Posted by SLS on February 26, 2014, at 13:12:49
In reply to Re: Freedom of speech? Yeah, whatever. » LostBoyinNC45, posted by sleepygirl2 on February 26, 2014, at 1:58:05
> You do have a very good point. Opiate addictions are horrible things.
Yes, they certainly are.
When used in heroin addiction, the administration of buprenorphine, especially when combined with naloxone (the Suboxone preparation), accomplishes two things. It prevents withdrawal from heroin (dependence) and reduces cravings (addiction). People can leave the house and not be tempted to take a trip downtown. The idea is to crossover from heroin to Suboxone and then taper the Suboxone with the goal of discontinuing it. There are other protocols for treating heroin addiction. These include abrupt discontinuation (abstinence) followed by enrollment in a 12-step program. I would not presume to decide for a heroin addict how he should treat his addiction. Suboxone works, though, and does not require the time commitment needed to work a 12-step program such as Narcotic Anonymous (NA). You can look on the FDA website for more information on the approved uses of buprenorphine.
As for off-label use of buprenorphine, there has not been very much scientific clinical investigation for its use in depression. However, I feel that there is enough so as to warrant further study. So does the NIH.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01407575
There is more extant material that supports the use of buprenorphine to treat TRD. You can find quite a bit using Google as a search engine.
Like many other drugs used in treating mental illness, there are risks and benefits to be weighed. Buprenorphine is a powerful, unpredictable, and dangerous drug to be used cautiously by patients capable of understanding the dangers of self-medication. The same thing can be said of MAOIs and TCAs.
Personally, I would like to see as many tools made available as possible. Buprenorphine is not an ideal drug, but might be necessary to give a small subset of patients with TRD an opportunity to function independently and enjoy life.
I think we should continue to talk about the use of buprenorphine for depression here on Psycho-Babble.
Not so simple.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1061352
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20131217/msgs/1061376.html