Paxil for OCD?

[undercoverlover]

I was just diagnosed with OCD today and was prescribed Paxil and I'm wondering if anyone else has tried it for their OCD and had luck? I have bipolar disorder and so it's kind of tricky putting me on an SSRI because there's the risk it will cause me to be manic but my anxiety and obsessions have gotten so bad that my rituals are keeping me from sleeping so I really needed things treated and I guess I have to take that risk. My depression has been worse lately too and so my psychiatrist is hoping the Paxil will just act as a booster for my mood stabilizer and not trigger a full blown manic episode but we can only hope I guess.
Has anyone else tried it (or a similar SSRI) and has it helped?

 

[Walker]

I took Prozac (another ssri) for ocd & it was amazing. In fact, I'm so little ocd now I wouldn't fit criteria for it any longer. That was 20 years ago. Good luck.
By the way, I'm not bipolar so that is something to watch but you can sure try.

 

[Ash600]

Hi @undercoverlover

Paxil/paroxetine is a well establishe drug for the management of OCD.

The recommended dose is 40 mg daily. Patients should start on 20 mg/day and the dose may be increased gradually in 10 mg increments to the recommended dose. If after some weeks on the recommended dose insufficient response is seen some patients may benefit from having their dose increased gradually up to a maximum of 60 mg/day.
Patients with OCD should be treated for a sufficient period to ensure that they are free from symptoms. This period may be several months or even longer.

But you're right, paroxetine should be used with caution for patients with a history of mania. It can be done though, providing there is adequate monitoring by your psychriatist who I assume has experience in dealing with these combined conditions.

I hope you'll find this treatment successful for you, and it goes without saying, please report any untoward effects you may experience as soon as possible to your health care team.

Also, as an afterthought, I'm not sure about your age, but extra caution and close montitoring is strongly recommended if paroxetine treatment is to be initiated in those who are under the age of 18yrs.

 

[undercoverlover]

Thank you so much @walker95 . It's good to hear that SSRIs were helpful for you; that gives me a lot of hope that it will help me with my OCD too.

@Ash600 Thank you. My psychiatrist did say he was trying to increase it very slowly because of my bipolar disorder (I'm starting out on 10 mg and moving up in those increments). Right now I'm having trouble telling the difference between the early effects of the paxil and early warning signs of mania. My psychiatrist said it will make me very jittery the first few days but I've also been talking a lot faster so I'm really hoping that's not early mania. Time will tell I guess. I really hope it works for me.
As for age, I am 19 so hopefully it won't cause any issues.

 

[Ash600]

As long as you and your psychiatrist keep a close eye on things hopefullt things should be ok. So with this in mind, it would be prudent for you to maintain a regular dialogue with your psychiatrist with regarding any emotional changes you may be feeling, or anything else which may seem untoward.

As for your age, yeah hopefully it won't be an issue. The reason being is that here in the UK, the use of SSRIs tends to be avoided in adolescents, only used rarely under specialist supervision and then only if the clinical need outweigh the risks. The risks being, is that it has been observed that 18yrs or under tend to be more prone to suicidal behaviour and also levels of hostility (predominantly aggression, oppositional behaviour and anger) if treated with SSRIs. Therefore close careful monitoring is required if these class of drugs are to be used witihn this age group.

Nevertheless, as I've already mentioned previously, it can be of benefit with OCD, and I truly help that it can be of value to you and so help you to manage things better.

Take care.

 

[MarvelFan]

Undercoverlover, Paxil by itself if used for treating someone with only OCD or panic attacks but it can be dangerous if there are other conditions because outting them only on Paxil might switch them it they have it from depression/bi-polar disorder into mania, a potentially dangerous change. To prevent this problem, doctors treating bipolar disorder may prescribe a mood stabilizer or antipsychotic drug along with Paxil.

This is what my psychiatrist and therapist told me about OCD that in it's mild case it is related to Generalized Anxiety Disorder. For some Zoloft, Prozac, Risperdal along with Paxil can help treat it if there is mania/psychosis/bi-polar disorder too.

If it makes you feel too medicated since that is what my psychiatrist and therapist told me Xanex might help just help the same and not make you feel as medicated, but Xanex usually don't seem to help other disorders other than OCD and panic attacks. So I'ts possible your on the right medication, just as others have stated make sure its not causing any unusual side effects like increased suicidal feeling otherwise you might have to be put on a lower dose or try a different medication.

Take care and keep us updated on how your feeling on your medication, Love Ryan

 

[undercoverlover]

@Ryan2013 Unfortunately I had a pretty bad reaction to Paxil. Ended up in the ER. I see my psychiatrist Tuesday and was going to ask him about other options. I've been doing research and it looks like a lot of antidepressants can lower seizure thresholds in epileptic patients and also tend to have bad interactions with Lamictal. I take Lamictal for both bipolar disorder and epilepsy so lowering my seizure threshold and having a medication interact with my anticonvulsant is probably a bad combination. It's a balancing act I guess.

 

[MarvelFan]

@Ryan2013 Unfortunately I had a pretty bad reaction to Paxil. Ended up in the ER. I see my psychiatrist Tuesday and was going to ask him about other options. I've been doing research and it looks like a lot of antidepressants can lower seizure thresholds in epileptic patients and also tend to have bad interactions with Lamictal. I take Lamictal for both bipolar disorder and epilepsy so lowering my seizure threshold and having a medication interact with my anticonvulsant is probably a bad combination. It's a balancing act I guess.

have you tried
GABAPENTIN

if your taking Lamictal and paxil sounds like your double dosing since they both have anti-depressent effects.
I think just taking one and an anti-anxiety like Xanax might make you feel less medicated. Take care, Ryan