Will it help OCD - and general questions.... - http://www.sjwinfo.org Forums
Topic Title: Will it help OCD - and general questions....
| |  "Will it help OCD - and general questions...."
, Thu 21 Feb 20:53
This forum and website looks great! Glad I found it! I have had OCD all my life. Moderate symptoms - I'm a checker and have trouble leaving the house in the mornings for work (but I make it!). Of course, the OCD is worse as my stress level increases.
I took Prozac for only 3 to 4 weeks. The first week was great then bam! Side effects were HELL. In this short time I felt WORSE. Extremely agitated, irritated, snappy and more depressed as if I wasn't myself. NO SEX DRIVE!!!
So - I stopped taking it since it had only been a few weeks.
Now my questions:
can it help with OCD?
since I only took the prozac for 3 or 4 weeks - how long should I wait to try the St. John's Wort?
I read somewhere on a website that you should only take it for 2-3 months then stop for awhile....then start it again - has anyone heard of this?
And finally - do you have to "wean" off of it like the prescription meds or can you just stop it at any time?
Thanks!
L.
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Thu 21 Feb 2002 20:47 |
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| |  "Re(1):Will it help OCD - and general question"
, Fri 22 Feb 02:44
I can't purport to having any knowledge about OCD, but I can answer your other questions!!
I believe that people do take SJW for this, and in any case when the effects start you will feel far more relaxed and focused on the things that matter, also you'll be less agitated and less anxious.
I should wait a good 3 weeks after stopping Prozac (or any other SSRI) because SJW is known to react with these mediactions in a bad way.
As for stopping after a few months then starting again - I don't see any reason why this would be beneficial - in fact it's exactly the opposite....I stopped for a couple of months (due to stupidly thinking that I felt so good there was no need to take it anymore)....the upshot is, that when I started taking again (after coming crashing down), it took alot longer to start working again which was absolute hell!
Your last question about having to wean off it - this is not really necessary with SJW, but if worried I suppose you could do it....however, take heed from the above paragraph and don't stop taking it once it has started working!!
David
Posts: 89 | | Registered: Sat 13 Oct 2001 17:39 |
| | | "Re(2):Will it help OCD - and general question" , Fri 22 Feb 06:26:
I would tell you that it works pretty well for OCD. I never really thought of myself and OCD until I started reading the symptoms people were posting. There are only 1-2 areas in which OCD plays a part in my life. But, they were both unwanted areas and have been greatly tempered down to nothing since I have been taking SJW. I think it has been a combination of taking SJW and my will to stop those activities. But I have never been able to do so without the SJW. Like David said, you are more than likely to have aggravated symptoms the first week or so. It was pretty rough going this second time around on SJW for me. Like David, I stopped taking when it had already started working. Due to a side effect of it making the complexion of my face red (I already am pretty red). However, I have discovered that this was due to my not sleeping well the three weeks I started SJW. I was having some pretty crazy dreams at first. And when I don't sleep, I get real red. This go around, everything is going great so far. As for the sex drive, I have not noticed any decrease. In fact, I have been pursuing sex much more due to the lack of anxiety thanks to SJW. So it has been positive all around. Good luck with it and just try and stick it out for 3-4 weeks. I think you will be pleased with the results.
[this message was edited by mike1g on Fri 22 Feb 06:28]
Posts: 63 | | Registered: Thu 10 Jan 2002 11:38 |
| | |  "Thanks & a few more questions!"
, Fri 22 Feb 12:09
Thank you very much for the feedback! I have a couple of more questions though:
1) have you told your doctor you are taking the SJW and how was their feedback to you?
2) I did a search last night on yahoo for more info......have you seen the negative stuff written about this? What do you think?
I really want to try it....I was just hoping I could try it to boost my serotonin level.
I'm depressed, my motivation has gone away (I used to exercise & run all the time), I've gained weight, etc. My boyfriend is getting depressed too so it's just a bad cycle! We can't motivate each other!
Thanks -
L.
