Fluvoxamine for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder User Reviews (Page 5)

• Melissa
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 13, 2018

"Long story short, it works. I knew I had anxiety but it never hindered me. It started to go into panic attacks. Then one day I had these images and thoughts that were totally unwanted. OCD with compulsive thoughts. Then I went into a depression really bad. It took about two weeks to see a difference, and I had a panic attack so my medication got increased to 150 mg. I don’t have panic attacks anymore when I’m driving or just in general. Thoughts sometimes but I don’t focus on it or scold myself about it. I just let it pass and that’s it. The side effects for me were insomnia, which is why I take it in the morning and some sexual dysfunction. I can live with that. I’m back on track with life now. I really recommend this drug to try out first. Just give it time and if you also need to see a psychologist it helps as well."

• Julieta
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 25, 2018

"I've been on fluvoxamine for 5 months now, and it has done wonders to my mental health. At first it takes some time to see the effects, but now I'm much calmer, and I'm able to control my thoughts instead of them controlling me. I take 100 mg a day in the morning. I do get sleepy sometimes, but otherwise I have no side effects."

• TOLF
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 30, 2020

"After the first night on fluvoxamine I woke up the next day with cotton mouth. The next day I was urinating every thirty minutes without anything that would quench my thirst. The third day I felt like I was getting physically sick. The fourth pill night, I had insomnia and was up about four hours after my usual bedtime. My mind was racing and I was exhausted all the way through half the next day. When I did fall asleep I woke up twice with incredible paranoia. I felt like I was on some kind of stimulant, and an odd feeling I’ve never felt mentally. Totally did NOT like it. Stopped taking it after the fourth pill. I’m BP 2, GAD, panic disorder, OCD."

• Emina
• November 22, 2020

Luvox (fluvoxamine) "I have been on Luvox for 4 years now and it has medicine worked for me very well for OCD. I almost have no anxiety anymore. The downsides are that I have had loss of libido, constipated all the time and insomnia. I haven’t had any problems with weight gain like other antidepressants."

• scohe
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 19, 2023

"Luvox saved my life. I suffer from severe contamination OCD, and I work in healthcare which do not mix well. After getting on Luvox (combined with therapy), I can finally do my job with little worry, pump gas without wearing needle-stick resistance gloves, etc. I went from having daily panic attacks to rarely ever having them. Of course I still have anxiety and worry...but combined with therapy Luvox has made my life manageable."

• WlfHZ
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 11, 2016

"I've been taking this for almost 10 years now, I started taking this during my 1st sem in undergrad. I started this because my obsessions became debilitating and the chatter volume was getting too loud. For example, if something was said and I heard it/read it/saw it then I would see it in neon in my head for days and the phrase or word or image would just consume my thoughts. The phrase or word or image would be so bright or loud that I couldn't do anything but focus on it. The medication worked slowly at first, took about 6 months to really get it worked out. 10 years later, I'd say it does its job and I'm a better, more functional person because of it. Don't try to go cold turkey off of it though, you'll regret that!"

• Bella
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 6, 2018

"So it’s only my 4 day on this medication, my doctor prescribed me 25mg to start off . I have severe anxiety and OCD. I’ve tried Lexapro , Zoloft and Buspar but couldn’t get past the side effects. This is the only medication I’ve tried that doesn’t have major side effects. The only thing that I have noticed is I have been extremely tired. I take it every night at 9:00pm and I’m about to pass out 20 minutes after. It will make you tired during the day too . My doctor said that is normal and need to push thro it . I gave it a 9/10 because it’s only been about 5 days so I haven’t noticed anything, but I will take the sleepiness side effect any day over the other medications . But will update when hit the 4 week mark ."

• Becky...
• December 13, 2016

"Always thought I had"misophonia" (hatred of noises) but never realized it was OCD until I went to my free university psychiatrist. He said lexapro or a drug (fluvox) more specified for OCD, I went with fluvox because I do not so much suffer from general anxiety, rather bursts of obsessive and compulsive thoughts, mostly due to noises. Anyway, fluvox is all I've had.. and I can't imagine changing! I went from 50mg to 100mg (sounds like a lot but fluvox in its nature is just a high mg mixed with the buffers 100mg is not a really high dosage)& I can now watch lecture with out ear plugs, when it used to be 100% of the time, Slight weight gain might be my fault. I steal hear small things, but I can more often forget about them!"

