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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by slw2 on February 17, 2010, at 10:37:08
i'm new -- and sorry if this is in the wrong place
and before i get slammed, i know all the addiction issues thoroughly as well as how hard & difficult withdrawel is -- but some meds, they still prescribe for certain issues saying that the benefits outweight the risks
i also don't need to hear the polically correct addiction & drugs are bad speech -- i know it.
so now that i've scared everyone off, here's my issue/questions
if a lot of other things have been tried, does anyone prescribe opiates for anxiety?
i have a 20 year old son that has battled anxiety -- general as well as social for years. along with that, he's developed depression -- sometimes with suidical thoughts. he's had 3 psychotic breaks -- always triggered by social pressures. the second one was because of behind the wheel driver's instruction when he was 17.
his list of meds -- prescribed, unprescribed, legal & illegal -- have included lexapro, zoloft, prozac, seroquel, zyprexa, geodon, valium, klonopin, marijuana, massive amount of cold medicine, alcohol, .... -- probably more i'm not remembering or don't know about.
he found opiates -- and he says they are the only thing that has ever made his stop thinking about bad things people have done to him -- think unkind things, he hasn't been molested or anything.
he's to the point, he really doesn't leave the house. he's tried some college classes, but can't tolerate the people. he can take 5 mg of klonopin & still be anxious to go in a store & buy something. he literally doesn't go out except for dr's appts.
when we discovered the opiate addiction (he was stealing his dad's -- he almost died in a motorcycle accident last year and we've had tons of them in the house), we bought a safe for the opiates and got him into treatment -- so far suboxone. therapy isn't something he can do right now without panic attacks & we're not willing to risk a 4th psychotic break if we can prevent it.
the suboxone is wonderful for withdrawels & cravings -- somedays it works on how he feels, but somedays it doesn't. i had read about how it sometimes works for treamtment resistent depression & was hoping it would be his miracle.
so -- after all that -- if you made it this far -- am i discarding opiates as a potential treatment for him because of polical correctness & morality issues? because everyone tells me it's not an option & it will cause more harm than good in the long run?
his regular psychiatrist won't even discuss the option.
Posted by janejane on February 17, 2010, at 12:32:31
In reply to opiates for anxiety, posted by slw2 on February 17, 2010, at 10:37:08
You might get more responses if you post this to the medication board since it has more traffic than the alternative board. I think it's kosher to put it there since you seem to be interested in using meds as treatment.
That said, you might want to look into a supplement called DPA (D-phenylalanine), an amino acid which increases endorphins. Some people take this for depression as it is said to increase one's sense of well-being.
Note: there is more than one form of phenylalanine. The L form (L-phenylalanine) is a percursor to dopamine and may be too activating for someone with anxiety. The D form (DPA) is the one that makes endorphins, and is the one you'd probably be interested in. The L form and DL form (DLPA) are the easiest to find, so you will probably have to shop around to find pure DPA. Definitely do some research before trying it, though.
I did a little googling, and came up with this link that has a little info to get you started:
https://allianceforaddictionsolutions.org/index.php/?option=com_content&view=article&id=74
There are probably better articles (this one seems to be focused more on pain), but I didn't look too deep in my search (I will leave that up to you). I think you might be able to find threads in the archives that may be of help as well. I believe there's actually a current one about opioids for depression in the medication board. (Haven't read it all so I can't tell you how informative it would be for you.)
Posted by Phillipa on February 17, 2010, at 12:56:27
In reply to Re: opiates for anxiety » slw2, posted by janejane on February 17, 2010, at 12:32:31
Good job Jane and please do post your thread on the meds board. I'm sure others can help. Phillipa
Posted by slw2 on February 17, 2010, at 14:41:31
In reply to Re: opiates for anxiety » janejane, posted by Phillipa on February 17, 2010, at 12:56:27
thanks guys -- i realized i should have posted there pretty soon after i posted this.
i posted something in a similiar thread and referred to this one.
also -- thank for the information about the natural stuff too. i'll definitely look into it.
before we went the suboxone route, we tried a few things like 5hpt & l-tyrosine.
Posted by Dr. Bob on February 26, 2010, at 1:31:11
In reply to Re: opiates for anxiety, posted by slw2 on February 17, 2010, at 14:41:31
> i posted something in a similiar thread and referred to this one.
Here's a link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100216/msgs/937232.html
That's considered a different thread, so if you'd like to be notified by email of follow-ups to it, you'll need to request that there. Thanks,
Bob
Posted by slw2 on February 26, 2010, at 8:56:25
In reply to Redirect: opiates for anxiety, posted by Dr. Bob on February 26, 2010, at 1:31:11
thanks -- i didn't worry too much about the email notifications, i just kept checking the other thread.
This is the end of the thread.
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