Posted by RetiredYoung on July 14, 2004, at 15:28:42
I've had dysthymia for 15 years (I'm a 37 year old male), along with chronic daily tension headaches and some lower back pain. I take Lexapro 25mg/day, Adderal 40mg/day, and trimipramine (TCA-brand name Surmontil) 25mg/day. I also take abortive pain medications for the headaches as needed. Not sure at all if I'm in a rebound headache situation from all this or not.
Here's what I've come to: I notice that after taking one of my stronger pain medicines (such as Ultracet, Fioricet w/codiene, or a triptan), I usually feel WONDERFUL for a few hours, both physically *and* emotionally.
So, does any one have any information on daily usage of pain medications like codeine, oxycontin, narcotics, etc. as an effective treatment for depression (in addition to body type pain)?
My last neurologist finally told me that after trying all the standard preventative medications to lessen my headaches, he'd consider talking to my psychiatrist about daily pain meds for me. Initially, the idea scared me because of "addiction" or "tolerance" issues - now I'm reconsidering it, given how well I feel after their use. That and the fact that I'm already "addicted" to ADs since I've taken varieties of them for 15 years and would probably need to continue for life.
I've come to see physical pain and emotional pain as two sides of the *exact* *same* coin - thus the logic behind the theory of daily pain meds (under close doctor(s) supervision) as a way to live better.
Please share your thoughts with me on all of this. Thank you in advance!
poster:RetiredYoung
thread:366157
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040714/msgs/366157.html