Bupe Buprenorphine for depression?

[gorgoroth]

If I can get Dexedrine for depression (which slays the fog way better then anything i've ever tried),Then I don't see why some doctor wouldn't perscribe buprenorphine for depression. it'd have to be a unique case though, and a pretty severe one.
According to what people have told me about it, it seems like it'd be a very effective anti-depressant.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

It's an extremely effective anti-depressant.

It's not going to get prescribed for depression though.

 

[tathra]

bupe does seem to work great as an antidepressant, but no doctor would ever prescribe an opioid for anything except pain (with the exception of methadone and bupe, which are also used for maintenance programs, or just to help through detox), and a lot of dr.s are too scared to even do that...

the only way this might be possible is through self-medication, but unless you're already opioid-dependent (or were at one time), you'd probably be better off avoiding them altogether.

 

[smackem]

0.0% chance.

Buprenorphine worked as a very good antidepressant for me for MANY years. But life changes, things change, and now it no longer works at all. In fact, being ON buprenorphine is a big part of why I am depressed. Because after 5 years, I know longer "want" it, but I still "need" it.

So, no responsible doctor would even consider putting an opiate virgin on bup, nor would they want to risk loosing their DEA license.

Opiate vigirn?.. problaly not, at least not until real studies are done with repect to virgins. However, if you even were an opiate addict, even a prudent physician would, or should, rx it. That is kind of what makes suboxone such a wonder drug.. people may get addicted to it, and even start taking it like an addict, but the ceiling dose and fact that it antagonizes at larger doses, allows you to rx to pretty much the most irresponsible of people and not owrry about anyone dying. As far as drugs go for opiate addiciton, suboxone is a mircal of a drug due to the fact that the withdrawal, and addiction liability are very low. Even compared to like xanax and whatnot.
Sure you get addicted to it, but there really isn't any reason to stop taking it anytime soon. If you stayed on ssri's the withdrawal would be just as bad if not worse. Some opioid addicts treat it like 'just another opiate' and it becomes wrapped up in an opiate addicts cycle. And the fact that it is replacing an opiate for another (more illicit/addictive) ones, some people begin to put it in that same category as those drugs. However; I fell that is not representative to the true qualities of the drug.


But maybe that is just how I approach the drug. As we know, other countries have a real problem with people shooting them.. But i don't know. It sure is an interesting opioid for matenince.

 

[Larsy1566]

What are the chances of finding a doctor to prescribe buprenorphine for mild-to-moderate depression with social anxiety/introversion and schizophrenia (the latter I think was schizoaffective and episodic induced by stress; the doctors I've seen think it's more long term)?

Also, has anyone tried buprenorphine as an antidepressant? Actually had it prescribed for this purpose?

Does anyone who'se tried it think it has greater antidepressant properties than other opioids due to being less sedating and especially due to it's being a kappa antagonist?

I've never been addicted to opiates and have never tried heroin but my psychiatrist put me on suboxone for depression/anxiety. He believes that there are a small number of people whose opiate receptors are not working right therefore causing depression. Most people do not agree with this but my doctor is a forensic psychiatrist and he believes that this medication can help some people who especially have tried almost every antidepressant with no luck. Hope this answers your question. Larsy1566

 

[Larsy1566]

God, I really hope bupe does NOT become mainstream for depression. The more exposure Suboxone/Subutex gets, the more negative press (concerning abuse) it will get. I know that over in France, they have a pretty big problem with folks abusing (shooting up) buprenorphine and I don't want my (seemingly) only ticket out of opiate addiction become villianized in the American media. But then, the reason why I got on the opiate train was because of anxiety and depression. It's a great drug and I just don't want to see it go mainstream.

You were also prescribed suboxone for depression? Does it help you? Larsy1566

 

[Larsy1566]

I think Suboxone is great for Depression. I took Percs for Chronic Pain, and as always your tolerance gets higher and higher, ETC.. Everyone knows what I mean. I have had issues in the past with Opiods. I talked with a Doctor that was recommended to me for Opiate Addiction. I discussed with him that everytime I cut back or try to get off of them I go through major withdrawals and Depression. The Withdrawals I can get through but the depressive traits never seem to go away. I have tried antidepressants and such and none ever worked. The Physcs say nothing is wrong with my head. LOL.. Anyhow this Doctor recommended Suboxone. I have been on it for a month and my Pain is under control. I take it 2 times per day. I never need more and I feel no Moodiness or such like regular Pain Meds. Point is that I believe it is an all around great drug. I am back to functioning normal again and being consistant with no more Mood Swings and feeling like I missed a dose of Pain Meds as was always the Case. And yes eventually getting off these will be an Issue, but I have talked to quite a few people with experience on these and they say all the horrible hype is not true about getting off the Subs eventually(And I know not everyone reacts the same way.). I believe it should be used as an Antidepressant. All Antidepressants have same issues coming off of with Some sort Of Withdrawal. I have seen some pretty nasty things in people when they dont have their Antidepressants and such. Its not a good thing cominig off anything it seems like these days.

