Posted by ed_uk on November 5, 2005, at 10:13:58
In reply to Re: Buprenorphine Concerns, posted by bigcat on November 4, 2005, at 0:45:45
Hi Matt
>My concern is less for my own well-being as for the potential risk my doctor would be taking in prescribing this medication for me.
Show this to your doc. He will come to his own decision on whether or not he wants you to try buprenorphine.
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1995 Feb;15(1):49-57.
Buprenorphine treatment of refractory depression.
Bodkin JA, Zornberg GL, Lukas SE, Cole JO.
McLean Hospital, Consolidated Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02178, USA.
Opiates were used to treat major depression until the mid-1950s. The advent of opioids with mixed agonist-antagonist or partial agonist activity, with reduced dependence and abuse liabilities, has made possible the reevaluation of opioids for this indication. This is of potential importance for the population of depressed patients who are unresponsive to or intolerant of conventional antidepressant agents. Ten subjects with treatment-refractory, unipolar, nonpsychotic, major depression were treated with the opioid partial agonist buprenorphine in an open-label study. Three subjects were unable to tolerate more than two doses because of side effects including malaise, nausea, and dysphoria. The remaining seven completed 4 to 6 weeks of treatment and as a group showed clinically striking improvement in both subjective and objective measures of depression. Much of this improvement was observed by the end of 1 week of treatment and persisted throughout the trial. Four subjects achieved complete remission of symptoms by the end of the trial (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores < or = 6), two were moderately improved, and one deteriorated. These findings suggest a possible role for buprenorphine in treating refractory depression.
>I hope I'm wrong, but isn't Bupe a close relative of heroin?
Heroin and buprenorphine are both opioid analgesics but their pharmacological properties differ somewhat. Heroin is closely related to codeine and morphine.
>I've received codeine, valium, and percocets in the past which have done little to help the physical pain, or provide any of the mental calming or antidepressant effect that other kids rave about. Would this lead you to believe that Buprenorphine wouldn't have much of an effect on me as an antidepressant?
Diazepam (Valium) is a benzodiazepine, it's not related to buprenorphine in any way. Codeine and oxycodone (present in Percocet) are opioids, like buprenorphine, but buprenorphine's psychological effects are different (variably so). Some people find buprenorphine to be subjectively very similar to other opioids (eg. codeine) whereas others find it to be very different.
Kind regards
Ed
poster:ed_uk
thread:81414
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051031/msgs/575610.html