Posted by Elizabeth on June 6, 2001, at 20:54:19
In reply to Re: Codeine for Depression Treatment-Elizabeth, posted by AMenz on June 5, 2001, at 11:19:40
> Codeine is supposed to be addictive. I'm already unable to get off a 1mg benzo daily.
In what sense do you have trouble getting off the benzo (Xanax? Klonopin?)? Like, do you feel an urge for it, like you would feel an urge for food after not eating for a while? Do you suffer from rebound anxiety or insomnia or other withdrawal symptoms? (This happens with some antidepressants, like Effexor, Paxil, and Parnate, too, but people who suffer withdrawal symptoms are not considered "addicted" solely by virtue of the withdrawal symptoms. Addiction is understood in terms of craving for a substance.)
> When you say an opioid is it a synthetic or a natural derivative of opium. Better yet since I do not have a science background-what is an opioid agonist, as opposed to an opiate?
"Opioid" or "opioid agonist" refers to a drug that activates opioid receptors; "opioid antagonists" are drugs that block opioid receptors, preventing them from being activated. This is a way of describing a group of drugs based on their effects.
"Opiate" is sometimes used to refer to all opioid agonists, although technically it refers to opium constituents (codeine and morphine, as well as an inactive chemical called thebaine) and chemically close drugs that are derived from them (like hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, etc.). This is a way of classifying drugs based on their origin (the opium poppy), or similarity to naturally-occuring chemicals that come from a particular origin.
> What is the action of codeine that it relieves depression and is the effect palliative like, eg. like benzos which wear off quickly and have to be readministered as oppossed to SSRI which and lithium which build up in the bloodstream slowly and take several days to wear off.
The time it takes to reach steady-state levels is not the reason that SSRIs, for example, take a few weeks to work (lithium usually works within a week or two if it's going to work). It has to do with their chronic, rather than direct, effects. Chronic use of opioids or benzodiazepines can cause tolerance to some of their effects (just as you can become tolerant to some of the side effects of antidepressants after using them for a while).
> I'm almost embarassed to write to you because you seem extremely knowledgeable. What is your background, if I may ask?
I don't like to talk about personal stuff on the internet. I'm not a doctor or anything. Please don't be afraid. :-) (Not that you should be afraid of doctors, either. Usually, anyway.)
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:64320
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010605/msgs/65593.html