I agree with you totally. I am currently on paxil (10 mgs). It's probably not doing anything but when I try to go off of it I get severely sick. For some reason this suboxone has helped me to feel normal again, not high but normal. I am 42 years old and my family wants me off of it asap. They do not agree with treating depression with an opiate. I am so confussed. I don't know if I should get another opinion? It seems to me like I can not find anyone else taking this med for depression although my psychiatrist says that he has some people that are taking it for depression also and if I want, I can stay on it forever. Thank you for saying that about getting off the medication. There are so many horror stories on the net about getting off of suboxone and it scares me to death. My doctor said my mood will just drop drastically but he does not believe that I will get sick. I hope to hear from you sometime or anyone else in this type of situation. TC Larsy1566

 

[Larsy1566]

Try Effexor, that has some opiate activity.

***********************

Role of the opioidergic system and nitric oxide in the analgesic effect of venlafaxine.Gültekin H, Ahmedov V.
Department of Pharmacology, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey. [email protected]

The noradrenalin and serotonin re-uptake inhibitor venlafaxine has an analgesic effect that is independent of its antidepressant activity; however, the mechanism of this effect remains to be elucidated. This study was performed to investigate the possible roles of the opioidergic system and nitric oxide (NO) pathway in the analgesic effect of venlafaxine. Eighty Wistar rats of both sexes were allocated to 10 groups. The hot plate test was used to assess the antinociceptive/analgesic effect. The temperature of the hot plate was adjusted to 52.5+/-1 degrees C, the cut-off period was set to be 50 sec; licking of the hind paw was used as a sign of pain perception. Venlafaxine alone (25 mg/kg) showed marked analgesic activity (p0.05). Coadministration of low-dose naloxone (2 mg/kg) and both doses of L-NOARG (20 and 40 mg/kg) with venlafaxine (25 mg/kg) did not modify the analgesic effect but high-dose naloxone (4 mg/kg) decreased it significantly (p

************************

If your lucky you could try for Tramadol, but this is unlikely... depending on where you live you could get this otc.

Bup is almost never given for depression, but if you were going to try and get it for that purpose there is a range of bup patches now that would be a much more appropriate dose for this type of problem.

I tried effexor and was on it for a couple of years but I still felt depressed and had terrible chronic headaches which the suboxone has helped me tremendously with (no more headaches). One thing that I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the suboxone is that I have been chain smoking since i started this med 6 months ago. I also feel full of energy for a few hours but then also seem to get very tired after that and need to take a couple hour nap everyday and I've also gained some weight but I don't know if the suboxone causes me to crave sweets or if I just feel better and haven't worried about my weight and just enjoy eating. I did see myself in a picture recently and thought, wow, I really look pudgy. I'm normally a small girl. I've weighed about 115-120 most of my adult life and now I weight 147 which is bothering me now. I've been trying to exercise and eat better and see if I can lose the weight. TC Larsy1566

 

[suessmayr]

Suboxone has exactly the same effect on me. Perky and manic for 2-3 hours and then woozy for a few hours. I usually nap. If I don't, because I don't have time, I am completely fine and wake up later in the evening anyway.

As to the anti-depressant indication - it is relatively hard (at least where I come from) to find a doctor who is intelligent enough to raise his head above the horror stories and opiate stigma to think for himself and treat an opiate-affected patient honestly. I am on suboxone now as a result for various lies I've had to tell to get around drug-fearing doctors (although I did have a legitimate addiction) and the past year has been the best, most fulfilling and active of my life. Some of us just function optimally on opiates, and there is no reason why we should be permitted to load up on synthetic shit like prozac but forbidden to take completely untoxic medicines derived from a fucking plant. I can say from experience that the dependence you will develop on psychiatric medications is not qualitatively different to the addiction you will develop to suboxone - I was on prozac, lamictal and seroquel and still depressed and abusing opiates and just said fuck this, got straight on bupe and have been smiling since.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

I'm on 60mg methadone per day. If I were depressed and desperate enough could I take 0.2mg bupe on top without it interfering with the methadone significantly or would I have to taper off the methadone and then transfer to the bupe?

 

[Naptown Wicked]

I love suboxone as an AD. I sell televisions and home theater equipment and on days when I don't have subs I'm down and depressed and don't want to talk to customers or do any work. I'm just miserable waiting for the day to end. When I have subs, I'm all over the place selling my ass off, doing the busy work, kissing the bosses ass, etc. The day flies by and is just a great day. I'm not depressed at all.

