Is this OCD or just severe GAD?

[Rambler76]

Hi,

I know that no one on this forum is a doctor or can give me a definitive diagnosis but I’d like to know if my current symptoms present as what may be OCD, predominantly obsessiveness. 

I suffer from treatment resistant depression and I have been formally diagnosed with serious GAD by various pdoc’s over the years. 

I was also told by one pdoc that I’m obsessive but I don’t have OCD. 

I guess now I’m worried that an OCD diagnosis may have slipped through the crack as most pdoc’s have primarily been concerned with my treatment resistant depression and to a lesser extent my comorbid GAD.

In was on Anafranil up until October last year and it was on the only medication that I’ve tried in the past several years that has kept my debilitating repetitive obsessional type of anxiety / worry at bay. I’ve still had the symptoms below but they’ve been manageable and I’ve been able to get through life.

I’ve recently started a MAOI (Nardil) and I’ve had these symptoms flare up again. 

Im seeing a new pdoc for a follow up appointment in two weeks and will bring up the symptoms Ive listed below, but would also like anyone’s input as to whether this may be a pure obsessional type of OCD or whether it’s just sever GAD. 

Anyway here are a list of symptoms:

- My worries seem to be repetitive and obsessional. 

- When I was younger (teenager) I was a checker and would check things multiple times and I still wasn’t satisfied. This seems to have calmed down greatly in my later life but I’m still not 100% over this. 

- When I was younger (teenager) I was obsessed and convinced that I would contract a STD during any sexual contact I had. 

- I become fixated and worry about problems and block out everything around me until that problem resolves itself and then I beat myself up for wasting so much time and energy on this and neglecting my family.

- I have to check my work multiple at work as I’m worried I’ll get something wrong. This involves things like reading emails multiple times before sending them and even reading this post several times before I post it. 

- I get agitated about people parking in front of my house and will constantly check (look out windows etc) if someone has done so and will check if they have left and moved their car.

- I have a fear of developing psychotic depression as my aunt has this condition although it is highly unlikely and I would have already done so at my age.

- I have a fear of going to hell because I’m am not a practicing religious person. 

- I worry that my house will be robbed when I leave. 

- I have a fear that when I’m alone at home that someone will break in which causes me to sleep with a weapon nearby. 

- I worry that I will have a car accident every time I drive my car. 

- I’m worried that if I have my kids in the car and I’m driving that I’ll have a car accident and injure them.

- I have an obsession with being late to work or any appointment and will often drive earlier or catch earlier public transport and arrive earlier than needed and stress and worry until I get there.

- I feel like I have racing intrusive thoughts and that I can’t calm down and relax and be at ease. 

- I have intrusive thoughts like if my family are out they’ll be involved in a car accident and will die. 

- If I have an uncomfortable or heated discussion i ruminate and stew about this for some time and can’t seem to let go of it. 

- I ruminate about potential uncomfortable or heated discussions that I may have in the future and how I would respond to these.

- I ruminate about conversations I’ve had about people with others and that conversation getting back to that person and that person confronting me. 

- At the moment I seem to be consumed by an obsessional type worry and can’t concentrate or be at ease. 

I don’t know whether this is anxiety from waiting for my medication to take effect or whether it’s a presentation of OCD symptoms. 

-As I mentioned above I’ve still had the above symptoms while I was on Anafranil but was able to function relatively well. At the moment however it’s really wearing me down and I’m very preoccupied by the way I’m feeling and I’m not able to function. I also have concerns about returning to work next week after being on leave for the past month or so and how I’ll be able to function in every day life  

Im currently taking 5mg of Valium twice a day and 2.5mg of Zyprexa PRN. The Valium helps to a minor extent but the Zyprexa just sedated me to the point of falling asleep. 

Many input would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by Rambler76

[CrazyRedhead]

I'm not a doc, so can't diagnose you, but I have severe OCD myself, and from what you listed, it seems you have many of the symptoms of OCD, IMO..........I have many of your same symptoms.

Have you told your doctor about all these symptoms you listed?..........If not, it might be a good idea.

Are you still taking the Anafranil, or just the Valium and Zyprexa?

[echolocation]

like you, i don't have a full OCD diagnosis, but i'm what my pdoc called "obsessive spectrum". i also have a GAD diagnosis. i relate a lot to your symptoms from an OCD perspective. low-dose risperidone helped me immensely in shutting down ruminations and spiraling worry.

i tend to use the label OCD in reference to myself, because techniques for managing pure-obsessional OCD help me immensely and the vocabulary associated with OCD helps me describe my experiences. the medication i'm on is also in line with treatments for OCD. so, i kind of figure that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, i might as well call it a duck.

[Rambler76]

6 hours ago, CrazyRedhead said:

Have you told your doctor about all these symptoms you listed?..........If not, it might be a good idea.

I have a new pdoc which I’m seeing following being an inpatient but I definitely will be printing this list and taking it with me. 

Im seeing him in just under two weeks which will be a long wait. 

