How to Use Medications to Treat OCD

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can range from very mild to extremely severe in intensity. For people with moderate to severe OCD, they may find the symptoms interfere unacceptably in their daily lives. For these people, medical intervention may be necessary. Fortunately, psychiatrists can now use medications to treat OCD.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Use Medications to Treat OCD

1. Visit a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists are specifically trained to know just what medications to use in the treatment of OCD.
2. Get a prescription for a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI). These are the medications of first choice in the treatment of OCD. SRI drugs include Paxil, Luvox and Prozac.
3. Try an opioid drug. Opioids such as Xanax, Ultram and Darvocet have demonstrated effectiveness in treating OCD. These may be good drugs to try if serotonin reuptake inhibitors do not help you.
4. Take inositol. This is a natural sugar that is found in high fiber products. Recent studies have shown inositol to have a positive effect in reducing symptoms of OCD.
5. Give St. Johns Wort a try. Though the evidence for its effectiveness as a treatment for OCD is purely anecdotal, many OCD sufferers have claimed it worked for them. If all else fails to adequately treat your OCD, St. Johns Wort may be an option for you.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't expect the medications you take to work right away. Most medications for OCD, particularly the serotonin reuptake inhibitors, take anywhere from several weeks to several months to really begin to produce noticeable results.
• If you experience any negative reactions to a medication, let your psychiatrist know right away—preferably before taking any more of it.
• Expect to have regular appointments with your psychiatrist for as long as you are taking medication for OCD. Once your psychiatrist has found a medicine that works for you, your appointments will likely taper off to about 3 to 4 a year.
• Due to their potential for addiction, your psychiatrist may be reluctant to prescribe opioid drugs (simulated narcotics) to you, except as a last resort.
• You may have to try several serotonin reuptake inhibitors before you find one that works for you. People have wildly different responses to these drugs. You may have a bad reaction to one or be too sensitive to another. Your psychiatrist will continually adjust your medication and the amount you take until one is found that is right for you.
• Do not stop taking any medication for OCD on your own. Most of these medications must be gradually stopped under medical supervision.

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