Of course I feel the same way when I'm on opiates, but with subs I can do 2mg and I'm good for the entire day.

But the main thing is that I feel happy on subs, not just high like on opiates. It works better than any AD of tried

 

[donkeyPUNCH]

^ yep, right on the money for me too.

I had something else to add, but I forgot.

 

[sixpartseven]

You can but if you're not an addict in withdrawals then you should at least be a former addict who feels as though they're about to give into cravings to combat depression.

Being opiate-naive and asking for Suboxone to combat depression is way overkill, IMO. Not to mention that without a tolerance, any therapeutic dose of Suboxone you recieve is going to fuck you up out of your gord, most likely.

Agreed.

At this point in time, no doctor is going to prescribe Suboxone for depression. I do remember reading/hearing about Buprenorphine being looked into for its anti-depressant properties, but As eon_blue pointed out, I can't see it being viable for anyone who hasn't been addicted to opiates, unless it was low dose Buprenorphine, but it isn't clear how effective it would be as an anti-depressant at super low doses, or even at what doses the anti-depressant effects start showing up. In the end, I don't really see it ever being prescribed for anything other than what it is already used for.

This being said, don't go out and get an addiction just to Suboxone for depression. In my opinion, yes, Suboxone worked wonderfully as an anti-depressant, but not the same way normal anti-depressants worked. It's hard to put exactly into words what I mean by that, but I guess it could be summed up by saying it's a good anti-depressant for opiate addicts. It gives us the mind-set and motivation to want to stay clean and do better things. In that way, it brings us out of the depression that readjusting to normal life inevitably causes and helps us move on. Someone who hasn't been to those depths doesn't need to be brought out of them.

 

[Dolomiti]

Can't you just ask for it as a treatment of opioid addiction instead of an antidepressant?

 

[sixpartseven]

^ Um, yeah? Most doctors aren't just going to go off your word that you are addicted to opiates though. They will examine you and most likely drug test you. If they don't piss test you, then you aren't free to lie about it. There are quite a few physical signs of withdrawal that they look for. If those aren't there, then chances are they aren't going to give you Suboxone.

 

[bagochina]

Bupe as an anti-d just doesnt make sense for me. I have been taking subs for a long while and I can honestly say that bupe is more a depressant for me. It is very tough to fill that void that IV heroin & whatever would fill for me, suboxone absolutely doesnt do it. Bupe allows me to function while trying to carry on with my life. The hard part is trying to get accustom to living a life not on the edge, the lull of normal life or the waiting for normal life is well boring.

Could it be the bupe that is making me depressed or is it just a typical stage in recovery? I would give anything to go back in time and change how heavily I lived in the drug world, but I cant I am left to deal with this jig-saw puzzle called life.

peace,
seedless

 

[moosedog]

Ive been on bupe for about 8 months now and I find it to be much better at combating depression than any SSRI out there, and I've been on a LOT of them. But you won't get bupe for depression unless your Doc is totally crooked.

 

[Dolomiti]

^ Um, yeah? Most doctors aren't just going to go off your word that you are addicted to opiates though. They will examine you and most likely drug test you. If they don't piss test you, then you aren't free to lie about it. There are quite a few physical signs of withdrawal that they look for. If those aren't there, then chances are they aren't going to give you Suboxone.

I never knew you had to be in withdrawal to get treated for opiate addiction. In New York, even for methadone you don't need to show withdrawal signs. Generally as far as I know, you just need to test positive. Part of the reason for giving bupe or methadone is so the patient *doesn't* have to experience cold turkey withdrawals. It shouldn't be that hard to take an opiate before a piss test.

 

[sixpartseven]

^ Why are you even mentioning Methdone, which has vastly different prescribing methods than Suboxone, when we are talking about Suboxone? With Suboxone, you have to be in withdrawals before you can take it, otherwise it will just put you into precipitated withdrawal which will be much worse. That's why doctors who prescribe Suboxone make you wait 24 hours since your last dose of your opiate of choice before allowing you to take your first dose of Suboxone. Also, no, it isn't hard to take an opiate before a piss test, which is why they look for the physical signs of withdrawal, as I mentioned, which won't be present if you have just taken another opiate, and which will not be present in 24 hours when you are given your first dose of Suboxone.

 

[euphoricc]

i tell u what man i wouldnt mess with the sub. i have been on it for about 16 months and its hell to come off think all them happy feelings u get from sub gone ok imagine how u will feel when the sub is gone than? (suicide) jus not worth the risk of depression getting worse after sub cause u cant stay on 4ever.Ever TRY KLONOPIN OR XANAX i was depressed for 3 years and benzos helped me thru jus gives u that feeling u will make it and u will succeed and u most def will but have an opiate addiction on top of it and things get sketchy.