I just started the drug for OCD which does cause high levels of anxiety. Does anyone had experience of taking the drug for this condition. Did it help with the OCD and anxiety or just the anxiety?
Cit is often prescribed for OCD, but I found it helped me with my OCD only when I was on a higher dose. My psychiatrist however told me that OCD is closely related to anxiety, so once that gets under control with the Cit, it should help the OCD.
What I've found works best with the intrusive thoughts is disciplining yourself that you will not succumb to those thoughts. It takes time and the meds will help too.
I had intrusive thoughts, dreadful anxiety and depression for years and years and I recovered taking SSRI's. Everyone's different of course.
As funkdakarma says, the thoughts and anxiety are closely related. You get into a cycle of depression - anxiety - intrusive thoughts - anxiety - depression etc etc and this medicine helps break that cycle by relieving the anxiety, helping to lift the depression and so the intrusive thoughts will become less important. Depression makes our minds tired, thoughts thrive on anxiety and then stick to a tired mind, going round and round.
Now I'm well, the intrusive thoughts have disappeared way to the back of my mind and don't bother me or cause me any anxiety any more. I do t think of them much now - the anxiety was cured for me and so the thoughts lost their importance.
Everyone suits different doses and am sure you'll find the correct one for you to help. This medicine take a long time to work, but keep persevering, have lots of patience and you should feel some benefit from it in time. Your mood may be up and down for a while - some days or weeks you feel great and others you feel back in the midst of it all again. This is normal and just part of the healing process.
Hope this helps.
K x
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Hi there Kate cogs. ..how long were u on cit b4 u noticed the thoughts going away & the depression lifting? I've been on 20mg for a month now and a week on 10mg before that.....I was supposed to go on 30 mg a fortnight ago but didn't as I thought 20 wud to me as had a few good days but then depression n thoughts came back so I'm raising meds tomorrow
Hi mackem I take propranolol for anxiety it seems to help along with the citalopram
Hi Ethan
I first started on Seroxat (Citalopram is the 3rd type of SSRI I've been on, but had success with all). When I first took SSRI's I think I first noticed the thoughts and depression lifting around 3 months? It was such a slow process which crept up on me so gradually, that each month went by I felt slightly better - this process was interspersed with low points too which felt like I was back to square one and very depressed/anxious, but I persevered and the low points passed each time until they didn't come anymore.
I started to notice times when I hadn't thought of my illness or the intrusive thoughts ........ it seemed that happened mostly when I was doing something ie exercising or socialising etc. Slowly this began happening more and more and the icing on the cake was when I started waking in the mornings without that dreaded feeling.
I've only ever taken a maximum dose of 20mg. On each you will be up and down - it seems how the meds work. If you wait when you feel down, it should pass. Upping the dose you'll go through side effects again and eventually get back to this same up/down phase which you have to go through. Taking this type of meds isn't a straightforward feeling of getting better, but it's an up and down rough ride on whatever dose.
Seems as if you had a few good days, then it's starting to work for you. That's how it worked for me. A few hours or days etc turned into months and then years! :-) Personally I'd carry on as you are, persevere through all the low times and they should pass.
You will get there though ;-)
K x
Blimey ... didn't realise I'd nearly written War & Peace!
Thank for the reply Kate. ...I will give the 20mg another week to see how I go didn't really wanna up my dose as want to come off the meds afta 6 month..al see how I get on and ty once again......Ethan x
Hi I have been on this medication on and off since I was 19. I am now 27. But stupid me didn't take it for a week and half and my anxiety and intrusive thoughts are so bad I feel there is no way out. I keep having thoughts about how the world works.how I think, like how does my brain do it. & I can never escape my brain. Like I'm
Always stuck in it, for some reason this has scared me so much. I have had this feeling for about a week now and I feel I'm
Never going to get better. I feel even if I do I still won't be able to control me brain as I am the only who can control it. I hope this makes sense. But I need some advice on these thoughts. I just want my life back. Thanks.
