Posted by shellie on June 5, 2000, at 16:38:20
In reply to Re: hydrocodone or tramadol for depression, posted by FP on June 5, 2000, at 16:00:05
> > I take a small amount of hydrocodone when I am very depressed without your doc's blessing?
> > hydrocodone works with no side effects. Whats the problem?
>
> Opiates as self-medication for depression - what's the problem? Well, w/o knowing you, there are a couple of possible answers to that question.
>
> 1. You may be one of the lucky few who can take opiates w/o becoming addicted. In that case, maybe there isn't a problem at all. Your docs may just be over-reacting, given all the anti-drug hysteria in the States.
>
> 2. Unless you decide to take them more frequently and DO become addicted.
>
> 3. Now, "addiction" is not always such a dirty word - many legel ADs are addictive, in that stopping them cold turkey will cause nasty mental or physical problems. But being addicted to something illegal (or at least hard to get) is a drag. You always worry about getting more, travel is a hassle, and, I repeat, you always worry about what will happen if your supply is cut off.
>
> If your usage is genuinly, honestly, cross your heart, only once in awhile, AND STAYS THAT WAY, then it probably isn't a problem. It's the "AND STAYS THAT WAY" part that usually crosses people up though, myself included.
>
> I might add that in adition to myself, and someone else who posted a similiar question a couple of months ago, I know one other person who has - literally - tried every AD available in the US, or close to it. She uses opium tea everyday, and found it bought her about a 2 years of reasonable, high functioning behaviour. Now she is having the sort of sleep problems that DeQuincey describes so well in "Diary of an English Opium Eater." (Or that Edgar Allan Poe made short stories from)
>
> Oh well, enough scare talk. In closing, all I can say is, from a purely pragmatic perspective (say it 3 times fast), the legally accepted ADs are just EASIER.
>
> And look at the bright side: happy people are shallow.
>
> FPto fp. I never said I take it infrequently. Sometimes I'll take for a week every day. But still never more any day than 1/2 pill once. So it is not just a once in a while thing--its just a half a pill per day limit. Does the frequency matter if the dose is the same each time? A doctor gave me 120 pills-- 120 pills is enough for 1/2 pill for almost a year. Plus I have 60 more from my gastroendronolgist who doesn't seem concerned about addition (he doesn't know I take it for depression.) It seems like pretty much everyone agrees with my docs. shellie
poster:shellie
thread:36063
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000603/msgs/36174.html