Your psyche should already know all this information, including how the opiate will work on the brain and the MU opiod receptors. Opiates work great for anxiety and depression, but so do many other drugs. This prescription would take you no where bro, your going to use the opiate as a crutch and slowly by slowly your going to be dependent on them. I don't see how you will get anything positive out of this, unless you plan on staying on them for the rest of your life heh.
I suppose I could provide some background...
I self-medicated with Opiates for 3 years. Primarily Hydrocodone and Morphine (although I've used Hydro/oxymorphone, Oxycodone and Tramadol (I know it's only a partial). Hydrocodone and Morphine were just what I found most therapeutic. Whether it makes sense or not, I found them equally potent as well and the Morphine more subtle. I never developed a tolerance until the end of that third year, which is when I quit taking them.
Before that I had tried...
3 SSRI's - Escitalopram, Paroxetine, Sertraline
2 SNRI's - Duloxetine, Venlafaxine
1 NDRI - Buproprion
Mirtazapine (I can't recall which class it falls under)
And Benzo's??
Diazepam, Lorazepam, Clonzaepam, Restoril (only at night of course), Alprazolam, even the old school Chlordiazepoxide.
So then my self-medicating began. And then it ended roughly 3 years later.
I first started seeing my current Psych a few months after the cessation of Opiate use but I didn't quit Opiates because I ever stole, hurt or did anything harmful to anyone to get them, I quit because I was tired of the self-medicating game.
In the two years I have been seeing my Psych, after there was some trust established, we ventured in ADD medications since my whole life my family and I have thought I had ADD/PI and that a lot of my anxiety symptoms could be caused from that and never treating it directly. So I tried Adderall (both instant and XR), Dexedrine & Desoxyn. For it's reputation, Desoxyn was actually the most subtle and you really have to
want to get stuff done when on it since it is (essentially) pure D-Amp but an additional methyl group making it more potent than Dexedrine. Although, some would say Dexedrine was more "potent" since there is a bit more PNS stimulation with it. And I know for a fact a lot of people would find Adderall more "potent" because of it's 25% PNS stimulation. I guess it just depends on how you determine potency. Anyways, the Amphetamines helped for awhile but ultimately, I didn't feel that the pro's of using an Amphetamine long term outweighed the con's.
One of my closest friends landed in Rehab for a spiraling Heroin addiction, I've known people who have died from OxyContin OD's. I understand the danger of Opiates in terms of addiction and slow destruction of life. I am not delusional and I do not lack self-control. If anything, these last few years has taught me more about self-control then I ever imagined I could attain. I could easily get into a pain clinic and start self-medicating again but I told myself the only way I was going to use Opiates again is if it was monitored by my Doctor and we kept weekly appointments and documented everything precisely. I do not think I am naive for wanting to tried controlled use of Opiates for my condition, in fact, I think it is very realistic... For me! Will it work? Maybe, maybe not. If I have a shot at trying it though, I have thought about it very much and will take that shot.
I've been working on DBT for the last 6 months as well and am starting a 6 month course of EBT next month. I constantly practice breathing techniques, especially diaphragmatic breathing, to help when Anxiety levels rise. I strength train 5 days a week and have been into weight training/bodybuilding for 5 years now. Yoga & Meditation I truly try my best to advance in. There's a martial arts school near me which also teaches these classes, along with Tai Chi, which is
amazing. Point being, I know that it is not just up to the drugs to help change things.
I'm all about healthy body/healthy mind! I know my decision to try Opiate therapy may seem odd to some or maybe a hopeless attempt at masking my Anxiety but all meds are a mask and we try to work through our real problems while wearing that mask, so we can slowly take it off. I just haven't found any other medications that touch my own issues the way Opiates do. I feel like for a lot of people the only reason they use drugs, whether prescribed or not, is because they have become so detached from the world (due to a plethora of reasons) and are seeking a way to become more in tune with it. If that makes sense. Obviously exogenous Endorphins will propel "happiness" at a faster rate than normal but so do most drugs, whether it's Endorphins, Serotonin, Norep or Dopamine. My only goal is to find the lowest Opiate dose possible and see if it works well over time without needing to increase the dosage.
Just a psychiatrist asking a patient to do the research is a little unusual.
