I'ld like to hear from anyone who uses an opioid to fight depression.

[Quasimoto]

I'm real depressed now. This is beyond what the Vicodin can help. I took extra tablets yesterday. It was no help.

This is the universe telling you the solution to your depression is not taking more pills. It's something else.

"Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result."

 

[DesertHarp]

This is the universe telling you the solution to your depression is not taking more pills. It's something else.

"Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result."

Yeah, I kinda figured that out myself.

 

[Man67]

I'm real depressed now. This is beyond what the Vicodin can help. I took extra tablets yesterday. It was no help.

If you got money try the Ketamine therapy. Apparently it helps within a couple of hours. Unfortunately I can't afford it.

 

[SotPoker1012]

If you got money try the Ketamine therapy. Apparently it helps within a couple of hours. Unfortunately I can't afford it.

I've snorted ket a few times and while it was an enjoyable high, I really didn't notice any antidepressant effects especially in the long term. Perhaps its better for that orally? I don't know what ROA ketamine therapy traditionally uses but I'm guessing its not snorting.

MDMA might be a good option if you can manage it. It definitely has antidepressant effects that last a while for me, though if you take it too often, you will mess with your serotonin levels which can trigger worse depression.

 

[Man67]

I've snorted ket a few times and while it was an enjoyable high, I really didn't notice any antidepressant effects especially in the long term. Perhaps its better for that orally? I don't know what ROA ketamine therapy traditionally uses but I'm guessing its not snorting.

MDMA might be a good option if you can manage it. It definitely has antidepressant effects that last a while for me, though if you take it too often, you will mess with your serotonin levels which can trigger worse depression.

The most effective (and most expensive) treatment is IV Ketamine ($2000). Nasal spray (Spravato) is also not cheap($1500) but slow release generic Ketamine is affordable and it costs around couple of hundreds $ per week. All sessions must be done in hospital under supervision (in Australia).

 

[SotPoker1012]

The most effective (and most expensive) treatment is IV Ketamine ($2000). Nasal spray (Spravato) is also not cheap($1500) but slow release generic Ketamine is affordable and it costs around couple of hundreds $ per week. These are USA prices. All sessions must be done in hospital under supervision.

Interesting. I can't remember the name, but I remember reading about a telehealth service that would let you take it at home, though I would guess it's not IV. You had to have the therapist monitoring you over the phone if I recall correctly.

 

[Man67]

Interesting. I can't remember the name, but I remember reading about a telehealth service that would let you take it at home, though I would guess it's not IV. You had to have the therapist monitoring you over the phone if I recall correctly.

I was talking about Australian law. Maybe things in the USA are little bit different and probably cheaper? The most expensive part is paying the nurse (2 hours) for monitoring you.

 

[Felonious Monk]

The most effective (and most expensive) treatment is IV Ketamine ($2000). Nasal spray (Spravato) is also not cheap($1500) but slow release generic Ketamine is affordable and it costs around couple of hundreds $ per week. All sessions must be done in hospital under supervision (in Australia).

IV ketamine therapy isn't nearly that expensive in the US. Idk about spravato but the at-home ketamine kits that often include troches are similar to a normal prescription cost.

 

[Man67]

IV ketamine therapy isn't nearly that expensive in the US. Idk about spravato but the at-home ketamine kits that often include troches are similar to a normal prescription cost.

I heard that some people from Australia going to the US for the treatment. Makes sense.

 

[sHR00m]

I've been trying to make my Vicodin prescription last longer. This morning I woke up depressed, but wasn't in pain. So I held off taking the Vicodin. Mentally, I had no get-up-and-go. Eventually, I took a tablet. In 25 minutes, I felt so much better. It's amazing how well this drug (hydrocodone) improves my state of mind. I wish there was an antidepressant that worked this good.

What you describe is textbook addiction. Especially the part where you felt fundamentally better shortly after taking it. I did the same with weed. Weed was my drug of choice, all day, every day. It was my antidepressant. It worked really well. At some point I had to quit, which was surprisingly hard. After 2 or 3 months abstinence I actually started feeling good in life without weed for the first time in 15 years. It was a shocking realization. I didn't treat my depression with weed, I was addicted to weed which caused my depression.

