Posted by barbaracat on July 14, 2005, at 16:30:48
In reply to Re: has Valium lost its rep?, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 14, 2005, at 15:10:08
OK, kiddos. My brief story. Along with a long-standing major depression that eventually resolved/dissolved into bipolar, I also came down with fibromyalgia in 2000. It was most likely working before that and whether it's chicken or egg because of the hit the HPA axis takes because of stress, who knows. I only know it was the most dibilitating distressing, agonizing experience I could imagine.
It's like the pain of a severe flu, that aching, pulling, stabbing pain all over, including the base of the brain. My normal severe mood disorder kicked up a few notches because I could no longer work, the worry of no money, and on top of it all, could not sleep to save my soul. There is a fatigue so great and pain so sharp that I could only weave or crawl to the bathroom with the help of my husband. For two years, half of that time I was in bed in utter despair. There is no cure for fibro and I could only wonder at my future and the unfairness of depriving deserving souls of Dr. Kevorkian.
My doctor tried opiates and while they didn't help much with the pain, they made me feel better emotionally. Nothing helped with the pain because the pain is in the limbic system, not the body, so the best anyone could do was to try to make me comfortable, basically knock me out, until the flare subsided. But within an hour of taking an oxycontin or hydrocodone, I could feel a surge of energy and well-being I so very much needed to keep going on.
I'm very lucky. I'm about 80% better from the fibro after going down a long convoluted road of discovery but I still maintain that opiates are vastly underrated for relieving psychic pain.
No, I don't take them now. They constipate me and that's a critical factor in my staying well. But I do know the difference between soothing and comfort and just dullness. I take the bare minimum of drugs and maintain pretty well with a healthy lifestyle. But when I need drugs, I need 'em and I just so happen to have a nice little stash.
>
> do you have a phyical condition?
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> Well you have a nice peaceful day.
>
> ha..
>
> jk
>
> Matt
poster:barbaracat
thread:524277
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050713/msgs/527605.html