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Thu 21 Feb 2002 20:47 |
| | | "Re(1):Thanks & a few more questions!" , Fri 22 Feb 17:31
Hi LooLoo:
When I realised that the life-long stuff I had suffered from was depression I went to see my GP (having previously purchased some SJW but not taken it yet) told him how low I was feeling (close to suicidal at that point) and he referred me to a councellor. I asked him about SJW....he'd knew very little about it (far les than I now know) of it (didn't try to put me off at all) but couldn't find any info about it on his computer, in his books etc etc - recommended me to give it a try for a few months.
The day I went to the councellors exactly a month later (and a month into SJW) I felt absolutely the best I had in years....talked to this arrogant, unsympathetic chap who soon informed me condascendingly that there was no proof that SJW actually worked....he then prescribed Seroxat (UK's name for Paxil)! (SOUND FAMILIAR MIKE!!!!???? - crazy huh!)....anyway, I got home and read the list of side effects and actually laughed out loud! (I'd rather be depressed!), I never took any of it, opting instead for the SJW which has definately worked!
Like Mike says, the pharmaceutical industry is unequivocally opposed to stuff like SJW because they gain nothing from it....no prescriptions (except as Mike says in Germany where it's THE MOST COMMONLY PRESCRIBED ANTIDEPRESSANT). What I can infer from this forum is that doctors in Europe seem more progressive that those in the USA and are less hesitant to advise paitents about SJW and related medicines....there is still miles of headway to be made up though, they still really need educating.
My penultimate thought is that if you want to try this DO IT!!! judge past and think deeper than what you read, form your own conjectures develop your own theories and test them out - to make yourself feel better you have to find what's good for you individually: a balance of exercise, introspection, SJW or similar, support, an overall more positive outlook etc....when you find your sucessful formula stick with it!!
Finally, (here comes my cynical though of the morning [it's 01:22 here!!]) - as far as the pharmaceutical industry and SJW goes - you remember how years ago tobacco companies swore that smoking was not harmful and rubbished the idea as openly as possible to prevent their revenues plummeting through the floor....imagine what disinformation pharmaceutical organisations have published and circulated about SJW and other similar substances in order to attempt similar?? - just speculating!!
Good luck!
David
Posts: 92 | | Registered: Sat 13 Oct 2001 17:39 |
| | | "Re(1):Thanks & a few more questions!" , Fri 22 Feb 13:55
I have not consulted my GP with regard to SJW. However, from what I hear, most doctors kind of shrug it off as some crackpot concoction. Because the pharmco companies don't throw free samples at them and they have no real way to generate any money off of SJW. So, they don't know much about it. I mean, you just walk into the store and buy it. No need for a prescription, no need for a doctor. But, I would think that some docs might have some relevant information to share on the subject. I am just somewhat down on docs right now. They are so apt to shove Paxil down someone's throat without knowing exactly what it (Paxil) or any other SSRI's really do. I did not even describe my full scope of symptoms to this guy and he just threw me some samples to get me out of there. Have you read some of the negative effects of Paxil or Prozac? Now that is scary.
Speaking of which, what negative effects have you read about? I would love to know. I have not really found to many bad reports about SJW. The one thing I would keep in mind is that the pharmco companies have allot to lose by people using SJW instead of their prescription pills. I would bet they have put allot of misinformation out there about it and 5-HTP. Or anything that might get in the way of them pulling in the millions off their product. You might make sure that you are reading info form an impartial source. I think I read or heard somewhere that SJW is the most prescribed solution for anxiety and depression in Germany. And other parts of Europe as well. I am not real clear on how the health system works in Germany but I would bet the doctors don't have as much to lose if they prescribe an over the counter remedy. They have been using it for years to great success apparently.
Course, they folks that make SJW could very well be putting out misleading info as well. All I know is that I have tried both Paxil and SJW. One has been worth the effort (SJW) and the other resulted in the worst two days I have had in a LONG time.
I guess I would say be careful in whatever avenue you might pursue. If you feel like you are not able to lead a happy healthy life in your current state, then you are going to have to do something. If you feel the best "something" for you would be the medicinal path, I would tell you that SJW will have the least side effects or the other comparable SSRI's.
Whatever you decide, good luck. Please let us know what negative things you might have found out. Always good to hear every side of the story.
Posts: 64 | | Registered: Thu 10 Jan 2002 11:38 |
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