So, I haven't blogged in a little while. Things got kind of messy as I stepped down off of the Ativan that I was taking. Apparently, the withdrawal that people experience when they wean themselves off of benzodiazepines is pretty intense. My anxiety was peaked on Sunday and Monday.
My doctor has added a mood stabilizer, Seroquel XR, to help augment the SSRI that I'm on. It made me groggy the first few days I was on it (Monday and Tuesday) but it's gotten better.
I guess the big news is that I'm going to try to start working with the Austin OCD Center as an outpatient. It's pretty expensive, and my insurance isn't that great, but my family is going to help out with the costs.
Finally, I had lunch to day with Rachel, and it felt great to get out (and also, to eat hotdogs).
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteHello! I can relate very much to how isolating OCD can be. When I was at my worst, I felt very alone, and really was alone, because I kept my OCD to myself. I told no one, not even a therapist I was seeing at the time.
The Austin OCD Center program sounds good. It sounds like they really focus on the individual, and that is really important. I hope it goes well for you.
I hope the Seroquel works well for you, too. Changes in meds can be hard, but it's good when it turns out to be a positive change. I've been on a lot of different meds over the last twenty-odd years. The combo I'm on now is good, but I still have to do other things to deal with my OCD and depression. I started cognitive behavioral therapy about 6 weeks ago, and it is helping me.
Good to connect with you!
Tina,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your thoughts! I started this blog to find an outlet for my feelings, but also, hopefully, to reach out to some people who are going through the same stuff. I've heard that a lot of people who have OCD hide it - I've done my fair share of that.
Hope the CBT is working for you! I began that doing it myself about 3 years ago and it's been a *big* help. It's really hard, but I've found it's totally worth it. You can do it!
Best,
Sarah