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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 juniper on March 9, 2000, at 23:51:43
n november, i, for reasons i'm not particularly sure about, stopped taking my effexor. at the time i was living in an one room cabin, alone. i wasn't under any doctor's care. i'd go to work (counselor for juvenile delinquents committed to a 6 month program), other than this i had little contact with people, and this was certainly my choice. i think that the combination of ceasing effexor and being a relative recluse (who had no responsibilities aside from showing up to work---i had no phone or computer to keep in touch with anyone and so no one expected such) and working on a base i recognized was a clusterfuck but had little control over operations exacerbated my depression and OCD and gave me a space to wallow in it. as for stopping the effexor cold turkey, i didn't have many of the side effects i've since read about on this site---just the exacerbation of existing problems, and lack of energy.
after i was removed from my position my mood began to improve. i also went back on effexor. ------------------fast forward to now (which i suppose i could have done in the first place). my mood is decently stablized with effexor and adderall, but the increase in my OCD, which first began during the break from effexor/recluse/clusterfuck time (and which is now more severe than i believe it has been in a long while), has remained. can anyone theorize on why this would be? i know that often when one takes an AD or such, stops it and then goes back on it, the effects are often different than originally. is it possible that stopping the effexor allowed OCD symptoms to florish and now, for whatever reason, it simply isn't reeling them back in?sigh, i think i need to sit down (over a cup of tea?) and have a chat with my serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine neurotransmitters...maybe we could work out a deal?
Posted by Janice on March 10, 2000, at 1:35:06
In reply to medication breaks and increased OCD?, posted by juniper on March 9, 2000, at 23:51:43
Hello Juniper,
It is possible that stopping the effexor allowed OCD symptoms to return, and now the Effexor isn't helping as much as before. This could be possible.
My OCD is out-of-control right now. For me, it's seasonal. My depression is bad right now, and because of that everything else is worse. Could your depression be seasonal?
From what I understand, OCD is a coping mechanism for anxiety or ADHD. So whatever increases your anxiety or ADHD could increase your OCD. If you are more depressed now, for whatever reason, your anxiety could be worse, and then your OCD.
I'm half asleep, so I hope I made some sense, janice
Posted by Cindy W on March 10, 2000, at 9:09:10
In reply to Re: medication breaks and increased OCD?, posted by Janice on March 10, 2000, at 1:35:06
> Hello Juniper,
>
> It is possible that stopping the effexor allowed OCD symptoms to return, and now the Effexor isn't helping as much as before. This could be possible.
>
> My OCD is out-of-control right now. For me, it's seasonal. My depression is bad right now, and because of that everything else is worse. Could your depression be seasonal?
>
> From what I understand, OCD is a coping mechanism for anxiety or ADHD. So whatever increases your anxiety or ADHD could increase your OCD. If you are more depressed now, for whatever reason, your anxiety could be worse, and then your OCD.
>
> I'm half asleep, so I hope I made some sense, janiceJuniper, I agree with Janice...stopping the Effexor probably let the OCD increase again. Have read that it may be necessary to keep taking the meds over a very long period or maybe forever to keep the "OCD monster" contained. I don't want the OCD ever to get control again (it's very painful!).--Cindy W
Posted by bob on March 10, 2000, at 19:53:36
In reply to Re: medication breaks and increased OCD?, posted by Cindy W on March 10, 2000, at 9:09:10
I had a parallel problem with zoloft -- it managed my depression marvelously (or maybe too marvelously). So I stopped. And I crashed. And zoloft has done nothing for my depression since. Nor has any other SSRI ... but it took a few years to find that out.
The one and only thing zoloft was able to manage for me to the very end was my OCD. Like Janice says, my is very much related to my anxiety, and my anxeity is bound pretty tightly to my depression as well. Recently, I had to make a choice as to what I should add to my nortrip/klonopin cocktail to deal with it -- something to specifically address the OCD, or (I figured) something to augment the nortrip and boost the AD effect I was getting. I chose (to push my pdoc into prescribing) Ritalin, for the latter. It worked. Depression has lifted some, and the OCD is under control again.
So, the short of it is yes, going off a med then going back on can find you having a different reaction, and not always (rarely?) a good difference.
If you feel the effexor and adderall are dealing with your depression adequately, why not something to target the OCD? An SSRI at a low dose, like zoloft or luvox, may be just the trick and may give the effexor a little kick as well. Cloniprimine has also been used to treat it, or klonopin (at a slightly higher dose than I currently take ... those four were the meds I was considering on my "target the OCD" option).
cheers,
bob
Posted by juniper on March 11, 2000, at 21:38:32
In reply to Re: medication breaks and increased OCD?, posted by bob on March 10, 2000, at 19:53:36
thank-you janice, cindy, and bob for your responses. i know that i must be using my OCD as a stress relieving mechanism (or at least at one point i was doing so and it must have worked and so i've continued it. but it's outlived its usefulness and now seems to be an energy and time sucking habit).
i recognize that my OCD symptoms can flair up during stressful times. at times i can be so stressed, sad and overwhelmed that whatever works, regardless of the uncomfort it will bring later (and i guess the trancelike-i-don't-want-to-be-doing-this-but-i-am uncomfort at the time). i don't know if it is so much relieving stress but trading it for something different, at a time when i desperately want to feel differently, but don't know how.
but at other times i feel content, maybe even happy (!), but the symptoms remain.
again, thank-you for your theorizing and suggestions.....
i think it is time to go the target-the-OCD route, which is actually sorta cool (for lack of a better word) as most of my other problems, which were originally the primary ones, seem to be under contol at the moment. gotta remember to count my blessings at times.
juniper
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