the master of your own universe. OCD or no, Let it go.. (HEY, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT BUMPER STICKER)
> OCD OR NO...LET IT GO...
>
> Just to update you, I am on week three of Celexa and Risperadol... doing pretty good.. time will tell...
> oonaThanks, Oona, needed to hear that. I very much like your idea about the land use organisation. There are many neighbors here who feel the same way we do and want to do something. Any suggestions as to where to start looking for land use laws and other needed knowledge?
BTW, glad to hear that the Celexa and Ris are helping. Anything specific about the combo you like? I was on Celexa for a short time and don't recall anything about it one way or the other. - Barbara
Posted by Zo on May 18, 2002, at 4:24:12
In reply to The bulldozers are here!!, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 15:53:06
Posted by tinker on May 18, 2002, at 7:36:40
In reply to The bulldozers are here!!, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 15:53:06
How are you feeling today. In case moving doesnt work out, I thought I would tell you about the 20 ft hedge my mom has out of cedars. Its very private and the birds love it. Keep up your spirit. Hang in there.- Tinker
Posted by oona on May 18, 2002, at 9:26:25
In reply to Re: The bulldozers are here!!, posted by BarbaraCat on May 18, 2002, at 1:20:29
>
> >
> > You can not give them the power over you, you can not let them pull your strings and that is what they are doing to you. You are the master of your own universe. OCD or no, Let it go.. (HEY, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT BUMPER STICKER)
> > OCD OR NO...LET IT GO...
> >
> > Just to update you, I am on week three of Celexa and Risperadol... doing pretty good.. time will tell...
> > oona
>
> Thanks, Oona, needed to hear that. I very much like your idea about the land use organisation. There are many neighbors here who feel the same way we do and want to do something. Any suggestions as to where to start looking for land use laws and other needed knowledge?
>
> BTW, glad to hear that the Celexa and Ris are helping. Anything specific about the combo you like? I was on Celexa for a short time and don't recall anything about it one way or the other. - BarbaraNot sure I know yet about the Celexa, it does give me dry mouth but will give it another two months to see if that clears up. Have not been depressed or overly anxious (anymore than is usual) The Risperadol was different. Glad you mentioned the combo of AD and mood stabilizer to me. When the pdoc mentioned this to me, I felt more comfortable about it as had heard about combos here already. Sleep thru the night now on the Risperadol.
As far as the OCD goes, not sure I have that although I save all my dog food cans after I wash them! Not a hobby but hate to throw them away and hopefully one day will use them when we build our straw bale house. They say you can fill them with cement or mud and use them around the windows and doors for stabilization? So I built a big pen out of old pallets (recycle)and put them in there. Maybe RECYCLERS are all showing symptoms of OCD? ha ha ... No, really it would upset me if I had to throw away those cans and my husband is considerate enought to go along with me.
As far as land use orgs., make a friend of a realtor that knows your local laws. Go to meetings in your county that approves zoning and other changes. Find out what the permits and rules are as if "you were going to subdivide" and watch to see if your neighbor is paying attention. Call the local inspectors to see if your neighbor has "permits" when he starts with the bulldozer. Lastly, contact your local orgs that deal with "archeology" usually with local University. Nowadays if you dig up "anything" that has significance (depending) on where you live, the dig is usually stopped till research can be done. Those are just a few.
good luck,
oona
Posted by Sarahmarie on May 18, 2002, at 16:30:47
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences, posted by fairnymph on May 17, 2002, at 4:32:29
I definitely have OCD because I have found that my thought pattern is much like you describe. My recently increased dose of Prozac really helps. I too notice that I can stop thinking about just one thought--its kind of amazing -- like a brand new experience.
It is good to know there are others who really know about OCD and can describe it so well as you did. Thanks
Posted by MomO3 on May 18, 2002, at 22:52:10
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences » MomO3, posted by BarbaraCat on May 17, 2002, at 13:14:14
Barbara
LOL... maybe you should just show your husband all of the flaws on the ground, and you can sidetrack him for a while....