• Zeke
• September 20, 2020

"I took fluvoxamine 200 mg daily for 6 years for OCD/generalized anxiety disorder, but now that I've weaned off I don't think it helped at all with that, or only a little. However, it gave me non-24 sleep disorder. This is apparently a very rare sleep disorder that only blind people usually get, but I'm not blind. With this sleep disorder I was going to bed 1 hour later every day, so that I might be going to bed at 11 PM today, but 12 days later I'm going to bed at 11 AM. I would go "around the clock" within a month. It was terrible. That lasted for the entire 6 years I was on fluvoxamine, but I had no idea what caused it. I thought I had a neurological problem, or my circadian rhythm was messed up. Maybe I needed melatonin or light therapy or expensive sleep therapists. Nope. As soon as I weaned off the Luvox a few months ago, my sleep schedule went back to almost normal, the way it was before Luvox. Apparently this is a very rare side effect on this drug...or maybe not?"

• Zay
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 6, 2023

"I started Fluvoxamine a couple of years ago, I actually began in my senior year of high school. After trying many different medications for my OCD and everything seem like nothing worked and my thoughts seemed to always come back. My OCD began affecting my daily life routines, relationships, and overall well-being. When I started taking fluvoxamine it was a major change in my obsessive thoughts and behaviors. Everything feels so better, and I feel so much happier and alive. Started my undergrad last year and I am able to focus, maintain my grades, spending time with my friends and family thanks to fluvoxamine. My nurse practitioner did help me significantly prescribing this medication. Just to note that I didn’t have any type of major side effects. I recommend fluvoxamine for those whose OCD isn’t improving."

• anxio...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 4, 2019

"Fluvoxamine drug has been a godsend for my OCD. This is just one of the few meds that are actually approved and indicated in the treatment of OCD. I've been taking the maximum dose for years now. Ramping up the dose initially was rough and made my anxiety much worse but I persevered. No other SSRI's or SNRI's or antipsychotics touched my OCD (tried over 30). This drug does nothing for my mood (unlike Prozac, which made me feel good but did nothing for OCD). This drug gave me my life back, I went from spending hours a day cleaning and ritualizing to somewhat-normal. It took a while and my OCD is definitely still there. This med also causes some sexual dysfunction, but I don't care. I'd rather be functional and leave the house. Side effects mild."

• Cielk...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 29, 2021

"I was on prozac that caused a horrible experience that I had to suffer for months, and it continued even after I stopped it. It only got better when I took Fluvoxamine. I don’t usually write reviews but this saved me after I got out of the the hospital. I could actually think through my thoughts and I felt it right away but it wasn’t officially at it best until it was totally in my system for a month or two, but just in a week I did feel like a whole new person was able to go a day with a severe panic attack for the first time in a while. I read the reviews when I first started taking it and I was very nervous but everyone is different, so give it and chance and move on if doesn’t work. 10/10"

• Bella...
• October 10, 2017

Luvox (fluvoxamine) "I know this medicine is supposed to be great but the internal tremors are driving me crazy. I've been on luvox for a week now and the tremors make my anxiety 10 times worse! I also have a raspy voice that comes and goes."

• Anonymous
• August 29, 2019

Luvox CR (fluvoxamine) "I’ve been on antidepressants for years. Prozac helped me but then stopped being effective. So I got prescribed Luvax. The biggest problem was the side effects. I had the most painful stomach cramps and diarrhea along with horrible anxiety and palpitations. These made me give up on sticking with it. I’m not sure if it would work well if I stuck with it but the side effects were too severe for me."

• Anonymous
• November 24, 2012

"Fluvoxamine brought out a bubbly personality in me. Whilst taking fluvoxamine, I do not experience many pressing needs in my life, despite the necessity for me to do things. However, I do feel more capable of remaining positive despite bad experiences in my day."

• Menta...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2019

"I have been taking fluvoxamine for 1 week now and was hopeful that it would be helpful to ease my symptoms of OCD. I will never say that a medication does not work and I would advise people never to say that because we are all different, but I do want to share my experience. I have been very sick, felt strongly that I was going to pass out, I have broken out into sweats, can’t sleep, major stomach pain (like gas cramps) loss of appetite because I was afraid I would throw it up. And what’s weird is that it’s not constant it comes and goes. I thought I was pregnant because it reminded me of the same symptoms you have when your pregnant but I am not. Just wanted to share this because if you have these side effects- yes it’s probably this medication. Call your doctor!"