Also I am now back on my medication 20mg
You know I had similar fears when I was ill - I was in control of my actions, me, and me only. Even if I became well, I'm still in control. I could scare myself if I wanted. That thought scared me and couldn't see how a pill would help anyway. Your mind plays tricks on you when you're ill.
But ..... as I recovered on the medication, sure enough that scary thought faded into the background and didn't bother me.
At the moment you are so embroiled in just feelings and emotions. Any scary thoughts will seem ten fold because you're body is simply overreacting because you have anxiety. If you didn't have anxiety, that thought would simply be dismissed and put to the back of your mind. Anxiety makes that thought seem HUGE!!!!!! Yes you are in control of your brain, but believe me as you recover and the anxiety lessens you will not feel so scared by it. It will get put back into perspective.
I didn't think I'd ever not be scared of stupid thoughts, but I recovered and they don't bother me at all now.
Scary irrational thoughts are all part of the illness and feed off of anxiety ... and then the anxiety gives you thoughts. You get stuck in a viscious cycle. As the anxiety begins to calm / soothe, so the thoughts will become less intrusive. Honestly, they will.
Once you're back in that hole you can't see a way out - but once you're getting back on top you will see this illness for what it is. Nothing more than anxiety and an overactive mind.
You will get over this.
How long ago did you miss that week and a half of medication?
Get back into the routine of taking your meds - give it time, much time, and your body will begin to soothe and those thoughts will too.
K xx
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Hi Kate Just wanted to thank you for your post! It’s so helpful and so great to read a story where someone has over come this awful ocd!
I’m 23 and very bubbly and never thought anything like this could ever happen to me, or it was even a illness!
After a awful year with cervical abnormal cells.. and a few loses.. I found my self with intrusive thoughts and awful anxiety
I have been suffering for about 2 months now and last month decided to start CBT and citralopram 10mg
I went to the doctors explained these have helped decrease my anxiety for sure! I still get the thoughts but they bother me a lot less.. She recommended I went up to 20mg as this will help squish anxiety
I don’t want to be on these for ever and hoping in a few months I can come off them! What’s everyone’s opinions on it? Did intrusive thoughts come back once they did? Or isit mind over matter!
I’m hoping to give it a few months months and this be a thing of the past!!
I’m in a really happy place now I’n my life which I believe is helping and I’m hoping this ocd is something I can look back on and think what an awful year but I come out the other side with a good understanding on how to help other people!
Sorry for the essay!! X
Hi MissesE
Glad my post is helpful xxx.
Yes I was 20 years old when this hit me - a normal bubbly person who also never realised this would have happened to me either.
The intrusive thoughts are just a side effect of anxiety, and anxiety is a result of stress. Your body copes with stress, but when prolonged it'll build up and can result in anxiety. Its the anxiety that then frightens you, which can make it hang around ......... disturbing thoughts are then just a side effect of anxiety. Once the anxiety starts to subside, so too will those thoughts.
You can stay on these meds for life if you want ...... there is no problem. When I was on meds, I eventually reduced to a smaller / maintenance dose and was happy on that for years.
When I came off meds I withdrew over a year by 5mg reductions lasting 1-2 months each time. Doing it that slow isn't such a shock to the body as it eases you back down again. I've also read that staying on meds a good year is also recommended before thinking about withdrawing.
I'll send you a link too which I think will be of help too.
K x
Ah that’s so nice of you! Thank you.. so relieving to know some one is in exact same position as me! It’s probally the most daunting thing I have ever experienced and to know it’s an actual condition is the biggest relieve.
I was really againsed taking any meds’ specially something that was known for depression and I’m not depressed but just after an awful year just come down with extreme anxiety!
I have been getting better and the thoughts defiantly don’t bother me as much now and I deal with them lots better .. some times I get this over whelming anxiety that I usually get when Im out and if I’m around children.. which is something I would never have even worried about Ever. I believe I get the panic and I worry this is when I may get a intrusive thought and then I get servere anxiety!
Awful vicious circle!