Posted by Iago Camboa on May 19, 2002, at 3:52:12
In reply to Re: The bulldozers are here!!, posted by BarbaraCat on May 18, 2002, at 1:20:29
Hi Barb,
Please tell me about all meds you are taking, in what doses and how you feel (in detail). Could not sleep during the whole night thinking you could need me (nonsense, I'm the other side of the Atlantic...)
I only hope you and your husband drove away and are spending the weekend somewhere far from that jumbly mess and you both dawned great this morning...Yours,
Iago
Posted by Sarahmarie on May 19, 2002, at 9:38:05
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences, posted by fairnymph on May 17, 2002, at 4:32:29
> When I first went on prozac (which very effectively cured my OCD while I was on it), I noticed that my brain worked in a totally different way, and for the first time I truly understood what it is like for my brain to operate normally, and how different the functioning of the OCD brain is.
>
> The best way that I can explain it to you is thus:
> When you have OCD, and you are obsessing about something (and if you have it enough to be diagnosed, you will nearly always be obsessing about something, to some degree), then that train of thought (thinking about whatever it is) will persist from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep at night. An example -- let's say I have a test I am stressing about. Well, all day long I will be thinking about this test. No matter what I am doing -- eating, showering, having sex, studying, socializing, whatever -- I cannot stop thinking about that test. Even if I am thnking of other things, thinking/worrying about the test persists in the back of my mind and cannot be dispelled no matter how hard I try. Many such obsessive trains of thought can exist simultaneously, and they often change from day to day. But almost always, I am obsessing about SOMETHING.
>
> When I was on prozac, I began to observe that iinstead of my thoughts being one long drawn out thought (as in ocd world), I had SEPARATE thoughts! This was like a great revelation to me, that I could have different, separate thoughts; that I could think about something for a while and then STOP thinking about it and move on to an entirely different thought. There was this amazing FLUIDITY to my thought process that I had never experienced before. Thoughts came and went, there was none of this persistant worry and anxiety.
>
> As for treating OCD....I've tried Prozac, Remeron, Effexor, Reboxetine, and Tianeptine...and ONLY Prozac really helped my OCD. Unfortunately it had other side effects which I could not tolerate. :(
>
> ~fairnymph
>
>
> Hi All,
> > I'm here wondering about OCD and thinking 'hmmmm, maybe I need to look at this more closely'. So, I'd really appreciate some info from y'all who have experience with it.
> >
> > I think most of us are aware of the stereotypical symptoms - checking over and over, intrusive thoughts, washing till hands are raw, etc., but what does it feel like? How do the ruminative thoughts in OCD differ from those in major depression? How does obsessing about a problem or idea in OCD differ from excessive worry due to an anxiety disorder? Are there shades of hypomania? Basically, what's the gist of it and what's an effective treatment?I definitely have OCD, however it is not just limited to ruminating thoughts. When I am trying to figure something out I obssess on that for days and hours. I can be at work and my brain is spending a 50% of every hour thinking about the problem. I think about things when I go to bed and hope that somehow I will awake with an answer or a solution. I also have some physical OCD things that I do,but are rather embarrasing for me to discuss. I too am on Prozac and that seems to have helped the most particularly with the behaviors. I am still working on the thought issues, but I am improving. SarahMarie
Posted by Dinah1 on May 19, 2002, at 15:17:37
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences » fairnymph, posted by Sarahmarie on May 19, 2002, at 9:38:05
My own OCD experience doesn't involve continuous ruminations, although there are on occasion days on end where I will ruminate about something. It's the intrusive (and often senseless) thoughts that usually have something to do with my fear of harming others. So I may have the thought "I left the dog in the car" and all the logical thought in the world that the dog is not in the car will not have any effect. Nor will checking that the dog is not in the car (unless I somehow "anchor" the checking). Or "the ant poison I just put down will be eaten by birds and the birds will be eaten by cats and the neighborhood cats will die because I put ant poison on the anthill". They aren't constant ruminations or worries about real life and real problems, they are intrusive and totally ridiculous thoughts and I never can anticipate where or when a new thought will crop up. Once I get an OCD fear about something it will usually come again and again in the same situation, (for example I still don't use ant poison). But I have learned through cognitive behavior techniques to recognize the thoughts and to laugh at them (at least a bit), because, darn it, they can be funny. One of the best tips I ever got for dealing with it is to sing the obsession. Set it to "Old McDonald had a Farm" or "It's a Small World After All".
