Has anybody had in-patient treatment for emetophobia/OCD?

[emet-ana]

Hello,

I just wondered if anyone had had hospital treatment for their emetophobia/OCD?

I've been referred for treatment as I have pretty profound OCD alongside emetophobia and I'm not sure what to expect!

[Aspie Grrrl]

I did a week in the psych ward when I was 16. The nurses (and patients) literally laughed at me when I told them what I was there for. Then they took my heart rate/blood pressure while I was standing next to a sick guy. My heart was going all kinds of crazy. They took me more seriously after that.

I was put on Anafranil--an OCD med--along with Luvox and Risperdal. They taught me some visualization/relaxation techniques but really didn't know much about phobias. I quit the meds after 6 months due to side effects and no noticeable benefits. I followed up with counseling and tried about 10 other medications over the next 9 years. Again, no success with the meds but I'm not knocking it. Some people have had great improvements with psychiatric drugs. Treatment for any mental illness is trial and error.

My OCD got 100 times better when I moved out of my hometown and away from my main stressors. Emetophobia is still as bad as ever.

It all depends on the doctors you get. Some are great and others not so much. Good luck!

[emet-ana]

That's really nasty that they laughed at you. It sounds like a horrible experience that you had to stand next to a sick guy to have your BP taken! It doesn't sound like your hospital stay was very helpful?

I'm being referred to an OCD unit at a hospital in London for possibly 6 months (yeuck!). I hope they can help. If it takes 6 months of hospitalization to get over OCD and emetophobia for the rest of my life then it'll be worth it!

It's really interesting that Luvox (that's fluvoxamine isn't it?) and risperdal didn't work, the psychiatrists at the unit that I visited want me to start on an SSRI and neuroleptic (like risperdal) combo but I said I was unhappy about trying it so they'll give me a month med-free before insisting that I take some. I just don't think that drugs for OCD and emet work very well (I could be wrong!).

Did you have purely contamination OCD or a few types of OCD?

[KaydeeJayde]

That's really nasty that they laughed at you. It sounds like a horrible experience that you had to stand next to a sick guy to have your BP taken! It doesn't sound like your hospital stay was very helpful?

I'm being referred to an OCD unit at a hospital in London for possibly 6 months (yeuck!). I hope they can help. If it takes 6 months of hospitalization to get over OCD and emetophobia for the rest of my life then it'll be worth it!

It's really interesting that Luvox (that's fluvoxamine isn't it?) and risperdal didn't work, the psychiatrists at the unit that I visited want me to start on an SSRI and neuroleptic (like risperdal) combo but I said I was unhappy about trying it so they'll give me a month med-free before insisting that I take some. I just don't think that drugs for OCD and emet work very well (I could be wrong!).

Did you have purely contamination OCD or a few types of OCD?

Wrong in some cases Like Aspie Grrrl said, it's all trial and error and it depends heavily on the person you're dealing with. I know people with OCD and anxiety who have been almost 100% cured by meds, and others who felt that they were completely useless. I fall somewhere in the middle. Meds helped me for a while, but then they kind of stopped causing any change and I weaned off them.

emet-ana, I think it could be a really great thing that you have the opportunity for in-patient treatment if you're open to it. I came very close to being "comitted" as my mother put it, not that it's like that at all, and I think it would have helped me a lot, but I ended up working through it on my own, with much difficulty. I hope that you find it helpful, and that it does help you kick emet and OCD. Will you keep us updated on your progress if you can?