I suffer from ADHD and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I’m on either 20 or 40 mlg of Ritalin (I take the two pills if I have a class or if I have to work), and 40 mlg of Paxil.
OCD pretty much sucks, and it gets worse during times of stress and around my period. Does anyone else (female) notice this?
I liken OCD to being possessed, because my fears are very real, even though I KNOW they’re ridiculous, and I cannot get away from them.
I tried St. John’s Wort for a while, and it did seem to help at first but then sort of wore off. Long before that, when I had some pretty awful episodes in college, my doc put me on something called Midrin (or Migrazone-- I can’t remember the name of the generic v. the brand name). It was a migraine med but she swore by its off-label usefulness when it came to PMS-triggered anxiety/depression (and at the time, my problems did seem worse at certain times of the month). It did help a bit.
Psyching myself up to ask my current doc to recommend a therapist of some kind, so I may end up on something else soon enough… gotta say, this thread is really interesting and helpful. Good luck, Welfy-- my mom’s on Zoloft, and it’s helped her a whole lot.
YES
I’m mildly obsessive, but around that time of the month, I get absolutely whacko about it. I do suffer from raging PMS, which I have been battling for years. None of the recommended remedies seem to help.
This month, I’m trying progesterone cream, available over the counter, btw, try checking at a health-food store, along with Dong Quai and evening primrose oil. So far I seem to be doing ok, I think the progesterone cream has got my hormones under control enough that the herbal stuff can have an effect.
Might want to give it a try.
Welfy-
I went through an actual self-mutilation phase when I was nineteen, and still have the scars. At that time, I got hooked up with the Therapist From Hell. She was downright nasty to me right from the get-go. I dumped her real quick.
Like I said, Zoloft can cause some really bizarre dreams, and is only effective over the short term, but if you get hooked up with a good therapist, you might be able to resolve whatever deeper emotional problems that are causing the depression, so by the time the Zoloft quits being useful, you won’t really need it anymore anyway.
Lets see if I can remember all the ones I was on:
Amoxapine
Prozac
Trazadone
Paxil
Zoloft
Effexor
Serzone
Amitriptyline
Imipramine
…and a few other anti-depressants which are evading my memory now.
About 5 years ago I was so depressed I could barely function. My depression was treatment resistant. After all those drugs I went through, only one or two of them somewhat worked and at massive doses. My life was in the toilet. However, thankfully, my depression lifted a few years ago and I haven’t been depressed since. The only drug I get prescribed anymore is Dexedrine, and that is for my ADD.
One thing that will helps depression a lot is exercise.