Anafranil and Dry Mouth: What Users Say

• Sha...
• January 17, 2015

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I take this medication for obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety. This medication has been the saving grace of my life! The only side effects I have experienced are insomnia when I first started it or upped a dose, but it goes away within a few days. And dry mouth. But I feel so much better freed of my obsessional thoughts I don't care! I take 150 mg a day and have been on it for 5 years. No other medicine has ever been so effective for this long, and believe me, I have taken everything you can name!"

• kit...
• April 25, 2018

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I’ve been suicidal daily for 37 years. Four inpatient visits, two outpatient, 40 years of therapy and 30+ ineffective, neurotoxic meds, all past poop-out, 12+ at a time. At 63, dry mouth has destroyed my teeth and ALL need to be pulled. I have terrifying conscious blackouts up to 24 hours and no short-term memory. For decades I searched for every synonym for uncontrollable thoughts and talking, but nothing fit. Until I heard an OCD trait called ”Memory Hoarding.” Hoard means to protect, not collect, thoughts, feelings, and experiences I fear losing. I tell someone a ”story” about these. Out loud and alone, from when I wake until I sleep. I retell it to embellish, then again to shorten. I do it in my head when I'm talking to people so I feel disconnected. I started 25mg of Anafranil, the highest-rated drug I know, 3 weeks ago. In one week, I stopped feeling suicidal. No panic attacks or rage. I still tell stories, but not out loud, I sometimes can stop a little. Miraculous!"

• kma...
• February 24, 2012

For Panic Disorder "Outstanding medication for obsessive-compulsive stress disorder, panic, agoraphobia. I have been on this medicine for 15 years, and it has eliminated my panic attacks, anxiety, and I am able to leave the house without fear. Side effects include rapid heart rate, dry mouth, sexual dysfunction, and hypotension. I take Anafranil at night. There is absolutely no weight gain, in fact, I lost 50 lbs. I did switch to Zoloft with no success and am back on Anafranil. There were no withdrawal symptoms when tapered off. This is one of the best meds in the TCA class and works better than the new SSRIs for me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 30, 2015

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "This medicine saved my teenager from horrible OCD. 200mg at bedtime, dry mouth is the only side effect. Every once in a while he will have an episode, but I am able to talk him through it. He tried every med, this was the only one that worked."

• Aud...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 21, 2012

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I have/had severe OCD. I have been on citalopram, Zoloft and Prozac. I was started on 150mg Anafranil, and within what seemed no time at all, my OCD disappeared. Prozac did work for OCD but not on clinical depression. I am now on 200mg. I have had no weight gain (nor did I have on SSRIs). I get a dry mouth sometimes but counteract this with an anti-dry mouth toothpaste."

• Geg...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 3, 2021

For Depression "I had tried escitalopram (Scippa) and vortioxetine (Trintellix) before, practically both were ineffective. Anafranil has been a miracle for me, within a month, it reduced my severe suffering very effectively and made me much better for 90% of my time. And it was reached quickly with a very small dosage: 20 mg a day. Minor side effects occurred during the first couple of weeks, the most unpleasant was the dry mouth and reduced libido, but it bounced back within weeks."

• Anonymous
• March 21, 2012

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "After three years on different antipsychotics, I started taking this finally to some relief. I have been taking it now for about six months. It is still working well for obsessing, but the side effects are starting to add up. I have steadily gained weight. Severe dry mouth at first, not so bad now though. Total anorgasmia fixed by Viagra, and uncontrolled twitching. It sounds bad when I write it down but compared to the antipsychotics it's much better. I still feel better than I have and so much happier."

• Anonymous
• June 17, 2011

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I've been using Anafranil for 6 years. It has helped me a lot. On occasion, I still struggle with obsessive thoughts but have been able to bring it under control both times by myself. I rated this an 8 because of dry mouth and constipation problems. Eat your fiber big time. After several years, the dry mouth problem got better and only returns when I'm under stress. I sleep well on this drug and did not sleep as well on the SSRIs."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 17, 2018

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I have been depressed for years and just recently discovered I had OCD. Only 1 or 2 medications would help, and then they would stop. I tried holistic supplements and diet, and nothing helped. I was becoming hopeless, and then I heard about someone who tried Anafranil. I started on 25 mg and gradually went to 150 mg. Finally, after 4 or 5 weeks, I started feeling better. I wanted to get up and go to work in the morning. Side effects were a dry mouth, insomnia, and some dizziness, but I'm hoping they will go away with time. I would recommend it."

• pcw...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 25, 2016

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I was on Anafranil many years ago. Took it for 5 years. Unfortunately, after 5 years, it stopped working for me. But it is a wonderful medication. Give it a try. More than likely, it will work for you. If not, give fluvoxamine a try. It is another really good one. Only side effect was dry mouth. Small price to pay for the wonderful effects I got from Anafranil. Give it a try. When I took it, there was no co-pay. Nowadays, there probably will be a co-pay, but probably not a bad one."

• hea...
• November 17, 2010

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "Works well for OCD, wonderful for body pain, and moderate for depression (it takes 6-8 weeks for me to see any effect), but the side effects are not pleasant: dry mouth, fatigue, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, and anorgasmia."

• Inf...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2022

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "My experience with Anafranil over the past 3 months is as follows: severely chronic constipation, urinary retention that hospitalized me the other day, a 60 percent increase in my depression, a 90 percent increase in my overall anxiety, and at best a 15 percent decrease in my OCD symptoms. Not to mention the sexual dysfunction that includes painful orgasms and low libido, and then there's the constant dry mouth. I cannot for the life of me recommend this medication to anyone. I'm currently 5 days away from discontinuing this medication and replacing it with Prozac."

• JBa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 20, 2019

"I have tried everything for my PMDD. Nothing has worked until I tried Anafranil - Anafranil works for PMDD. Now I hardly feel the hormone-induced anxiety and depressive symptoms at all between ovulation and my period, two weeks that used to be hell for me. Side effects that I got are loss of appetite and dry mouth. Not a problem to live with."

• Anonymous
• January 23, 2012

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "After trying a few different medicines (with no benefits), my doctor pulled out the big guns and gave me Clomipramine. I have severe OCD but the purely obsessional (intrusive thoughts). I used to be a checker and hand washer, though. I took it for over 1 year. Unfortunately, Clomipramine did nothing for me on 250 mg, which is pretty much the highest dose you can take. I did not have a lot of side effects except dry mouth when I was on it. I quit taking it after I ran out on a holiday weekend and saw the withdrawal symptoms: severe nausea. And even when tapering slowly off it over the course of months, I still had terrible withdrawals (vomiting and nausea)."

• Rlw...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 4, 2022

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I’d love to know how anyone else went on this drug? I’m only on 25 mg and also on Concerta 18 mg for ADHD, so I’m basically OCD/ADHD. I have been getting really bad insomnia, but I do find it is helping. I take it in the morning at the moment because when I first started, I found it kept me up worse when I took it at night. I will eventually increase. I get dry mouth, but it has also fixed my IBS. Please feel free to share experiences if the insomnia side effect goes away. I’m on week two now."