Posted by jerrympls on February 7, 2005, at 22:57:27
In reply to OPIATES FOR DEPRESSION?, posted by medhed on February 5, 2005, at 10:08:08
I am currently being treated with opiates for my treatment resistant depression. I came out of the closet to my doctor about how opiates have helped my depression in the past and after showing him some research he agreed to an opiate trial.
I've been on Oxycontin 10mg for a month now. It's been wonderful - the most stable and close to "normal" that I have been in years. It's not a miracle cure - but it's better than nothing.
We are going to try a month on hydrocodone to compare the two. I'm so very fortunate to have a doctor willing to try opiates. Yes, I am cautious of tolerance and dependance. However, I do not get any sort of "high" from these meds nor do I "hunger" for them. I'm already dependent on the other depression meds I'm taking - so how can being dependent on an opiate be any different? That's how I look at it anyway.
Tomorrow I start hydrocodone 5mg 4x daily. We found a preparation without acetaminophen called HYCODAN. Too bad there isn't a long acting form of hydrocodone.
At any rate, there are doctors out there who know the benefits of the use of opiates for treatment resistant depression and who will use them. Unfortunately they are few and far between. My adivce is to seek out a psychiatrist at a teaching hospital at a large research university.
Good luck...
Jerry
poster:jerrympls
thread:453574
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050207/msgs/454765.html