Sertraline not Working!

[IwishIwereABird]

DS has OCD and has been on Sertraline since last October. It was introduced slowly and he's now on 125mg. He is also having CBT so both running concurrently. Problem is he continues to have OCD attacks throughout the day & everyday with compulsions. He says he feels a little less anxious since he started on it but the OCD is relentless. Is this how Sertraline works?? i know its not meant to cure it permanently but I thought he would have respite from it for some months maybe the odd ocd during stressful periods but that isn't the case here.

CBT comes to an end next week, and school resumes imminently and I just don't know what to do anymore or even ask. Is it the wrong medication??? he had very little side effects from the med itself which I thought was good but its not actually doing anything. Please i'd really like some advice.

You could ask to try a different AD. For distressingly hard-to-fathom reasons, different ADs work well for different people. I'm sorry he is going through such a difficult condition xx

you can be unresponsive to certain medications because of your genetics so it's worth trying again and again until you find one that works for you (him)

As a cbt therapist sertaline is the most effective medication for ocd yes. Ocd isn't a disorder unfortunately we would ever expect a full recovery from, it's more of a case if we aim for some relief from it or more control over it. Your sons ocd is likely to increase and reduce over his life, normally mirroring the amount of stress he is currently under at that time. Also cbt is the most effective therapy too. Has he fully engaged in the cbt? How many sessions has be completed? Sometimes it can take several courses of treatment for a client to have the confidence to fully submerge themselves in treatment. It's a hard treatment for clients to engage in with ocd, he needs to have full trust in his therapist. Maybe talk to him about his experience of therapy and maybe go from there. I doubt changing his medication will make a massive difference, with ocd it's more the therapy that's key, he needs to have the confidence that his thoughts are just thoughts and he doesn't need to do his rituals to stop them coming true and often this can just take people time. Good luck x

Random - Thanks for your kind thoughts. I'm going to contact the doctor tomorrow as ask about trying a different medication if it will have the desired effect.

Roundearth - It seems we have shit genetics! genetics that have given this awful illness .
Sarah - Your post made my heart sink. No fault of yours but just the frankness of the condition. I don't know what to do for my boy anymore. I just want to run away and die.

Just wanted to add that as someone who suffered from crippling OCD 15 years or so ago, while what @sarahc336arah says is absolutely true about never actually being 'cured', it is entirely possible to recover from it to the point whereby it's no longer a limiting or disruptive presence in your life.

At worst, I would describe myself as still being really uptight about certain things, household routines, housework in the main, but the OCD was only ever totally debilitating at a point in my life when I was extremely depressed and anxious. The depression and anxiety has been in remission for a long time, and so the worst of the OCD has gone with it. I cope by just having a routine that means the things I used to obsess about no longer get to the stage where I feel a compulsion, so while I do still have 'routines', it's more akin to what you would describe as someone being houseproud or fastidious rather than obsessive.

Don't lose hope, it is perfectly possible to get on top of it to the point whereby it really isn't a major factor.

XDown, thank you so much that. I think it's the type of OCD that makes it all worse. It's intrusive thinking, horrible, horrible thoughts that keep him trapped in a cycle of a compulsion I can't speak of here. Each time he finishes each compulsion he looks awful and I can see the despair and torment in his eyes. He is my boy, I'm meant to make things that hurt better, and I can't. He is a lovely, lovely, brave young man with so much to live for.