Medications for The Treatment of Bipolar Disorders

Managing Medications: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental condition that causes intrusive thoughts or feelings to occur frequently, as well as the compulsion to do something over and over. Obsessions and compulsions may happen in the same person. Obsessive-compulsive disorder isn’t about bad behavior like chewing the nails or obsessing over negative feelings. It’s probable that an obsessive feeling is that specific colors and numbers are the sign of good or bad. After touching something that might be dirty, an essential habit could be to wash your hands seven times. You feel unable to stop yourself from thinking or doing this stuff, even though you don’t want to.

Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder may result in a variety of circumstances ranging from slightly irritating to severely debilitating. Patients may fall somewhere on a continuum ranging from regularly clean their hands by washing many times to obsessively repeating habits that interfere with their everyday lives and even their ability to work.

Physicians usually use a few different drugs to treat this disorder. Your doctor can prescribe only one of these medicines or a combination of them. Other medications, such as those for anxiety or to help you sleep, can be used to supplement OCD therapy and can improve the quality of life by dramatically reducing obsessive thoughts.

Symptoms of Obsessions

Obsessions are typically extreme representations of fears and problems that almost everyone has experienced at some point in their lives.

Obsessions that are commonly found include:

• Afraid of germs, dirt, toxins, and other physical and environmental pollutants contaminate one’s body.
• Pervasive photos and thoughts about sex, crime, injuries, and other subjects.
• Excessive symmetry, exactness, and orderliness are essential to you.
• Excessive worries about health, religion, or morality

Obsessions can consume a person’s thoughts at all times. Physical objects, environments, sounds, or something heard on television, radio, or in a conversation may even set them off. Obsessive fears typically expand beyond a single cause – such as a bottle of coolant – to include something that resembles it or has been nearby, such as cars, car keys, and a puddle on the ground, store shelves, and gas stations.

Obsessions are unpredictable in terms of nature and intensity, and they do not react to reasoning. Obsessional anxiety induces heightened awareness of external risks and a deep desire for assurance and power. Obsessions can cause a wide range of emotions, from frustration and discomfort to extreme anxiety, disgust, and panic.

Treatment for OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) does not have a treatment. However, using medications, or a combination of therapies, you enable to control how your symptoms affect your life.

Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapy: It is a term used to describe the process of treating. Cognitive-behavioral therapy will assist you in altering your thought processes. Your doctor will place you in a situation designed to induce anxiety or trigger compulsions, a technique known as exposure and reaction prevention. You’ll learn to control your OCD thoughts and behaviors by first reducing them and then stopping them. The most common therapies of CBT form is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which has the most data supporting its use in the diagnosis of OCD, and a class of drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. In an outpatient environment, a licensed mental health professional normally conducts exposure and response prevention such as a psychologist, social worker, or mental health counselor.

Relaxation: It is essential. Stressful OCD symptoms can be relieved with simple methods such as meditation, yoga, and massage.

Medication: Many people benefit from psychiatric medications known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which help them control their obsessions and compulsions. It could take 3 to 4 months for them to start working. Citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine, paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline are several of the most widely prescribed antidepressants (Zoloft). If your symptoms continue, your doctor can prescribe antipsychotic medications such as aripiprazole (Abilify) or risperidone (Risperdal).

Neuromodulator: It is the process of altering the brain’s electrical activity when drugs and therapies aren’t making much difference. Your doctor can recommend electrical devices that modify the electrical activity in a particular part of your brain. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is one form of TMS that the FDA has approved for treating OCD. It stimulates nerve cells by using magnetic fields. Deep brain stimulation is a more complex process that involves the implantation of electrodes in your brain.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): The TMS unit is a non-invasive magnetic field generator that is held above the head. It works by regulating OCD symptoms in a particular part of the brain.

There are two types of inhibitors that help in treating OCD. These two inhibitors are:

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
• Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

These are drugs that prevent serotonin from being reabsorbed into the brain. They function by regulating serotonin in the brain, which makes compulsive behaviors and intrusive thinking less probable.

Sertraline (Generic Name: Zoloft)

It is a drug that is used to treat depression, reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, sexual difficulties, and insomnia.

Side Effects: Diarrhea, dizziness, headache, appetite loss, dry mouth, nausea, stomach cramps, low energy, excessive sweating, gas, fatigue, involuntary twitching, and weight loss are some of the more common side effects.

User Experience: “I tried Zoloft for depression in college because relatives said it worked for them for social anxiety as well, so I was hoping it would be a cure.” Instead, I became manic and couldn’t sleep because my thoughts were racing. I was pacing my dorm room for days at a time and not leaving it. I have had uncontrollable diarrhea as a consequence of it.” John Rose was diagnosed with OCD when she was in her twenties.

Prozac (generic name: Fluoxetine)

It is a prescription of antidepressants that comes with a variety of strengths.

Side Effects: Nausea, excessive sweating, fatigue, headache, diarrhea, dizziness, indigestion, nervousness, appetite loss, rash, yawning, throat discomfort, dry mouth, involuntary twitching, sinus irritation, and congestion are all common side effects of this medication.

User Experience: “I was on it when I was 14,” Jean Rose says, “and it made me very, very emotional.” “In my early 30s, I tried it again, but the bowel side effects were too much to bear.”

Paxil (Generic Name: Paroxetine)

It is a prescription that is used to treat depression.

Side Effects:  Drowsiness, fatigue, nausea, headache, sexual problems, Insomnia,  appetite loss, difficult or painful urination, diarrhea, dry mouth, involuntary twitching, excessive sweating, nervousness, bowel movement difficulties are some of the most common side effects.

User Experience: “Paxil transformed me into a zombie,” one user said. I didn’t give a damn anymore; all I wanted to do was sleep all day, but my mother became concerned,” John Rose explains.

Luvox (Generic Name: Fluvoxamine)

It is a prescription medication.

Side Effects:  Sexual difficulties, drowsiness, excessive sweating, fatigue, indigestion, involuntary twitching, dry mouth, nausea, headache, bowel movement difficulties, nasal swelling, nervousness, and taste issues are some of the most common side effects.

Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)

The frequently and popular SNRI used to treat OCD symptoms is Effexor. It is used to treat various anxiety disorders by balancing serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain.

Effexor (Generic Name: Venlafaxine)  

It is a prescription drug that is used to treat.

Side Effects: Headaches, sensory issues (such as failure to focus), Blurry vision, vomiting, nervousness, dry mouth, constant sweating, quivering, numbness and tingling, appetite loss, stomach problems, taste problems, insomnia, drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, bowel movement difficulties, sexual difficulties, anxiety are some of the most common side effects.

User Experience: “I was taken Effexor twice,” says the consumer. I felt nauseous the first time. “The bowel issues were too much the second time,” John Rose states.

Tricyclic Antidepressants 

They are a form of antidepressant. These are similar to SSRIs and SNRIs, but the FDA has approved only one tricyclic to treat OCD. It is usually used only when other medications have failed.

Anafranil (Generic Name: Clomipramine)

It is a drug that is used to treat depression.

Side Effects: Lack of energy, insomnia, dry mouth, headache, vision disturbances, taste problems, appetite loss, indigestion, weight gain, dizziness, drowsiness, erectile dysfunction, and hunger are some of the most common side effects.

User Experience: “John Rose states that Anafranil had no influence on her.”

In Conclusion

Bear in mind that side effects can disappear after a few days of this treatment. You should take your prescription exactly as directed and that you don’t miss any doses. Consult your doctor to determine the best treatment or combination of drugs for you. It will almost definitely take some trial and error to find the right mix between side effects and relaxation.