If opiates affect dopamine levels and dopamine is associated with pleasure and motivation, then why aren't opiates used as anti-depressants? Loss of motivation and pleasure are the two most common symptoms of depression, so what's the solution. OPIATES? I don't see why doctors are so dumb and can't just accept the fact the opiates would be far more effective in treating depression and anxiety than SSRI's. SSRI's don't even make you a happy person once they work they just turn you into a zombie that can't get excited, scared, or angry. They numb you out. Opiates would work much better.
no, no. that will never happen because it would wreak havoc on the fabric of society, since a majority of junkies would be beyond even an epidemic. would you really want bus drivers and construction workers habitually on the nod? I'm in favor of legalization for everything, but there is a reason narcotics are not used as anti-depressants. the point of an anti-depressant isn't to invoke a few hours of dizzying euphoria, but to stabilize.
I admit it, the euphoria is why I love pain pills, for an hour or so, everything feels great, I enjoy talking to everybody, even the ones I would normally find boring and uninteresting. But to use it for depression? Pain pills don't make you feel good long enough, most patients would ruin their livers trying to stay happy all day long instead of just an hour or two. Also, pain pills, such as hydros affect people differently. I think the majority of people who have to take hydros or oxys for legitimate reasons don't experience the euphoria that that the smaller group of us do. For a lot of people, pain pills just knock them out, and others get sick to their stomach if they have to take pain medicine. If I had to guess, I would say only about 25 percent of people who take pain pills feel euphoria as a side effect, the rest either get nausiated or want to sleep. Thank god I have lots friends who have them and don't like them.
I feel you on this one. I've taken every antidepressant in the book, only to become dependent and have seizures, self-mutilating tendencies, suicide attempts, weight gain, and other hideous effects upon discontinuation. Like 70% of the population, the medications did NOTHING for my mood except turn me into an amotivational zombie with no capacity for creativity or true happiness. I have Asperger's Syndrome (high-functioning autism) and as a result am very introverted, self-conscious, and tend toward obsessive compulsive disorder. My anxiety around people is so great that for years I've avoided human contact (parties, bars, and other large get togethers) and have become quite lonely and depressed. The over stimulation to my senses is constant, leading to chronic fatigue and melancholy. The ONLY thing that has given me the ability and drive to not only make eye contact, but also to start conversations and keep them going, is hydrocodone. It alleviates anxiety-related stress in social situations, which is a hell of a lot harder on the body than taking a 7.5mg. pill every now and then. (I wrote a report on Erowid entitled "Transcending Asperger's Syndrome" in the hydrocodone section under the name Mercury in Aries for anyone who cares to read it.) I know opiates have their down sides, but a recent study has shown that they do NOT interfere with the ability to safely operate a car, at least for experienced users. I think that the real reason they're not considered for depression treatment is that they cause euphoria. Just look at marijuana--it's technically the safest drug on the planet, having NO deaths attributed to its use in the thousands of years it's been used to get high and treat various ailments, yet its use for even the most hopeless conditions is denied by the federal government. Why? They say it's because it causes a "high", which could perceivably cause all kinds of problems and send the wrong message to kids. What the fuck?! Perhaps people wouldn't have to self-medicate if only there were some more effective options out there to choose from.
Codone - First of all, I want to say how impressed I am that you have been able to overcome your condition -Asperger's is by means easy, and social contact in conjunction with A's has got to be tougher than I could ever imagine. I can't believe that hyrdocodone helps you solve one of the toughest sides to A's Syndrome, that is just wonderful! I think that, based on your testimony and maybe a few others, Medicine should consider the use of opiate "therapy" in the treatment of Asperger's! If just a few mg of hyrdocodone can help alleviate that social stigma, think about the implications of this!!! Good luck with everything! -V
Thanks! It feels good to have someone consider this point of view instead of just shooting it down. Being a female with the disorder has lead me down an ugly path of being stigmatized by doctors who think I'm a malingering, drug-seeking hypochondriac and taking psychiatric medications for the past 6 years (I was put on them at the age of 16 with NO knowledge of their side effects, which for me included discontinuation syndrome in the form of seizures, pseudoparkinsonism, suicide attempts, self-mutilation, and violence, none of which were permanent or had occurred before taking the meds). I've tried the following medications for at least 6 months apiece, some in conjunction with each other: Cymbalta Lexapro Anafranil Elavil Risperdal Luvox Prozac Effexor Wellbutrin BuSpar I'm probably forgetting some. In any case, all of the above caused NO improvement in my negative feelings, nevermind the fact that they all caused me to feel like an amotivational zombie. I'm still harboring anger at the doctors who put me on these meds as a child without so much as hinting at the fact that I may experience dangerous withdrawal effects upon stopping or gain 50 lbs. in 3 months (thanks, Risperdal). I was told I had depression, anxiety, OCD, schizophrenic tendencies, and about 100 other things before finding out about Asperger's, which is a real shame, but I consider myself lucky. At least I know NOW and have been able to successfully stop taking these medications and learned more useful ways to de-stress, only one of which includes taking low-dose opiates. Unfortunately, hydrocodone is hard to come by, as I have to obtain it "on the street" and know no steady source. For that reason (and the addiction factor), I save it for only the most harrowing of social situations. Thanks again for the support...it's much appreciated.
Tell me about it! They're not a long-term solution: once you stop, the problems come flooding back. They might have some value as a short-term treatment for people with SERIOUS problems that prevent them from functioning in society, like schizophrenia, OCD, and deep, clinical depression, but for those of us with low-grade mood glitches, they do more harm than good.
^ it's been pretty much proven that they cause anger and violence problem and they tend to be involved with school shootings I've known people who were prescribed them when they didn't need them, and taking them made them depressed for real.
Yeah, I mean, they have their place in the pharmacopoeia, but for doctors who know little to NOTHING about mental illness to give them out at the drop of a hat without warning of the possible side effects is irresponsible at best. I think that's where a lot of the problems come in. A doctor is hardly a psychiatrist, and giving those medications to the wrong person, say someone with bipolar disorder (like just happened with my grandma and Paxil), can cause some serious problems. I think those medications are actually intended for a much smaller sector of the population--like those with SERIOUS mental illness, not just mild mood fluctuations. Call me crazy.
^ I think a similar argument could be made that most psychiatrists aren't psychiatrists they just prescribe, prescribe, prescribe
