Horrible anxiety and bdd

[Katherine914]

Hi,

I recently got off an SSRI that I had been on for 5 years. I started obsessing about the size of my nose and it has taken over my life. I am constantly checking it in the mirror, taking pictures and comparing it to pictures from before. I know that it has grown and it makes me feel ugly and pretty much awful about myself. I don't know what to do...it is causing me so much anxiety that I can't sleep at night and I don't feel pretty or confident anymore. Do you think I should get back on a medication? I got off Zoloft because of weight gain and really don't want to go through that again. Let me know.

Thanks

[JGF25]

Hi there.  You like a lot of people, including myself, have gone off medication and tried it on our own again.  I managed for quite a few years without it but I was never OCD free.  I was able to manage it though with my cognitive behavioral therapy techniques that I learned.  Eventually though I ended up back on medication.  

If you have taken it successfully for five years and now are having problems again that are all encompassing without it, then yes, you should discuss with your prescribing doctor about going back on.  

There are many medications on the market these days and they all have differing side effects.  The SSRIs, yes they do have the tendency to make people gain weight and I think they also wreak havoc on the sex drive..at least they did with me.  So while I'm not a doctor and cannot tell you that this will work for you I will share that I tried several SSRIs this last go around and was dissatistifed with them all.  Lexapro, Celexa...on prozac years ago.  So I went for an SNRI called Wellbutrin.  It is known to have the least side effects.  I have gained some weight but honestly I was eating everything in sight.  And the weight gain I did gain was only about 6 pounds and I've been on it for more than a year.  Also, the very best part...no sex drive loss.  So look at the options with your doctor and find something that is going to work for you but I do think you need to go back on meds.  

Take care of you!  

[Gelato]

I have the same compulsive thoughts about my nose for my mother said that it was large as a child and i should try to pinch my nose smaller as a child.  So even when i talk to people, i do not always hear them for i am thinking about the other person looking at my nose.  What kind of meds could i take to ride of these thoughts that i have had for years?