Posted by europerep on October 25, 2011, at 12:31:38
In reply to Re: opiates and major depression » europerep, posted by Chairman_MAO on October 24, 2011, at 20:55:46
> You are so snarky I really don't know how to respond. "Abuse potential"? You mean something that someone wants to take? No, buprenorphine is not Prozac. It is a much better drug with greater efficacy which has not been documented to induce dysphoric mania leading to suicides.
Can you present any evidence for buprenorphine not having potentially severe side effects in psychiatric patients? I doubt it.
> Addiction? A vast majority of people that take narcotics do not develop an "addiction"--which in and of itself is a value judgement.
Addiction is a quite valid concept, and concern over it is absolutely warranted. Your "vast majority of people" is pretty vague by the way.
> Everyone has a right to drugs, period.
That's a valid opinion, however, there is this thing called "reality". In reality, you need good reasons for giving opioids to patients (including pain patients). That too is warranted.
I'm not sure whether we're not talking past each other. I have tried both buprenorphine and more "typical" opioids for my TRD, and I am thankful for the open-mindedness of my doctor who prescribed me the latter (the buprenorphine thing was a little more complicated, but that's not relevant here). So I totally think these substances have a place in psychiatry. However, *precisely because* they have a place in psychiatry, they should be used with care. Nothing is worse than a legislative backlash after some ill-informed journalist writes an article about opioid prescribing behaviors, which then makes the situation even worse for those patients in need of these drugs.
poster:europerep
thread:81414
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111016/msgs/1000788.html