• PRAVIN...
• September 27, 2017

"This was very bad for me. It just stopped my thoughts and feelings. I also had a lot of side effects from this tablets, like shaking hands and I had no feelings. I went through my day doing my daily routine but had no thoughts and felt like a zombie. This tablet made me worse than before I took it."

• mihulka
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2018

Luvox (fluvoxamine) "I switched to Luvox because Effexor was making my cholesterol go through the roof and now the sexual side effects are back and I'm more tired than usual. I take 450mg Wellbutrin with it along with various supplements. I'm going to give it a few weeks before trying something else."

• Endin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 22, 2017

"So far so good! The Side effects I’ve experienced are loss of appetite and extreme tiredness, which are definitely bearable. I’m upping my dosage to 100mg today and so I’ll repost if I get any worsening side effects. My mood seems more stable and my I’m not as angry. I’ve noticed a positive change thus far and I’m hoping it only gets better as my dosage increases."

• Hss
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 14, 2019

"Don't touch this stuff. I was taking fluvoxamine for about 3 years with side effects like excessive sweating, sedation, memory impairment. After stopping the drug I became irritable, stress intolerant depressed anxious, poor attention and memory problems. These SSRI's don't rebalance the brain they just make you numb like a zombie"

• Lilly
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 25, 2020

"I have OCD, depression, anxiety and I switched to Luvox in early April 2020 and recently tapered off and started Trintellix. I’ve also been on Lexapro, Prozac, Pristiq, and Trazadone. Anyways, Luvox made every aspect of my mental health worse. I was crying all the time, very irritable, crazy mood swings, and my anxiety was worse and worse as I went up on my dosage. I stuck it out for a while because I know medications can make you worse before better but I was miserable. All of these symptoms got worse when I had to taper off 200mg to 50mg and then stop. I’ve been on 5 antidepressants and Luvox, was by far my worst experience. Truly made me worse. I was told it was the “gold standard” for dermatillamania (skin picking disorder) by my doctor and saw no improvement in that. This drug is not for me. I’ve been on Trintellix for just over 3 weeks and wow... I’m feeling so much better."

• Gia
• March 28, 2021

Luvox (fluvoxamine) "I take Anafranil for 32 years now, after a diagnosis of OCD when I was 15 years old; doctor said I would have to take it for the rest of my life. Two years ago, I asked the psychiatrist to try to switch the medicine, because of side effects I have that really disturb me (great hair loss, permanent dry mouth, lack of libido, etc.). Eventually, she prescribed fluvoxamine, so I stopped Anafranil and started it. The experience was AWFUL: immediately I started feeling kind of detached from everything, what it came out to be as a profound state of depression. The doctor increased the dose and things didn't change at all. After two and a half months taking fluvoxamine and feeling completely depressed, emotional detached from everything and with a permanent underlying "dark"/strange feeling, I decided to stop it. Instead, that night I took half of my usual 75 mg Anafranil; the next morning I was just fine, the "normal", functional me."

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2009

Luvox CR (fluvoxamine) "I'm taking this for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I've taken it for about 6 months. It has helped slightly. My pharmacy couldn't order it fast enough so 3 days off of it, I had a headache and threw up at work. Overall, I have had help with this. I have to take it at night because it makes me very sleepy."

• Gano
• May 2, 2020

"Before taking this fluvoxamine, I would pick at my face until I looked horrifying. I was 14. People used to ask me if I had measles. Whatever I tried, I couldn’t stop. It was an embarrassment to go to school, and taking Luvox was a last resort. I really didn’t have much choice. Luvox improves my life immensely and my life goes badly when I go off it. I’m now 26. I’m very stable at the moment. But I’ve never had an orgasm. I thinking about trying to go off it after all these years. It’s frustrating because it helps me so much, I need it, but I want to enjoy sex."

• the...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 17, 2020

Luvox (fluvoxamine) "Considering quitting Luvox / Fluvoxamine. I’ve been on Luvox for 9 weeks on 100mg. Increased dose to 200mg since 10 days ago and considering giving up on the medication as I feel it’s not helping me. I’m not sure what to do, whether I should stick to the increased dose or just give it up right now."