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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is OCD Hereditary?

Hello, My boyfriend is 37 years old, he has OCD and stammers. He takes rivotril to reduce his anxiety as there is no medication that treats OCD directly. I'd like to know if you think his stammering is related to his condition (OCD) and if there is a medicine that can cure it. Also is this hereditery?
Wed, 9 Jul 2014
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Psychiatrist 's  Response
Hi,

OCD (Obsessive compulsive Disorder) is a condition where a person has repeated thoughts regarding anything and does various acts trying to stop the thoughts, e.g, washing repeatedly in response to thoughts about contamination. OCD is a treatable condition and there are various medication available to treat OCD. In addition, stammering can be related to anxiety. With adequate management, your boyfriend can get rid of his symptoms.

There is a amount of genetic component in OCD and anxiety. But that doesn't mean that if a person has OCD, his son/daughter will definitely have it too. It merely increases the chance to develop it. There is no way currently to predict who will develop it and who won't.

I would suggest that your boy friend should seek a psychiatric consultation for initiating proper treatment. Medications like sertraline or fluvoxamine are highly effective. Rivotril (clonazepam) will only reduce the anxiety temporarily and long term intake may lead to development of dependence over it.

In addition to medication, he can also opt for cognitive behavior therapy consisting of exposure and response prevention. This is another effective means of treating OCD.

Hope this information was helpful. Best wishes.





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Is OCD Hereditary?

Hi, OCD (Obsessive compulsive Disorder) is a condition where a person has repeated thoughts regarding anything and does various acts trying to stop the thoughts, e.g, washing repeatedly in response to thoughts about contamination. OCD is a treatable condition and there are various medication available to treat OCD. In addition, stammering can be related to anxiety. With adequate management, your boyfriend can get rid of his symptoms. There is a amount of genetic component in OCD and anxiety. But that doesn t mean that if a person has OCD, his son/daughter will definitely have it too. It merely increases the chance to develop it. There is no way currently to predict who will develop it and who won t. I would suggest that your boy friend should seek a psychiatric consultation for initiating proper treatment. Medications like sertraline or fluvoxamine are highly effective. Rivotril (clonazepam) will only reduce the anxiety temporarily and long term intake may lead to development of dependence over it. In addition to medication, he can also opt for cognitive behavior therapy consisting of exposure and response prevention. This is another effective means of treating OCD. Hope this information was helpful. Best wishes.