I have been on citrlopram for a month now and going into 20mg so I’m hoping they kick in soon! And I can carry on a normal happy life!!! X
How long did you have the intrusive thoughts for? How long was you on meds for before they worked? And do you get them thoughts any more?
Sorry for all the questions but so good to finally talk to someone who’s been through this! X
Hi MissedE
Mine's a long story - but I no longer suffer with anxiety, depression, thoughts etc as recovered many years ago with meds and the knowledge of anxiety through books. I was ill for 16 long years before being put onto these type of meds and I then recovered within 6 months. I've been well for about 20 years now. I came onto this site some years ago because my son became ill with anxiety / depression too ..... who is also recovered now. I'm still here chatting to people 
So it was about 3-4 months before I started noticing changes, and by 6 months the anxiety had stopped. During recovery you'll get blips where you feel like you've gone backwards - that completely normal. These meds aren't just for depression, but they're for anxiety and its related side effects (intrusive thoughts). I was plagued by thoughts - they were my biggest issue ....... and as I recovered they became less and less bothersome.
Now I'm recovered I don't really get those thoughts anymore - yes I can still think of them, but they don't frighten me anymore - they've lost their impact. Its the anxiety that keeps them there and once the anxiety has gone so too will the thoughts. That is, they will not have the same impact on you as they once did. They cease frightening you and are put to the back of the mind and forgotten about.
Yes thats what happens. When you have anxiety, you often get intrusive thoughts. These can be quite scary and cause more anxiety. You then become afraid of them and of the anxiety feelings, and so that then feeds the anxiety which means more thoughts. Understanding these thoughts (though scary) are just a side effect and will go once the anxiety eases, is the start of recovery.
Anxiety is a strange thing, but understanding the process took away a lot of the fear. I could see it for what it was and could finally see a way out.
This medication will surely help you get over this, just as it did me. The meds hang onto your Serotonin in the brain, making you feel calmer and happier, and this in turn helps ease the anxiety which then eases the thoughts. It all takes time, and you'll feel quite anxious and not quite right for a while as your body stabilizes.
Don't be in a hurry to be well - you will be in time, but just let the meds work. You cannot hurry recovery as it'll happen for you in its own time. Each one of us is different.
I never thought I'd be free of them, but I am.
Everyone can recover from anxiety. However long you've been ill - you can recover.
I sent you a private message with a link. Have a read of it as it will really help you understand about intrusive thoughts. There's a page on it. This is by far the best information out there.
K x
Katecogs, you never cease to amaze me with the good works you do on this forum. A bigger and more generous heart we will not find. 
Awww bless you 
xxx
An update to my situation. I was unlucky at first because my first therapist said it was CBT or medication. So I went for CBT but the constant exposure therapies made me worse. Fortunately I was allowed a second course of CBt again with the NHS. But the second therapist allowed me to start Citalopram for 6 weeks before the sessions started. I stated on 20mg increaing over 3 weeks to 40mg. The CBT was 18 sessions of 3 to 4 months. The second therapist was much better and together with the medication vastly improved my condition.
I still have thoughts and anxiety but at lower levels. Also I now have mechanisms to deal with them which work most of the time. The downsde is I have far less energy and feel very tired at times but this is a small price to pay for my improvement in how I feel mentally.My other problem is I have to come off Citalapram when I am 65 and just hope the alternative drug works as well.
My advice threefold.
Go on medication and then start CBT.
If CBT is not working ask for an alternative therapist.
If you improve with CBT and medication then stay on medication. I understand the only long term issue is with Citalapram that you should switch to another drug at 65 years old.
Good luck everyone
Hi I have been on it for 5 weeks! It defiantly helps for both I have just gone up to 20mg and started to feel the side effects again inc anxiety but ocd
However just give it time x
Hi Misses E,
I was wondering how do you feel?
I hope you are fine!
I also suffer from intrusive thoughts and I take Prozac 40 mg for 3 weeks now. I really hope it helps because sometimes I really feel hopeless.
All the Best,
Zejna xxx