6 hours ago, CrazyRedhead said:

Are you still taking the Anafranil, or just the Valium and Zyprexa?

Just Nardil, Valium and Zyprexa. 

I stopped the Anafranil as it wasn’t working anymore with my treatment resistant depression. 

[Rambler76]

4 hours ago, echolocation said:

i relate a lot to your symptoms from an OCD perspective. low-dose risperidone helped me immensely in shutting down ruminations and spiraling worry.

I’ve tried a few meds such as Seroquel, Abilify and Zyprexa which haven’t really shut down all of these punishing thoughts. 

Perhaps it’s a good time to really flag these thoughts with my new pdoc and look for a new med as most other pdoc’s have just called it severe GAD and relied on the antidepressant that I’ve been taking to treat it and left me to suffer with the untreated obsessional side of it.

[echolocation]

i think it's definitely worth bringing up to your new pdoc that you've been having a lot of obsessive thought patterns and want to talk about the possibility of having OCD, or approaching treatment from an OCD perspective. it'd be interesting to see what they have to say about it.

[KnickNak]

On 2/15/2019 at 1:56 AM, Rambler76 said:

Hi,

I know that no one on this forum is a doctor or can give me a definitive diagnosis but I’d like to know if my current symptoms present as what may be OCD, predominantly obsessiveness. 

I suffer from treatment resistant depression and I have been formally diagnosed with serious GAD by various pdoc’s over the years. 

I was also told by one pdoc that I’m obsessive but I don’t have OCD. 

I guess now I’m worried that an OCD diagnosis may have slipped through the crack as most pdoc’s have primarily been concerned with my treatment resistant depression and to a lesser extent my comorbid GAD.

In was on Anafranil up until October last year and it was on the only medication that I’ve tried in the past several years that has kept my debilitating repetitive obsessional type of anxiety / worry at bay. I’ve still had the symptoms below but they’ve been manageable and I’ve been able to get through life.

I’ve recently started a MAOI (Nardil) and I’ve had these symptoms flare up again. 

Im seeing a new pdoc for a follow up appointment in two weeks and will bring up the symptoms Ive listed below, but would also like anyone’s input as to whether this may be a pure obsessional type of OCD or whether it’s just sever GAD. 

Anyway here are a list of symptoms:

- My worries seem to be repetitive and obsessional. 

- When I was younger (teenager) I was a checker and would check things multiple times and I still wasn’t satisfied. This seems to have calmed down greatly in my later life but I’m still not 100% over this. 

- When I was younger (teenager) I was obsessed and convinced that I would contract a STD during any sexual contact I had. 

- I become fixated and worry about problems and block out everything around me until that problem resolves itself and then I beat myself up for wasting so much time and energy on this and neglecting my family.

- I have to check my work multiple at work as I’m worried I’ll get something wrong. This involves things like reading emails multiple times before sending them and even reading this post several times before I post it. 

- I get agitated about people parking in front of my house and will constantly check (look out windows etc) if someone has done so and will check if they have left and moved their car.

- I have a fear of developing psychotic depression as my aunt has this condition although it is highly unlikely and I would have already done so at my age.

- I have a fear of going to hell because I’m am not a practicing religious person. 

- I worry that my house will be robbed when I leave. 

- I have a fear that when I’m alone at home that someone will break in which causes me to sleep with a weapon nearby. 

- I worry that I will have a car accident every time I drive my car. 

- I’m worried that if I have my kids in the car and I’m driving that I’ll have a car accident and injure them.

- I have an obsession with being late to work or any appointment and will often drive earlier or catch earlier public transport and arrive earlier than needed and stress and worry until I get there.

- I feel like I have racing intrusive thoughts and that I can’t calm down and relax and be at ease. 

- I have intrusive thoughts like if my family are out they’ll be involved in a car accident and will die. 

- If I have an uncomfortable or heated discussion i ruminate and stew about this for some time and can’t seem to let go of it. 

- I ruminate about potential uncomfortable or heated discussions that I may have in the future and how I would respond to these.

- I ruminate about conversations I’ve had about people with others and that conversation getting back to that person and that person confronting me. 

- At the moment I seem to be consumed by an obsessional type worry and can’t concentrate or be at ease. 

I don’t know whether this is anxiety from waiting for my medication to take effect or whether it’s a presentation of OCD symptoms. 

-As I mentioned above I’ve still had the above symptoms while I was on Anafranil but was able to function relatively well. At the moment however it’s really wearing me down and I’m very preoccupied by the way I’m feeling and I’m not able to function. I also have concerns about returning to work next week after being on leave for the past month or so and how I’ll be able to function in every day life  

Im currently taking 5mg of Valium twice a day and 2.5mg of Zyprexa PRN. The Valium helps to a minor extent but the Zyprexa just sedated me to the point of falling asleep. 

Many input would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you. 

I know this is an old post, but did you have any harsh side effects from Anafranil? Mainly weight gain?

Edited July 24, 2019 by KnickNak