Posted by Verity on January 9, 2004, at 12:16:18
In reply to OPIATES IN TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION, posted by LAURA777 on January 31, 2003, at 8:55:53
> HI , i am so glad i found this site ..i do strongly believe that opiates should be considered for treatment of depression , like some of you i too have taken vicodin and percoset and have noticed massive improvement in my mood and my energy level , for instance , my mood or state is generally sad , uninterested and unmotivated,and lethargic... in fact with the questionare for depression scale , one of the questions is "did you loose interest in activities that you once found enjoyable " ? i have found nothing that has insipred my interest.. except to sleep to escape my greyness . how can i describe to you how awful this is !!! so very sad .. the main emotions that i feel are not good ones , and i have to push myself to do daily things .. i have been this way for so long that i used to think it was normal .. it started in my adolescents 12 years .i was put on prozac but this made me so flat .. then i was put on wellbutrin to augment the flatness , but here i sit with the same uninterested unmoitivated feelings .. yuk , depression runs in my family alot both sides as well as a sprinkling of bipolar, i know that i am not bipolar becasue i have never expierience mania !!! depressed is my main expierience and any good emotion is muted considerably , i know this because i pay attention to how i feel , and like some of you , when i took percoset or vicodin i actually felt much better and everything that one is supposed to do in daily life was not such a push ... what a relief this is !!!! what i want to know is why are the research companies so stuck on the serotonin and neroepinephrine , and are so frightened of the dopamine area .. hey has anyone out there ever tried amineptine ?? survector ??? it was pulled from the markets ...people who are against the use of opiates to treat depression probalby do not suffer from it the way i do .. my life sucks and the only reason i do not commit suicide is because of religious beliefs and i think it is selfish .. i would not want to hurt the ones i love soo very much .. anyway the only upside to my depression is that is has made me a deep thinker and i am compassionate.. but my life is dull for the lack of motivation and interest ,..
> i strongly believe that some of us are opiate deficient ..and it is a serious matter , i always asked myself what is everybody so excited about ?? life for me is very blah !!! and it is hard for me ... i mostly sleep because i am tired and believe it or not when i take vicodin or the like i do not feel tired , just the opposite .. i have energy and things are not a push to do ... but who is going to proscribe vicodin ?? i see a psychiatrist for the first time on feb 20 , i will let him know of all these things when i see him .. i have done quite a bit of research and have been to many of the links that are given on this forum .. there is so very much to explore and that fact that everyones brain chemistry is different makes matters much more complicated and individual ,..
> i tell you i do not want to go thru ect or use the dirty tricyclics ... i also don't want to end up like my mother who does nothing , but sleep and watch tv and is also anxious and worried all the time not to mention negitivity , the only drug she takes is xanex for angxiety..i am 38 years old and have wasted many years because of ignorance of what i have depression , i do not know wheather i am dysthymic or have retarded depression .. all i know is that i don;t want to go anywhere or do anything but i don;t want to sit here either .. This is so very hard .. i am not asking for much , i know i can;t be happy 24 7 but how about sometimes ??? how come i can't , i feel unfufilled , I would like to add that i do see a therapist and have made great strides in my self image and perceptions of things , but still i am stuck with this dryness in the area of the good feelings .. does any one understand this ?? or can anyone articulate this better ?? please please give me feedback because i feel so alone and i need validation .. i would just love to have interest , motivation .. is this is as good as it gets i am so doomed !!!!! my Father deals with his depression with alcohol , i hate alcohol it only worsens mine ....
> my research into dopaminergic drugs is slow but i do not think they target all the areas of the brain that opiates do , opiates target 4 areas of the brain and are significantly different from the stimulate drugs such as ritilan and cocaine in that they target the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens , where as opiates target venteral tegmental area , nucleus accumbens , hippocampus and hypothalmus , .. i am just a lay person and have to research much more , and the only reason why i am so intense in this is because i am so so so tired of feeling this shitty ... i do not cry often even though i realte to sadness a great deal .. oh please can anyone give me some feedback it will be well appreciated , thanks , laura
Hi LauraThis is the first time I've contacted any sort of message/chat type thing on the net so please would you and any other reader forgive me if I perform any technical cock up.
I take dihydrocodeine (I live in the UK, in case that's relevant) and have done for the past 2-3 years. Life has been transformed. Whereas pre opiate life meant going to bed at 8.30 at night, thinking - Well done - you got through another day, life with opiates means - I'll stay awake as long as I can not to waste time sleeping because life is so rewarding and my zest for life is so high.
I am about your age and have a very good job, good education, good friends, lovely home, great partner blah blah blah. I have worked hard all my life to stay "normal" - to not be a "nutter", a "victim", basically using alcohol to self-medicate at all times outside working and sleeping (this became more and more unsatisfying).
I found very early on that over the counter remedies containing codeine always made me feel mentally well and I suppose these helped me through "working" times.Nevertheless, things came to a head 5 years ago and I ended up being prescribed Paroxetine (Seroxat) which may have slightly improved things but not to any satisfactory extent. Then, by chance, I was prescribed DHC for temporary pain relief and there was my revelation - the lights came on, the black and white turned to colour, the things in life I knew were fun and interesting and satisfying but I couldn't "reach", I could now reach. I think you'd understand this. Without the opiate there is a blanket between you and the happiness - you just can't access it - the opiate seems to build the bridge that makes life a pleasant thing. As I've tried explaining to doctors, I don't take DHC and run around in a drug hazed frenzy, writing romantic poetry and living a Jim Morrison lifestyle - no I just go to work and get purposeful stuff done!
Of course, the problem now raising its head is tolerance and I am seeking any useful suggestions on dealing with it.
I'll write more soon. Love to see another message from you Laura because I identify so very much with your words. Post a message and I'll respond.
Take care
Verity
poster:Verity
thread:2391
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040102/msgs/298586.html