Sufferer Diagnosed PTSD and fear its manifested in OCD and agoraphobia?

[Buttermilk]

Hi all I'm writing this as I was diagnosed with PTSD a few months back following a few relapses in my self care where I might have retraumatized myself. The reason for my diagnosis I was told resulted from several events that acutely hit me especially since I am on the spectrum. I don't know of that matters or not? Some of those events include sexual bullying,chronic peer and teacher bullying stemming from a learning disability, being threatened and molested at knifepoint,getting assaulted, getting arrested and dealing with the criminal justice system, vicarious trauma from being a drug/alcohol support counselor, and other events. My therapist diagnosed me as PTSD saying that since these events have stuck with me and given me nightmares and other symptoms that align with PTSD. such events in my life coupled with current stressors in my life(the sudden death of several loved ones, running into a past abuser,financial hardship,etc) led me to developing a delayed onset stress disorder. I was taking Praozin for nightmares but felt it didn't help, and am currently on Luvox to help with the general panic and intrusive thoughts. I guess my question is am I misdiagnosed or are OCD and agoraphobia linked to these events in my life and others that I never processed? Sorry if this is hard to follow just wondering where to go next as I'm currently seeing an EMDR specialist to help me but we only had one meeting so far. My hope is that the EMDR will help with the OCD and panic as I felt my initial therapy which wasn't trauma based never addressed several elements in my life

 

[EveHarrington]

Hi,

Can I ask why you suspect OCD?

Are you familiar with the diagnostic criteria for OCD?

I have had obsessions from h-e-l-l but I don’t qualify for an OCD diagnosis as I don’t meet enough criteria.

I keep my obsessive thoughts at bay with low dose medication as therapy didn’t come anywhere close to helping keep the obsessions at bay.

I guess this is my way of saying that obsessive/repetitive thoughts can indeed come along with PTSD.

 

[Buttermilk]

Hi,

Can I ask why you suspect OCD?

Are you familiar with the diagnostic criteria for OCD?

I have had obsessions from h-e-l-l but I don’t qualify for an OCD diagnosis as I don’t meet enough criteria.

I keep my obsessive thoughts at bay with low dose medication as therapy didn’t come anywhere close to helping keep the obsessions at bay.

I guess this is my way of saying that obsessive/repetitive thoughts can indeed come along with PTSD.

Hi Eve thanks for the response...my previous therapist diagnosed me with OCD following a screening and testing process(he was an OCD and addiction specialist fwiw)...but we talked in brief about the linkage to the trauma as much of my rituals were shamed based(centered around feeling dirty so needed to be cleansed) and the intrusive thoughts were most likely related to the past events given their manifestations both in timing and form...I was previous on Zoloft which seemed to help with the obsessive part but kind of stopped taking it for reasons I don't fully understand and had a severe rebound effect in terms of my symptoms. I have also been prescribed Ativan to help with the general panic but have been trying not to take them as frequently(was abusing them at point recently). I was told low level anti psychotics can help with OCD and panic but am afraid of side effects and also have some financial concerns. Thanks again for the response

 

[littleoc]

Welcome!

I will say that I have OCD that was triggered by past events. It’s fairly common for people with PTSD to have other disorders, such as depression or anxiety.

Mine are also about feeling dirty, although intrusive thoughts about people dying get to me too.

I didn’t take medication for it, but should have, because it was leading to a lot of self harm. (I had a dumb psychiatrist.) Therapy worked well eventually, though. Are you in therapy?

 

[Nessa7]

Welcome to the forum!

I got diagnosed in the opposite order. I was diagnosed with PTSD first and am only getting an OCD diagnosis now that I'm seeing a better psychiatrist. With me, I don't think that I ever would have had compulsions that were bad enough to get to the diagnosable level without my PTSD. The PTSD increases anxiety and stress which encourages me to engage in compulsive behaviors. Without PTSD, I might have been able to keep things more under control.

Zoloft can be prescribed for both OCD and PTSD. Currently, I'm taking Prozac, which is another antidepressant that can be used for both. I think there's also Paxil, but that isn't one that I've talked to my psychiatrist about much. I've had some success with NAC supplements. They're a little weird, but they have decreased how frequently I become obsessed with an urge. I'm still on the fence about if they make enough of a difference to make up for the side effects long-term, but they got me feeling more normal after a medication caused a huge increase in my ODC behaviors. They had completely taken over my life but after taking them for about 2 /13 months I feel a lot more like myself.

I'm not sure how long you've been doing EMDR, but if you're just starting out, it might be a good idea to mentally prepare yourself for a period of your OCD symptoms getting worse before they start to get better. It's pretty normal for people to experience increased symptoms when they start working on traumatic memories. Remembering that made it a little easier for me to be kind to myself during that period.

 

[Abstract]

I'm just wondering if PTSD and being on the spectrum could possibly throw someone off a little bit. I think it may be very worth your while to get a formal diagnoses from a psychiatrist who is a specialist in trauma. Possibly trauma and autistic spectrum. Its a tricky thing when trauma and obsession coexist. You need to explore and process the trauma while controlling repetitive or obsessional behaviour. We all have some of that with PTSD regardless. I certainly do. Without OCD or anything else.

An expert seeing your symptoms and speaking to you as well as doing proper diagnostic tests should be able to tell what is what. The only important part of that? Is what the best way to approach this is.

I am guessing you would really benefit from treating the trauma whether or not someone decides its PTSD. Trauma sometimes has a real impact and it sounds to me like it has had an impact on you. And you deserve to heal this.

 

[EveHarrington]

Please don't be afraid of low level antipsychotics.

My obsessive thoughts were BAD and I'm fortunate that an antipsychotic takes them (mostly) away.

I take 1/4 to 1/2 of the smallest capsule size (20mg) of Geodon. (I have the capsules compounded into a liquid.) My dose is 5-10mg taken at dinner time.

My doc is always asking if it helps and I always say YES! (Sometimes I think he doesn't believe me, but yes I am med sensitive and only need small doses of most meds.)

The only side effect is sleepiness but I guess it's not a side effect as that's part of why I take it.

 

[littleoc]

My obsessive thoughts were BAD and I'm fortunate that an antipsychotic takes them (mostly) away.

Do you use these for OCD?

 

[EveHarrington]

Do you use these for OCD?

Why? Are my obsessions not "bad" enough for you if I haven't been diagnosed?

 

[littleoc]

That is quite an assumption :/

No, I'm just trying to figure out if I could use them for my obsessions, I wasn't sure if it was an OCD thing to get antipsychotic drugs, or if I should ask my psychiatrist about them at all.

I don't really mind if you have OCD or not, or if you think you do but haven't been diagnosed, or anything like that. I'm not your doctor. I was just curious, but you don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable to. I could also ask the forums or my own psychiatrist

I consider all obsessions to be serious, sorry for the confusion. Didn't mean any disrespect

 

[Buttermilk]

Thanks all for the input

 

[littleoc]

I hope the site is helping you!