But that's just my experience.
Posted by rainbowlight on May 19, 2002, at 19:43:00
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences, posted by Dinah1 on May 19, 2002, at 15:17:37
I have been trying Zoloft, worked wonders for the first month for the OCD. Then I began to get physically ill from it. Pdoc cut my dose in half and I think it is worse. Do you guys have any ideas on what to try? I have tried Luvox and Paxil with no luck, too sedating.
Posted by Mair on May 19, 2002, at 21:38:34
In reply to Re: The bulldozers are here!!, posted by BarbaraCat on May 18, 2002, at 1:20:29
>
> >
>
Any suggestions as to where to start looking for land use laws and other needed knowledge?
>
Bob redirected your other thread on this - "I need that increase" to PSB. Go to my post there for some ideas of places to start.Mair
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 19, 2002, at 22:02:19
In reply to Re: The bulldozers are here!! » BarbaraCat, posted by Mair on May 19, 2002, at 21:38:34
I read your post, Mair, and thank you very much. It was very helpful and I'm going to start putting your suggestions into practice this coming week. Still feeling bummed out about it, like waiting for the inevitable but never knowing when. It's wearing on my fragile peace of mind. I'm going send out a thanks to everyone who responded. This was a time I didn't mind asking for help one bit - even though Dr. Bob's redirection sorta squelched it. - Barbara
> >
> > >
> >
> Any suggestions as to where to start looking for land use laws and other needed knowledge?
> >
> Bob redirected your other thread on this - "I need that increase" to PSB. Go to my post there for some ideas of places to start.
>
> Mair
Posted by Kat26 on May 19, 2002, at 23:00:25
In reply to Re: Need OCD info and experiences, posted by Dinah1 on May 19, 2002, at 15:17:37
Gosh, Dinah, I can really relate to those kinds of thoughts... the poison etc...
Kat26
Posted by Kat26 on May 19, 2002, at 23:01:31
In reply to What med can I try for OCD? Running out of ideas.., posted by rainbowlight on May 19, 2002, at 19:43:00
What about Prozac? Like Zoloft, it is more activating for most people.
Kat26
Posted by BarbaraCat on May 19, 2002, at 23:37:49
In reply to What med can I try for OCD? Running out of ideas.., posted by rainbowlight on May 19, 2002, at 19:43:00
RainbowLight,
Have you tried Remeron? It's rumored to be good for OCD. Of course, I'm taking it, so one has to wonder... Anyhow, I like Rem very much, even thought it's tough to get past the first week or so of zombie-dom. Higher doses, 45mg and up, kick in the NE and turn it into a completely different drug. European pdocs typically have their patients go up to 90mg, but you never see anyone in this country go past 30mg, and at that dosage it's a dud. The only drawback is weight gain, which can be excessive. I'm exercising way more than I have in a long time both to melt away the pudge, and also because I just can. Remeron has pretty much given me my life back, even though the f**cking bulldozers are putting the efficacy of these meds to the acid test.Oh, and something very important - are you taking any kind of mood stabilizer? That seems to be the magic ticket for many of us here. Without the lithium, the Remeron just doesn't work and I can literally feel my brain misfiring and hiccupping. - Barbara
> I have been trying Zoloft, worked wonders for the first month for the OCD. Then I began to get physically ill from it. Pdoc cut my dose in half and I think it is worse. Do you guys have any ideas on what to try? I have tried Luvox and Paxil with no luck, too sedating.
Posted by tinker on May 20, 2002, at 7:45:55
In reply to What med can I try for OCD? Running out of ideas.., posted by rainbowlight on May 19, 2002, at 19:43:00
Hi You might want to try clomapramine. It worked wonders for me. I was very unsuccessful with zoloft. I could go on for pages about the unpleasant side effects that didn't end when I stopped the drug. -Tinker
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