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Re: Methadone - AndrewB and all interested

Posted by Cece on May 8, 2001, at 14:58:46

In reply to Methadone - AndrewB and all interested, posted by DianeD on May 1, 2001, at 10:52:16

Here's my experience and info on these subjects/drugs.

I am one of the people for whom Vicodin is a great anti-depressant. It also helps me a lot with chronic pain: spinal problems, headaches, fibromyalgia, and arthritis, and it calms me down when I am having an anxiety freakout. I have been using it, under a prescription written for headaches, for about 8 years. My tolerance has very slightly increased over this time- so slowly that I am not worried.

When I began using it, 1/2 of a tablet, 1 to 2 times a day did me just fine. I did not take it daily. I still do not take it daily, but more days than not. Now I take a whole tablet 1 to 2 times a day. If I have a migraine, or am really deeply depressed, or have really racked out my back, I will take up to 3 tablets that day.

I should probably say here that I am BPII, have tried many, many meds, and currently take a fairly (but not absolutely) effective mix of mood stabilizers, 1 AD, and xanax. I also take thyroid med and hormone replacement (BP women very often get a flare-up of symptoms when peri-menopause hits).

For many (8) years, I went outside my HMO to a pdoc who was very open minded. I kept telling him that Vicodin was the best anti-depressant that I had found. He felt that my level of usage was fine, and was willing to write me a script "for headaches". I tried Buprenorphine, but it didn't work as an AD for me, and it also made me feel stoned and stupid. So I've stuck with Vicodin.

For financial reasons, (and also doctor/patient burnout), I recently changed to a very good pdoc at my HMO. He is skeptical about, and not used to prescribing opiates for mood disorders, but has written me a script for the time being.

I was very interested when I started reading peoples' comments about Methadone on this board. I don't generally feel that addiction is a serious issue in the face of life-threatening depression. In fact, I think that it is a non-issue that is based on fear and prejudice, although something that patients should be educated about before being treated with a potentially addictive med. I wondered if I should give Methadone a try.

But many years ago, I worked at a heroin detox center. I myself never used heroin, but my co-workers were ex-junkies. One of them, a really great guy, had been, in the past, on Methodone maintenance for many years. He really hated the drug and considered it evil. He said that kicking it was the hardest, most painful thing that he had ever faced- much, much harder than kicking heroin. I think that he chose to quit it because of the ethic in the recovery community that addiction to any drug is bad. Perhaps he would have been fine if he had been willing to continue on maintenance. But in the end, several years after kicking, he committed suicide- he had started using heroin again, hated himself for it, and couldn't face going on Methadone again. Obviously, this made a big impression on me.

So, I'm not sure what to think. I respect other peoples' experiences that they have shared here, but can't help but be afraid of Methadone- despite my feelings about the issue of addiction vs. suicidal depression and anxiety.

Cece


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poster:Cece thread:17065
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010507/msgs/62151.html