 

[Man67]

Even if you take it for the first time in your life you will feel better almost immediately. So how is that addiction?

 

[sHR00m]

Even if you take it for the first time in your life you will feel better almost immediately. So how is that addiction?

Your pressing symptoms suddenly reversed once you took this magic substance. You are merely alleviating withdrawals, man.

 

[Man67]

Your pressing symptoms suddenly reversed once you took this magic substance. You are merely alleviating withdrawals, man.

So how come that the ketamine treatment is approved as the best option for TRD? It starts working within couple of hours.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

If you got money try the Ketamine therapy. Apparently it helps within a couple of hours. Unfortunately I can't afford it.

More like helps for a couple hours.

If you’re already a drug addict getting a taste for K probably is something you should be very wary of

 

[Freudzilla]

Personally I find hydrocodone offers a brief mood lift and also morphine and dilaudid. I’m a chronic pain patient so it’s not terribly hard to score if I go to the er or I have pain management scripts as well 120 norco every month, tbh it’s probably the only things that’s kept me around since my leg got amputated

 

[Man67]

More like helps for a couple hours.

If you’re already a drug addict getting a taste for K probably is something you should be very wary of

Never tried any illicit drug, not even weed. Ketamine is prescribed only for Treatment Resistant Depression which I have. But I don't have money for K treatment. Check the link: https://mariancentre.com.au/ketamine-infusion-therapy/

 

[paltatomate]

Never tried any illicit drug, not even weed. Ketamine is prescribed only for Treatment Resistant Depression which I have. But I don't have money for K treatment. Check the link: https://mariancentre.com.au/ketamine-infusion-therapy/

Ketamine infusions are completed as part of a 2 week stay in hospital where patients receive a series of 6 treatments. Treatment sessions are conducted on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If there is a positive result, patients will typically need to go on to a maintenance treatment regimen. This is completed as an outpatient through Anodyne. Maintenance varies from patient to patient, but can be a single infusion every 4 weeks.

There are different ways to receive a ketamine infusion. At Marian Centre it is completed as either an IV (intra-venous, in the vein) or SC (subcutaneously, under the skin) infusion over 40-60min.

This does sound expensive, mostly because you have to stay at the clinic 2 weeks. And we all know what that costs.
Would there be an alternative to this?
Why do people have to stay that long in the hospital?
I'm asking because of this

IV ketamine therapy isn't nearly that expensive in the US. Idk about spravato but the at-home ketamine kits that often include troches are similar to a normal prescription cost.

 

[DesertHarp]

What you describe is textbook addiction. Especially the part where you felt fundamentally better shortly after taking it. I did the same with weed. Weed was my drug of choice, all day, every day. It was my antidepressant. It worked really well. At some point I had to quit, which was surprisingly hard. After 2 or 3 months abstinence I actually started feeling good in life without weed for the first time in 15 years. It was a shocking realization. I didn't treat my depression with weed, I was addicted to weed which caused my depression.

Thank you for that insight. That is really something I need to think about.

I experience withdrawal, if I go 3 days without a dose (or sooner.) It comes in the form of restless leg syndrome, which I find awful distressing, to put it mildly. I fear it so much that I make sure I don't use up my prescribed supply ahead of time.

I'm beginning to think that I may be experiencing what I call "micro-withdrawal," when it's been 12 hours since my last tablet. Some mornings I wake up with mild queaziness that's almost nausea, but not quite. It makes me feel like I can't eat. But, 25 minutes after I take a tablet (hydrocodone 10 mg), the queazy feeling evaporates, and I'm hungry.

I've been able to replicate this over and over and over, so I know the Vicodin tablet somehow relieves this queaziness. That's kind of weird because nausea is supposed to be a side effect of using an opioid. However, nausea can also be a result of withdrawal from an opioid. So - for it to actually counteract my nausea - makes me think the queaziness is coming from my body subtly craving a dose, even though I'm not in real withdrawal. That's why I'm suspecting it's some form of micro-withdrawal.

