Bupe Buprenorphine for depression?

[bupropion]

I guess a doctor a doctor would be more likely to prescribe tramadol. How good of an antidepressant is it and how likely would a doctor prescribe it?

 

[johanneschimpo]

^ Prescribe tramadol as an antidepressant or prescribe tramadol other reasons (lying about pain, etc)?

Still not going to happen. Not with the average doctor, at least.
And I'd find bupe to be a much better ""antidepressant"" (I used 2 sets of quotes) than tramadol, and better in every way: tolerance issues, no seizures to worry about, its only a partial agonist, its less sedating (that can vary from person to person), I could go on....

 

[gethigh]

are u kidding me? me and my frinds would trade getting laid for getting high and laying in a bed all day opiates are heaven if you ask me, thats y bryan adams recorded heaven

 

[johanneschimpo]

^ lol, I'm not sure who that message was directed towards, or if it was in the wrong thread, but I think most junkies agree. During my heroin run (2 years) I didn't a shit about sex. Why would I bother, fixing up gave me an orgasm, and I didn't have to bother going to clubs, spitting game, etc.
The junkie with an active sex life is a rare breed, in my experience. I mean not just active, but large and insatiable, Most guys feel that way about lady H, but not a regular lady. A girlfriend is a different situation.

Sorry, I just realized I'm throwing this thread off-topic for no reason.

Anyway, to get it back, sure bupe cures depression. Most drugs do. Bupe does do it better though, and with less side effects and more ability to act 'straight' than most. But whats the deal, you take it for the rest of your life? Consider that, say you take bupe (at relatively low doses) for 10 years, and it helps your depression a lot. For some reason, you have to stop taking it. You taper off with little pain, but then what. How do you think you would feel? I've been taking it daily for 6 months and I already dread how I will feel without it. 10 years though? HELLLLLLOOOO depression. Nice to see you again.

 

[gethigh]

opiates are better than anti depressants they masks all your wants and needs

 

[nabollocks]

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.

 

[fitconcepts]

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.

 

[fitconcepts]

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.

 

[Patricia]

Doctors in New York State who prescribe this for refractory depression, know of any?

Need to find a doctor in New York State to prescribe. I have been in Refractory depression for over 4 years. Nothing doctors have done has worked.

my friend gets it for depression. from his psychiatrist. he basically just told the doctor :yeah i used to use opiates a lot, and im in decent back pain from (random fake back injury) and i feel like if i dont get out of being depressed, i'll start using again.. the doctor was like, well since other anti depressants dont work, you should try bupe. true story

 

[johanneschimpo]

^ This website doesn't exist to hook up or find sketchy docs or whatever, but here's how you find a suboxone doctor: http://buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/pls...rocess_query?alternative=CHOICEG&one_state=NY
I don't know how easy it will be to find a doctor who will prescribe it off label. Also, I don't know how good of an idea it is unless nothing else works. Opiate addiction is NOT fun.
Regardless of what happens, good luck.

 

[StaffWriter]

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.

 

[Spaazkaz]

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 that it should be used as an antidepressant for people that either don't WANT to use antidepressants such as SSRIs, or haven't had anything else work for them, given they know what they are getting themselves into as far as opioid dependence. Then again, doctors aren't very good at explaining what people who decide to take SSRIs are getting themselves into...
BUT there is a societal stigma attached to the use of anything remotely recreational (especially opiates/oids) for the purpose of being happy, long term. A somewhat contradictory statement I know...
Also, I could be wrong here. We don't really know the long term effects of buprenorphine (right?). I'm not sure if it was the naloxone in suboxone that i read about but i seem to remember reading about suboxone degrading the opiate receptors or something? pretty sure naloxone is bad for the brain so maybe thats what im thinking...

-Spaz-

 

[vajko]

The Evidence

Hope this helps:

This is the often cited study about using buprenorphine for refractory (non-responsive) depression. Obviously the researchers found that buprenorphine
was very effective at treating depression and it did so much faster than other drugs.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7714228

Also don't give up on finding a doctor to prescribe buprenorphine for refractory depression and anxiety. I am currently prescribed 6mg/day of buprenorphine
for depression and opiate cravings. My doctor put me on it even though I wasn't
currently physically dependent on opiates (not in withdrawal). I just told him
that I had used heroin in the past daily and it worked for my depression unlike SSRI's. I just basically told him that I was super depressed and had horrible
cravings for opiates (which was the truth). He started me on buprenorphine that day, I am still stoked about it. Just tell your doctor the same thing, that you are feeling very depressed and having bad cravings for the drug that are really
interfering with your life. Tell him that you will probably breakdown and start
using again soon. If the doctor isn't terrified of the DEA they'll start you up.

