Are there medications for it?

COH & ACOA Joined: Jul 22, 2006 Posts: 1946 Location: Cabo

Here are what some of the professionals say:

Dr. Gail Steketee:

Quote:

Initial studies suggest that antidepressants offer little help for hoarding. "More research has yet to be done trying other types of drugs,"Steketee said.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2007/04/02/buried_alive/?page=1

Sanjaya Saxena, M.D. says:

Quote:

Effective medication treatments for OCD include the serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medications. These are citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). The tricyclic antidepressant clomipramine (Anafranil), which also strongly inhibits the reuptake of serotonin.

The compulsive hoarding syndrome, has often proven refractory to treatment with these standard medications.

In several studies of OCD treatment, hoarding and saving compulsions have been strongly associated with poor response to SRIs. A small study using open treatment with paroxetine or CBT for OCD patients found that nonresponders were significantly more likely to have hoarding/saving symptoms than responders. Hoarding and saving symptoms were a significant predictor of nonresponse.

Another case series described treatment response in 18 compulsive hoarders treated openly with a variety of SRIs. Only one of the 18 had a marked response. Nine had partial responses; and nine had minimal or no response. In an analysis of large-scale, multicenter, controlled trials of SRI treatment for patients with OCD, higher scores on the hoarding symptom dimension predicted poorer response to SRI treatment, after controlling for baseline severity.

Compulsive hoarding is a clear predictor of poor response to standard anti-obsessional medications. Despite this fact, no prior medication treatment study has specifically targeted the compulsive-hoarding syndrome.

http://www.childrenofhoarders.com/forum/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=28

Do you know of any medications that have been helpful for your loved one who hoards?
Remember: this advice/opinions expressed here should not replace the care of diagnosis of a medical professional, especially on this topic!