Posted by linkadge on June 18, 2006, at 19:24:06
In reply to Re: Opiate trap!, posted by flmm on June 18, 2006, at 17:44:08
>I find it hard to believe a legit p. doc would >prescribe opiates for depression. Any good one >clearly knows better. It would be a good way to >get someone at the bottom, even lower over the >long run.
Most of the doctors who go this route, are not doing it with complete agreability. Some of these patients have literally tried every other drug, including ECT. I would recomend a patient be put on opiates before ECT. Less brain dammage.
Think of it this way. Drugs like methylpenidate also posess abuse potential. This abuse potential however, is independant of its actions in ADD. The same could be true for opiates, but that the abuse potential squelches out further research.
There may be some form of opiate dysregulation at the heard of certain depressive disorders. Some studies have even linked postive responces to noradrenergic agents with increase in endorhpen levels.
Opiates for instance, are effective in some animal models of depression. They can ameliorate dysfunctional HPA axis function often much better and much faster than SSRI's or other antidepressants.
There seems to be growing evidence that they do have application in certain depressive disorders when use judiciously and appropriately.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:651514
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060617/msgs/658473.html