Posted by shelliR on November 18, 2001, at 22:42:34
In reply to Re: Morphine for depression. » shelliR, posted by paxvox on November 18, 2001, at 20:29:09
> Indeed, Shelli, I won't step on your toes. It is just that I have only recently seen cogent discussion of what I had independently concluded from my own experience. My question is, how does one approach their Pdoc about such treatment?
>
> PAXHi Pax,
You're weren't stepping on my toes, but if you look back at some of the threads on opiates then you will understand why I didn't want to go through that again. There were accusations and attacks that those of us investigating narcotics were nothing but addicts in depressive disguise. It was
not a very supportive time on this board.Anyway, you've asked a tough question. I completely lucked out, if you consider lucking out working with a doctor who sees me five minutes, won't return phone calls, and was making me come see him every other day.
I was already using vicodin as an adjunct to my AD premenstrually, then my AD pooped out and nothing else seemed to work. I was then in the position of wanting to use vicodin on a regular basis.
Buprenorpine has the most information on the board and is probably the easiest opiate to get from a doctor (and it still is not easy). It's a partial opiate, has helped several people on the board. Its selling point to pdocs is that there is a very small study study out of the McLean Harvard Group in Boston (It will come up if you do a search on Google, Yahoo, etc.). They are a very respected group within the psychopharmacology community.
So there is a possiblity that armed with some posts from PB on buprenorphine and that study, you may be able to convince a pdoc to try it. Otherwise, the only doctors that I have heard of that are prescribing opiates are in California.I am on the east coast and am very uncomfortable in my position of knowing just one pdoc. He is not easy to get along with and I am always in fear that he'll cut me off if he gets angry at me and decides he doesn't want to work with me. I'm sure he would arrange for detox, but that is not what I'm looking for.
Before I found him, I was going to research pain clinics and ask them if they would consider giving me opiates for pain, because my experience with vicodin was so positive. I don't know what the outcome of that would have been, but potentially they may have been able to hook me up with a psychiatrist that they know or work with.BTW, I have had to go up several times on oxycontin and it is still a question whether my body will finally get to a level and settle in so I don't have to go up and up and up. So there is the real possibility of developing an opiate habit. I guess you would have to decide how bad your depression is to take that chance.
Sorry I can't be of more help, but several people on the board are asking the same question you are and I don't know any real answers. My previous pdoc thought I would end up in the gutter and we terminated over vicodin.
Shelli
poster:shelliR
thread:84007
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84622.html