How to Treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder With Anafranil

Anafranil is a medication that has a strong history of success in treating obsessive compulsive disorder. This tricyclic antidepressant drug was designed specifically to stop the obsessional thoughts that are the hallmark of obsessive compulsive disorder. When obsessive thoughts are eliminated, the urge to perform compulsive actions should also disappear. Anafranil has proven itself to be safe and effective in most people, although, as with any drug, there are certain conditions or circumstances where taking it would be ill advised. If you are interested in taking Anafranil to treat obsessive compulsive disorder, there are just a few things you need to know first.

Instructions

1. Start out with a small dose of Anafranil to treat the obsessive compulsive disorder, then gradually increase it once you see how you will react to it. Some people become extremely drowsy while on Anafranil or have seizures, and starting out at a low dose reduces the risk of these complications.

2. Avoid taking Anafranil if you are pregnant. Anafranil has been shown to cause breathing and urinary difficulties in some infants whose mothers took the drug while pregnant.

3. Avoid taking Anafranil if you have any sort of blood disorder, diabetes, glaucoma, schizophrenia or asthma, as this drug can make those conditions worse.

4. Wait up to 4 weeks to notice results from taking Anafranil. While many patients start noticing a difference within the first few days of starting the drug, others find it takes a month and sometimes more for levels of Anafranil to build up in their systems enough that they feel a difference.

5. Take Anafranil once a day, preferably right before you go to bed, as it can make you sleepy, especially when you first start taking it.

6. Wean yourself off of Anafranil gradually if you have to stop taking it. Abruptly stopping the drug can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and may even lead to a psychotic episode.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not take Anafranil to treat obsessive compulsive disorder if you have been treated with an MAO inhibitor in the past 4 weeks. Anafranil does not combine well with MAO inhibitors, and it can take up to 4 weeks for the MAO inhibitor to completely leave your body. If you take Anafranil during this time, it could interact with remaining traces of the MAO inhibitor and cause seizures, coma or death.

• Do not drive for a few days after you first start taking Anafranil, as it may make you too drowsy to operate a car. Wait until you know how it is going to affect you before you venture out behind the wheel.