Does anyone use FLUOXETINE 25mg for OCD? Does it help?

[Fargo-Guy]

Does anyone use Fluoxetine for OCD? Has it helped?

[LuvSun]

I take Fluoxetine and it does seem to help ease my mind.

[Fargo-Guy in reply to LuvSun]

Thanks for your reply. I am looking for some that that helps with depression and my OCD. Most meds I have taken cause me to feel bad so I have stopped them. Dizzy and tired most of them. I hope this one helps.

[Fargo-Guy in reply to Fargo-Guy]

Thanks so much for the reply so often no one replies.

[LuvSun in reply to Fargo-Guy]

I don’t think I suffer from depression- just OCD- but I find the Fluoxetine seems to make me a happier person. It seems to help me deal with the obsessions better- I don’t dwell on them as long. I can say this because the times when I go for periods where I don’t take the medication my husband can tell and I can tell a difference. Also I have never experienced any negative side effects and I have been taking it for over 30 years. I hope you have good results as well😊

[Fargo-Guy in reply to LuvSun]

Great thanks for comments. I will let you know but it sounds like it might be what I need.

[MothFir]

I've been on it for 20 years at a low dose (20mg/day). I've recently increased to 40mg/day because my ERP therapist (who I've only seen the last few months) agreed that it might help me overcome some of my more powerful obsessions. She says that 40 to 60mg is pretty standard for OCD, so if 25 doesn't do it for you, and you don't have bad side effects, definitely see if you can raise it.

My wife and I both noticed a difference when I first started on it around 2001. I actually think I was on a higher dose in those days. At some point I reduced it, which may have been a mistake. We'll see how 40mg works.

I was recently convinced to try raising the meds after reading Jonathan Grayson's book (Freedom from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). He pointed out that OCD has both biological and learned components. We reinforce our obsessions through rituals (learned), but we are biologically more sensitive to uncertainty and less able to let go of thoughts than average people to begin with. Some OCD sufferers can recover through therapy alone; others need medication to handle a more "obsessive" biology. This all made a lot of sense to me.

I hope it works for you!

[Fargo-Guy in reply to MothFir]

Thank you so much for your reply. I just started it and hope and pray it helps me. The OCD is so harmful to enjoying life. I agree with what you said. I think I will read the book you mentioned. It is a learn ritual that gets ramped up by anxiety. But I feel certain a chemical imbalance is in play. Your not confirms that. It you and your husband noticed it and you have been on it 20 years says something. Thanks so much for your reply. That is the value of this community.

[17sMom]

My 15 year old daughter started it about 4 months ago after reacting badly to Zoloft. Fluoxetine took a long time, and she had negative physical effects, which in hindsight we think may have been her anxiety, still unsure. But, she is currently on 60 mg, and the intrusive thoughts have been greatly reduced. As she is an adolescent, doctor is unsure of raising her to 80 mg which is an adult dose, because her depression has come back. We think it may be situational as her sister leaving for college in a week, and she is in ERP. I guess I just wanted to let you know, tat it does seem to help, but it takes a very long time to feel the positive effects, give yourself the full 6 weeks before making any determination. Good luck. also FYI, another one of her friends is transitioning from a year on Zoloft to Fluoxetine, its tough. Good Luck. Hope this helps

[Fargo-Guy in reply to 17sMom]

Thanks for your reply. My daughter had a tough time with abilify and did better on sterline but stopped it just did not trust doctors any more. Is seeing a counselor.

[FirstResponder23]

I have taken this medication for the last 9 years. I’ve only had my dosage increased recently, maybe 2 years ago. When I’m on it consistently....I defiantly feel good because when thoughts come through I am able to recognize it and find it “silly” and move on. It’s when I stop taking it that I’ve run into issues. Recently I have missed a lot of doses and I feel that is contributing to my spike in an OCD relapse. This has happened two or three other times so you think I would have been better with it, but life happens and I forget a day here or a day there. That’s one lesson I’ve learned. Is that I can not do that and I have to be on a good routine with taking it each day.