The reason this works is that Buprenorphine is approved for opiate replacement therapy and severe cravings and depression are symptoms of opiate withdrawal
so the doctor can legally prescribe you buprenorphine.

As a last effort ask them "If I come back in 2 weeks strung out and in withdrawals
will you help me then?" The doctor will most likely start you then, or if he doesn't
you can always make good on your "threat" and come back in a week in withdrawals. I wouldn't do that last ditch strategy unless you are basically suicidal and need something that will actually work for depression (my case before starting
buprenorphine).

So good luck, you'll almost certainly get the treatment you need, and if it doesn't work with the first doc try another. They're easy to find
http://www.suboxone.com/patients/resources/find_a_doctor.aspx

Hope this helps, and good luck with your depression I know it can be hard,

Peace with love, Namaste

 

[geographic99]

When I started on suboxone around 3 years ago, it sent me into a prolonged and debilitating melancholic state, verging on depression. When I told my doc he didn't seem surprised. He prescribed Wellbutrin in addition to the suboxone, and the depression lifted almost immediately.

At least one other suboxone patient I know personally has had a similar experience.

Yes, it could be the after effects of opiate addiction causing the depression, not the suboxone. But in that case the suboxone absolutely did not act as an antidepressant for me.

 

[garuda]

Do you have any experience with opiates at all? Why not try some weak opiates like codeine just to see how they help first instead of jumping on to bupe.

Also if you are hell bent on trying opiates daily for depression there is always poppy pods off ebay, but I recommend long and hard thought here about becoming physically dependent.

 

[StaffWriter]

As an adjunct to what I already said about suboxone being used for depression, most people would not be able to tolerate neither 2 nor 8 mg sublingually. I suppose they could start with a formulary more like temgesic, coming in .2 or .3 mg. or perhaps a Norspan patch that has less of the drug in them. I just don't think people already suffering from depression need to get hooked on an opiate. I know they get hooked on that junk Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, but that's different. There's a withdrawal syndrome with SSRI's, SNRI's and such, but no cravings, per se. In short, in the end, people with depression will end up with an opiate addiction, too. Unless someone else has another idea! I'm all ears (..err...all eyes).

 

[JohnnyGoodBoy]

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.

 

[oatmeal_junkie]

suboxone/subutex for depression

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 doubt you could get it prescribed if you are saying its for depression, but it is not that hard to get if you have some opiate in your system when you go in and than say you want to get on suboxone maintenace to get off opiates. really. and I do belive it works wonders for depression, if I was not on subutex i'd be so miserable everyday, no other anti depressants work and they all just make me feel weird and I hate them. Subutex and my xanax work perfectly. Nothing else every worked for depression. and especially if you're an addict and since the subutex is keeping a form of opiate in your system you won't have to go through all that just horrible feeling because your brain is so used to opiates and without them you'll almost never feel normal again but if you do you're lucky as hell. but I never do and I just go insane completely sober and am just never comfertable in my own skin. so I don't care if I'm on subutex for the rest of my life. it makes life bareable and does make me motivated.

 

[oatmeal_junkie]

When I started on suboxone around 3 years ago, it sent me into a prolonged and debilitating melancholic state, verging on depression. When I told my doc he didn't seem surprised. He prescribed Wellbutrin in addition to the suboxone, and the depression lifted almost immediately.

At least one other suboxone patient I know personally has had a similar experience.

Yes, it could be the after effects of opiate addiction causing the depression, not the suboxone. But in that case the suboxone absolutely did not act as an antidepressant for me.

I read somewhere that the naloxone can have an unmotivating effect on people and it basically serves no purpose at all in the suboxone besides trying to deter people from injecting it, which you can do anyway aslong as you arnt on anyother opiates. but anyway...i got switched to subutex and i find it alot better, I know its the same main chemical but something about that naloxone I don't need, plus it gives me headaches and the orange taste of suboxone makes me want to throw up everytime I had to take it [which was actually put there by the pharm companys on purpose the jerks]. Subutex taste like nothing and I actually seem to feel it sometimes, like a slight buzz, i dunno. I just like it alot better. Suboxone makes me wanna puke lol.

 

[oatmeal_junkie]

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.

Same here. I'm starting to see it more and more, just like damn salvia in the media, who cares about salvia? Now theyre gona try and make things illegal that just don't need to be and don't cause any problems, just because people are bringing it to everyone attention. I hope I never have to worry about not getting my subutex. I honeslty don't plan to ever get off it if I have a say in the matter. Aslong as I can afford it. I want to stay on it. I know when I don't use it just for one day I get terrible anxiety even if I take xanax. It just works wonders for me and makes life worth living\...