Fluvoxamine for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder User Reviews (Page 5)

• Bec...
• 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 50 mg to 100 mg (sounds like a lot, but fluvox in its nature is just a high mg mixed with the buffers, 100 mg is not a really high dosage). I can now watch lecture without ear plugs, when it used to be 100% of the time. Slight weight gain might be my fault. I still hear small things, but I can more often forget about them!"

• Cie...
• 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 hospital. I could actually think through my thoughts, and I felt it right away, but it wasn’t officially at its best until it was totally in my system for a month or two. Just in a week, I did feel like a whole new person and was able to go a day without 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 a chance and move on if it doesn’t work. 10/10"

• Bel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2020

"I’ve been on Luvox (150 mg) for 2 months due to OCD and anxiety, and it has been great! My obsession with negative thoughts went away, and I don’t ever remember having them! I don’t have any more anxiety in my chest, it's incredible! It also helped me with my appetite and mood. The only downside is that for the first month, I was really, really tired and slept almost all day. But the drowsiness went away after the second month."

• 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."

• TOL...
• 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."

• Hey...
• January 7, 2016

Fluvoxamine "I've been on Luvox for 6 months now at 200 mg/day. I switched from Prozac because of libido problems, but it actually didn't make any difference. I completely lost interest in sex and gained weight really fast. My OCD is controlled, but I feel depressed, sleeping a lot during the day and nothing during the night. Haha, it's horrible... Also, I compulsively scratch my head until it bleeds (trichotillomania?) and Prozac had helped me stop it. Now on Luvox, the problem is back. I'm switching back to Prozac or giving a try to Zoloft."

• 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, everything seemed 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 much better, and I feel so much happier and alive. I started my undergrad last year, and I am able to focus, maintain my grades, and spend time with my friends and family thanks to fluvoxamine. My nurse practitioner did help me significantly by 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."

• Ell...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 23, 2025

Fluvoxamine "I have suffered from OCD since my early 20s (now 28), and it was only until last year that I found a doctor who specialized in OCD and prescribed Luvox for my mental health. Before this, I was on Prozac and Lexapro for years, which helped a tiny bit but nowhere near enough. I wish I knew about Luvox years ago, it has saved my life. It is the only antidepressant that has reduced my compulsions and obsessive thoughts from 100% down to 20%. My OCD is not completely gone, but this drug has quieted my mind so much, and I only recommend it for other OCD sufferers to try if nothing else works. It took nearly a month to work. I started at 50 mg, then to 100, and worked my way up to 200, which is what has cleared my mind and made me able to function as a normal person in my daily work and personal life. I hear higher doses work best for OCD, so if 50 or 100 isn't working, don't be afraid to try higher (up to 300 for OCD). Side effects for me are sweating and slight weight gain. However, it's worth it."

• ano...
• August 14, 2015

"Fluvoxamine is the pill I've been searching for my whole life. I started out with 100 mg and have up'd it to 200 mg daily. When I first realized that the medicine was working, the experience was comparable to the first time I got glasses when I was in sixth grade and did not know I had bad vision. Fluvoxamine gave me back control. A negative side effect is the sexual dysfunction, though; it takes me quite a bit longer to get there, which is good for her, I guess, but frustrating for me."

• Emi...
• November 22, 2020

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

• Mda...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 11, 2021

"This was the most horrid, awful medication I’ve ever taken. I had it prescribed after I had a psychotic episode on Prozac. I was depressed, panicked constantly, and very moody. Doctor originally had me on 25 mg, then bumped to 50 mg. Both awful. Do not recommend fluvoxamine at all."

• anx...
• 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 SSRIs or SNRIs 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."

• Zek...
• 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 of this drug... or maybe not?"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 3, 2025

"This medication works great for OCD, but the one thing I will say is whenever I got a cold or the flu, it wouldn’t affect me the day of. But I noticed for me it would make the medication less effective for a couple of days after being sick. It’s very weird. I would just feel very on edge and kinda panicky, like the thoughts would bother me more, and then I would go back to normal."

• Mik...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 9, 2021

"I suffer from OCD and bipolar disorder. I started off taking Anafranil when I was 18 years old. I ended up in professional school and was having a hard time remembering material. Also very depressed and anxious. My doctor switched me to Luvox when I was 24 years old (between semesters). It was hard getting on to it, nausea and constipation. Plus, I couldn't sleep as well. Otherwise, though, it made my depression almost disappear and I burned through my academic material so much faster and more efficiently than on Anafranil. For me, a huge improvement over Anafranil. Much has happened since I started Luvox, such as a manic attack and diagnosis with BPD, divorce after 12 weeks, etc. I will never have the normal life I would have if I had no mental illness. But I am still on Luvox after 24 years. Fluvoxamine/Luvox has made my life a lot easier and closer to normal."

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2009

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."

• End...
• 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 100 mg today, and so I’ll repost if I get any worsening side effects. My mood seems more stable, and 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."

• 5...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 17, 2024

Fluvoxamine "I admitted myself to a psych ward to find something better for my OCD, as it is causing my life to be hell and only getting worse as I age. Being overwhelmed is not an option in my life, and simple things do that to me. With the addition of repetitive neck cracking and such odd habits, I find that Luvox helps with my mental obsessions. I can go hours now without repeating thoughts or spelling/counting. But it has done very little for the physical movements that I feel in agony if I don’t do it. I started on one-half .50 mg 2x a day, last week I was upped to 1 whole .50 mg 2x a day. I now feel very deep, sad bouts every now and again, but I just try to wait them out. I don’t know, hopefully after 4-6 weeks I get adjusted. I feel like I didn’t have these symptoms the first time."

• Bel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 6, 2018

"So it’s only my 4th day on this medication, my doctor prescribed me 25 mg 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 9:00 pm, 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 I need to push through 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 I will update when I hit the 4-week mark."

• Anonymous
• August 29, 2019

Fluvoxamine "I've been on antidepressants for years. Prozac helped me but then stopped being effective. So I got prescribed Luvox. 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."

• Lil...
• 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 Trazodone. 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 200 mg to 50 mg 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 dermatillomania (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."

• Gan...
• 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’m 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."

• sco...
• 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."

• rea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 10, 2018

"I registered this website just to remember an important thing: that is to keep taking your medicine even if you feel better. That is the mistake I made. Now I am able to control my obsessive thoughts after I have been back taking them for a month again. It completely works for obsessions but not for anxiety. It saved my life."

• Tri...
• June 28, 2015

Fluvoxamine "One week and a half, and so far, so good - takes me down several notches for anxiety, which is good! I've had OCD for over 35 years, and it's going to be very hard to break - it may be helping a smidge?"