OCD Treatment: Alternative Drugs

We’re going to talk a bit about the usefulness of alternative drugs in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Alternative drugs can either be herbal based and used in herbal treatments, mood stabilizers or inositol. We’ll cover herbal based alternative drugs first.

It is considered that some herbs may help alleviate OCD symptoms yet this hasn’t been proven clearly in any case study. There are two herbal treatments for obsessive compulsive disorder, namely with sedating effects and without sedating effects.

Herbal treatments with sedative effects may diminish anxiety in OCD sufferers due to the sedative effect in itself. Some of the plants that do this are gota cola, passion flower, skullcap, kava, hops, lemon balm, German chamomile and valerian. The compounds found in them act on the brain in a similar fashion to benzodiazepines which are a class of medicines that help relieve symptoms by slowing down the central nervous system. The sedative effect has been of these herbs has been shown in animals but is yet to be shown in humans. However, you may want to tread carefully as they can also exacerbate the sedative effect of other meds and of alcohol.

Herbal treatments without sedative effects using herbs such as Ginkgo biloba, evening primrose oil or St. John’s wort are an even greater unknown, even compared to herbal treatments with sedative effects although they are thought by some to help treat obsessive compulsive disorder. There is little to no scientific evidence that these herbs are effective in any way. All that is known so far is that St. John’s wort is slightly more effective than a placebo in treating depressions but that’s not a scientific conclusion.

Let’s get to mood stabilizers now. One of them is Lithium. Lithium is a mood stabilizer that is at times used in treating OCD. From evidence gathered so far – anecdotal or empirical, we do not know – lithium helps in curing OCD by diminishing depression but its effects on the main issues, obsessions and compulsions, is small to none.

Another mood stabilizer is l-tryptophan. L-tryptophan is an amino acid that occurs naturally and can be found in certain foods. It is an essential ingredient in the production of serotonin. Since it is considered that low levels of serotonin are a cause of OCD the symptoms of the disease may be improved by trying to increase serotonin. Nonetheless, l-trypthophan combined with SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) has provided no better results compared to taking SSRIs all by themselves. L-tryptohpan is considered to be very safe but may cause sleepiness at times so it’s best to be taken before one goes to sleep.

As for inositol, this is a naturally occurring sugar part of the vitamin B family and found in phytic acid, nuts, seeds, whole grain or citric fruits that helps relieve OCD symptoms the same way serotonin does. In clinical trials, inositol has been found to be fairly effective with few side-effects.

As a conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the effects of alternative drugs shouldn’t be underestimated and one should also talk to one’s doctor before taking any action on them because they might have nasty side-effects or they might negatively combine with prescription or over-the-counter drugs you already take.

This concludes our article on the treatment of OCD through alternative drugs. If you want to add on top of what we wrote here or if you’d like to share your experience regarding treating obsessive compulsive disorder through alternative drugs then don’t hesitate to post a comment.

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