Posted by Hermit on June 18, 2006, at 11:39:28
In reply to Re: Opiate trap!, posted by flmm on June 18, 2006, at 11:26:47
> As someone with chronic pain, I have been on opiates for 2 years and antidepressants for 10. Opiates do not, over the long run, treat depression. That is just a fact. Sure they make you feel better in the begining, but like any addictive drug, it is a downward spiral of higher dosage, rebounding deeper depression,anxiety, anti-social behavior, apathy, suicide thoughts etc.
I guess you missed my previous post(?)
Again, I have know MANY people who are on a maintenance dose of opiates (everything from buponorphine to Vicodin) who have been treating their depression successfully for MANY YEARS. As I said, these are the people who do NOT raise the dosage, even when the euphoria goes away.
I'm in no way condoning an escalating use of opiates for depression, but I will condone the RESPONSIBLE use of opiates for depression. For those who simply believe that they cannot control their use, I would agree that they should stay away from them, but they have helped far too many people (myself included) to say that NO one should use them for depression.
Hermit
poster:Hermit
thread:651514
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060617/msgs/658306.html