Posted by Chairman_MAO on February 7, 2007, at 7:46:30
In reply to Re: holy mackeral laima! » laima, posted by Larry Hoover on February 6, 2007, at 12:30:32
I am not negating your experience, but AFAIK the idea that you can never get back to "normal" after using opioids is a myth (my doctor said this as well). At the worst time in my life, I was using 20+ bags a day of [good] heroin IV. Granted, I did have buprenorphine treatment, but I am off of that now and feel no hyperalgesia, cravings, etc. Of course, I am on psychiatric medication, but self-medication is why I was using that to begin with.
People often discount the fact that after having experienced real anxiety relief, coming back to their "default" state can appear more stressful. What is going on is probably psychological. Of course, there is a neural substrate for everything, but in my experience, talking about this without any empirical data (like an fMRI) when trying to improve one's own condition is just another neurosis, i.e. an attempt to control what one feels is out of control by controlling something else. Unfortunately, this whole world of neurotransmitters, etc. is ultimately irrelevant--the clinical presentation is what is important.
I think that if someone feels better on benzodiazepines, they should be on benzodiazepines. Personally, I think opioids are a better choice; nobody ever dies from opioid withdrawal. With benzodiazepines, there is a small chance due to excitotoxicity upon withdrawal of GABAnergic impairment. However, I stress that this is all theory and that I have been through withdrawal from 80mg/day of diazepam to 0 over a THREE DAY taper (I wish I sued that hospital), and I don't feel as if there was any lasting damage.
Best of luck.
poster:Chairman_MAO
thread:730251
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070207/msgs/730706.html