I'ld love to know if anyone has experienced anything like this.

 

[Psynaught]

I've started a few threads already. I'm starting this one to introduce myself, which I didn't do before.

I take hydrocodone for back pain. I get 60 tablets each month. (What I get is called Vicodin - hydrocodone and acetaminophen - 10/325.) That's my only supply. It's prescribed legally. Much of the time, my back pain isn't a big issue. Often, the real reason I keep taking these pills is to feel better mentally. I suffer from depression. I've been to shrinks about it and tried all kinds of psych meds. Nothing they prescibe does much. I function okay.

It seems like my life revolves around these pills. Basically, I take one every twelve hours. I'm obsessed with these pills. I count the hours until I can take another one. Sometimes, when the depression is bad, I don't wait the twelve hours. If I run out of pills before the month is up, I pay a price. If I go 36 hours without a pill, I start to have withdrawal. For me that is "restless leg syndrome." I would call it akathisia because it is round the clock. It's torture, so I mostly space out my pills to last the whole month.
At times, I think of suicide to escape the depression. I feel like these tablets are the best thing I have going for me. Yesterday, I took two tablets at the same time because I was having a miserable time with severe depression. That 20 mg of hydrocodone was like getting a glass of water in the desert. It helped a lot.

I wonder if anyone else here finds that using an opioid relieves depression. I don't discuss this with any doctor. I figure that would be the fastest way to lose this prescription that I value so much.

I always have to fight the temptation to use up my tablets ahead of schedule because I don't want to face withdrawal.

I'm trying to find a way to feel better without using up my tablets too soon. I'm thinking of trying edible cannabis. I don't find alcohol helpful, so I'm not much of a drinker.

Sounds like you have a mild, but still very definate, addiction. I am much older (62) and every night feel like crap, especially if I worked out hard that day, which is usual. I take 4-5 grams of Kratom. I don't get high but it absolutely improves my mood.

And yes, opioids would improve my mood even more....and I have plenty. But if I started taking them everyday I would be addicted. Reading all the veterans here on this forum I absolutely am 100% terrified of opiod addiction, so I don't take them very often, once a week max. That one day gives me a break from depression.

I am probably going to cut down to once every 10 days. Tramadol gives me a mood boost, and Oxy is the best. I also enjoy Fentynal but just read all the horror stories on here and there is no way I want to risk that.

What would really be great is if my son was still my compatriot like he was until he became a teenager. My wife has her moods so that often does not help either. Only my dog loves me all the time, LOL.

 

[sHR00m]

Thank you for that insight. That is really something I need to think about.

I experience withdrawal, if I go 3 days without a dose (or sooner.) It comes in the form of restless leg syndrome, which I find awful distressing, to put it mildly. I fear it so much that I make sure I don't use up my prescribed supply ahead of time.

I'm beginning to think that I may be experiencing what I call "micro-withdrawal," when it's been 12 hours since my last tablet. Some mornings I wake up with mild queaziness that's almost nausea, but not quite. It makes me feel like I can't eat. But, 25 minutes after I take a tablet (hydrocodone 10 mg), the queazy feeling evaporates, and I'm hungry.

I've been able to replicate this over and over and over, so I know the Vicodin tablet somehow relieves this queaziness. That's kind of weird because nausea is supposed to be a side effect of using an opioid. However, nausea can also be a result of withdrawal from an opioid. So - for it to actually counteract my nausea - makes me think the queaziness is coming from my body subtly craving a dose, even though I'm not in real withdrawal. That's why I'm suspecting it's some form of micro-withdrawal.

I'ld love to know if anyone has experienced anything like this.

That sounds like mild withdrawals yeah (though technically you need more than one symptom for it to qualify as actual opioid withdrawals.) With increasing addiction you would experience more and more symptoms that would be quickly reversed when taking a dose. Physically and mentally. Pain - pleasure. Diarrhea - constipation. Depression - euphoria.