Supplement Successfully Used For OCD

[cobygurl]

Hello,

 

I am wondering if anyone has had success with a particular supplement to help with OCD tendencies?

 

How long did it take to see improvement?

 

Thanks in advance!

[MomWithOCDSon]

It really depends upon what else your child is taking regularly. Since OCD is an anxiety set of behaviors generally linked to lower levels of serotonin in the brain, some herbal and supplemental therapies such as NAC, inositol, Japanese knotweed, SAM-e, 5HTP, etc. have been found to be helpful. But if your child is already taking, say, a low-dose SSRI, some of those could be more problematic than helpful. Methylation can be another issue to consider, as some kids with certain genetics seem to respond more positively to certain things, while others have a hard time or react badly; this has been particularly the case (anecdotally) with regard to NAC. There are several threads here about that.

 

Generally, it's been our experience that unregulated herbs and supplements tend to take longer to build up to sufficient levels in the body and inspire a positive reaction; my son has been taking NAC, and it took a few weeks for the benefits to be seen. But that's generally the case with prescriptions for increasing serotonin levels, too; most SSRI's require a period of 4 to 6 weeks to reach full efficacy.

 

Not knowing what your child is already taking supplement or medicine-wise, I would take any particular option "low and slow," and only make one change at a time, so that you can truly ferret out what works and what doesn't.

 

Good luck!

[nyfirefly11]

I take up to 18 grams of Inositiol powder per day (I'm 33). It's hasn't been 100% effective, but it's definitely helped significantly.