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Help for Pure-O: Advice?
Hello,
This is my first time posting on any forums. I regularly read through them for reassurance, even though I know I shouldn't and that it doesn't help me in the long-term, but I can't help it, it's a crutch for me. I'm a 21 year old male and I have Pure-O and I won't say what my thoughts are related to because it's difficult for me to talk about as you might understand. I recently had a setback of massive proportions. I originally got my first hit of Pure-O in the fall of 2013 and I went through a horrible time, but after seeing a therapist (which sort of helped, but not much) and taking 10mg of Lexapro daily, I almost completely recovered after I'd say a month. I still had the thoughts but it was easy to dismiss and even the little episodes I might have were minor and didn't really effect me.
I would take the medication off and on for a good while, never tapering, just stopping for about 2-3 years. And then a few weeks back I relapsed massively and it's even worse now than it was in the beginning. I've been in a really bad way and had to get out of college, work and everything. My normal dosage wasn't working so my GP upped it to 15, which didn't work either, so it was upped to 20mg. I could see the difference a week in and I'm now on week 4. I was super confident that I was recovering, but now I've had a setback and it feels like my anxiety and my thoughts are inescapable. Is my medication working? What should I do? I was looking at medication like Anafranil and wondering if that might suit me better, but Lexapro has worked so well for me in the past I want to work really bad.
This is my first time posting on any forums. I regularly read through them for reassurance, even though I know I shouldn't and that it doesn't help me in the long-term, but I can't help it, it's a crutch for me. I'm a 21 year old male and I have Pure-O and I won't say what my thoughts are related to because it's difficult for me to talk about as you might understand. I recently had a setback of massive proportions. I originally got my first hit of Pure-O in the fall of 2013 and I went through a horrible time, but after seeing a therapist (which sort of helped, but not much) and taking 10mg of Lexapro daily, I almost completely recovered after I'd say a month. I still had the thoughts but it was easy to dismiss and even the little episodes I might have were minor and didn't really effect me.
I would take the medication off and on for a good while, never tapering, just stopping for about 2-3 years. And then a few weeks back I relapsed massively and it's even worse now than it was in the beginning. I've been in a really bad way and had to get out of college, work and everything. My normal dosage wasn't working so my GP upped it to 15, which didn't work either, so it was upped to 20mg. I could see the difference a week in and I'm now on week 4. I was super confident that I was recovering, but now I've had a setback and it feels like my anxiety and my thoughts are inescapable. Is my medication working? What should I do? I was looking at medication like Anafranil and wondering if that might suit me better, but Lexapro has worked so well for me in the past I want to work really bad.
Thank you for the support. I do want to see a therapist but as you said I'm afraid of them not understanding and being detrimental to my recovery. I've had some experiences with Doctors and therapists who say all the wrong things. And as for the medication, I know it says I'm supposed to wait 6-8 weeks at least but if I'm feeling this way on week 4 I'm just not sure it's helping as much.
1 Comments
I understand the fear of psychiatrists, medication is scary, but I wonder why the fear of therapists? They're not going to say things you want to hear, they're going to say what they think you need to hear. CBT is difficult, but most therapists, and I've seen a few in my sixty plus years, prefer their patients to not be on medication to at least try it that way so they know the treatment works with a normal brain. But if you need meds, they will tell you that. I did, ultimately. But there's no need to fear them -- it's hard and it doesn't necessarily work, but if it does, you actually get to leave the problem behind. Give it a try.
Pure-O distinguishes a person who has just obsessive thoughts versus those that have compulsions. That is the only difference. Those with Pure-O have thoughts they cannot get rid of. Everybody thinks "weird" things but people that do not suffer from OCD are able to let these thoughts go.
You got better once, therefore you can get better again. Everybody with OCD takes a step back at some point whether it be from medication becoming ineffective or that stress has become too much and it overpowers the medication's ability to help you. When this happens, you can try an increase.
BUT like someone said, medication does not fix you. You need to see a psychologist and learning cognitive behavioral therapy. You need to know how to deal with the anxiety that shows up during these times of higher stress. It is a one-two knock out punch to OCD.
I know you don't want to talk about it, but I can promise you that you cannot surprise a psychologist. You may think you are the only one that has had a particular thought or you may find it embarrassing but trust me, they have heard it all before. You cannot shock them. So please make an appointment.
You got better once, therefore you can get better again. Everybody with OCD takes a step back at some point whether it be from medication becoming ineffective or that stress has become too much and it overpowers the medication's ability to help you. When this happens, you can try an increase.
BUT like someone said, medication does not fix you. You need to see a psychologist and learning cognitive behavioral therapy. You need to know how to deal with the anxiety that shows up during these times of higher stress. It is a one-two knock out punch to OCD.
I know you don't want to talk about it, but I can promise you that you cannot surprise a psychologist. You may think you are the only one that has had a particular thought or you may find it embarrassing but trust me, they have heard it all before. You cannot shock them. So please make an appointment.
I know you're right but it's difficult to talk about, let alone get therapy for... I need the medication to work so I brave something like CBT.
Yes, I went on 20mg and saw a steady improvement but last week I started getting terrible anxiety again and obsessive thoughts.
1 Comments
Well, first, don't expect any medication to completely eradicate your problems. They help, but they don't cure. Sometimes you'll still have tough times -- everyone does. If the tough times become chronic, then the med has stopped working. Also, the term Pure O is one I've gotten into trouble on this forum for discounting, but it doesn't really mean anything. Everyone with a mental problem has an obsessive thought problem. Labeling yourself as Pure-O might sound comforting at first, as you feel, hey, it has a name and therefore I'm not alone and maybe it can be fixed. But this is a newish diagnosis that is more for the purposes of insurance coverage and drug patents than it is a change in anything people have been experiencing -- all of us who suffer anxiety have obsessive thoughts or we wouldn't have anxiety. Hopefully, you have a good therapist who can help you separate thoughts from feeling anxious about them, but in the meantime, if you need medication, if it seems to not be working anymore it's time to see the psychiatrist and discuss that.
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