Med switch

I suffer from OCD and have been on 10 mg of Lexpro for about 8 weeks, along with 1mg of Klonopin per day. My anxiety seems to have increased as a result of Lexapro. I informed the psychiatrist, who I see for meds only of the issue. He had no problem with me reducing down to 5mg, of which I have been on for one week now without any meaningful reduction of anxiety. In consideration of that, I would like to switch to either Zoloft or Anafranil. Does there need to be a wash out period or can I immediately switch? Is Anafranil better for those who have anxiety as a result of SSRi's?

Also, during the day I have periods where I feel pretty normal, but then there seems to be a brief wave of minor depression with anxiety mixed in. I asked my CBT psychologist yesterday if I was bi-polar or such and he said no. He labeled my feeling a term I can't remember, but it was not manic depressive or bi-polar etc. My question is could the Klonopin or the Lexapro be contributing to these feelings which are not normal for me?

Sorry for such a long post and thanks for your response and time.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

You might consider eliminating all medications and stick with the cbt approach.  Klonopin will control your anxiety but can also make you have waves of feeling down since your anxiety will wax and wane during the day and the klonopin will then cover the anxiety( stimulus period) or depress slightly when that is not active.

Zoloft would be a better choice if you have to choose but keep the dose low.