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Bupe Buprenorphine for depression?

eon_blue said:
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.
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it WILL fuck you up big time even with some tolerance...like 30-40mg Oxy.
 
Just wanted to post my experience - I suffer from moderate depression, have given ssri/snri's a thorough go with practically all of them and they don't really work for me. My depression is long-lasting and not situational.
I tried bupe for depression and pain management (I was hoping instead of taking an ssri in the morning, plus 3-6 pills throughout the day for pain, that I could just dose once with bupe and feel OK with both my pain and depression)

I found that for me, someone with moderate recurring depression, it DID NOT work any better than placebo. Your mileage may vary.
 
There have been studies done on the usage of bupenorphine for medication resistant depression. Bupenorphine is a unique compound with activity in serotonin receptors as well, as its seen in one study with rats and in increase serotonin in the midbrain after its administration. There are actually some psychiatrists whom RX it off label for patients that have tried ever other neuroleptic, ssri, maoi, snri, anxiolitic...etc but finding one is not really plausible and having tried "every" poly drug concotion until the shrink is confident enough to RX it is going to be a mission.
 
ah the day when they will give opiates for depression will be the shit.

"some people only truly feel good on opiates" is correct.

I'm on effexor and I've never felt this good except on molly/methylone.

good luck brother/sister
 
i take 4mg sub daily for depression and opiate dependency..

Honestly i tried many times taking 2mgs but it doesnt hold me like 4mg does...

I feel the dose more due to more agonism from the norebupe but i feel more stable and less cravings on 4mgs... weird...
 
I too have tried the blunt honesty approach with doctors, and it has failed miserably time and again. Unfortunately, you'll probably come off looking like a drug seeker/doctor shopper if you're straight up about why you want it, even though opiates were the main depression treatment until the mid 1950s.

As for whether bupe helps depression, I can't really answer that. But I know that many people find opiates to be the only worthwhile depression remedy. I've tried every SSRI, antipsychotic and tricyclic on the market and was basically hopeless before discovering opiates. If you can stick to a regular dose/frequency of administration, an opiate could be very helpful...if not, increase your depression to increase 100-fold.
 
What are the chances of finding a doctor to prescribe buprenorphine for mild-to-moderate depression with social anxiety/introversion and schizophrenia:

Very slim ...but hopefully increasing as more and more psychiatrists get experience using Bupe ...for off label use to treat depression/anxiety - especially among patients who have experienced an antidepressant /anti-anxiety effect of opiate pain meds -drugs , and who selfmedicate with opiate pain killers - to treat their depression and anxiety.

Also, has anyone tried buprenorphine as an antidepressant?

Yes - I have for almost 4 years - 3 daily doses of 0,2 mg Buprenorphine (Temgesic - sublingual) - sometimes I take 2 daily doses og 0,4 mg instead

Like many others who suffer from chronic depression/anxiety (mine caused by severe childhood physical and sexual abuse) I have tried all anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds and spent a fortune on therapy. I discovered that use of pain meds - fixed me - made me feel well, not depressed, and no anxiety. So abused - selfmedicated myself with opiate pain meds and even smoked heroine. Like all who get addicted to these kind of meds I experienced increased tolerance and needed more and more to get the anti-depressant/anti-antianxiety effect - and I really made many efforts to quit. But kept relapsing - to get the relief from the deep psychological pain - only opiate meds could give. But as many knows - addiction to narcotic pain meds has many downsides. I am currently taking Cymbalta -a SRNI - antidepressant - and even though it keeps my depression and anxiety somewhat at bay - I am not sure my quality of life would be much - if I were not taking my daily doses of bupeprenorphine.

I live in Northern Europe and I was lucky to find a psychiatrist willing to prescribe buprenorphine (0,2 mg Temgesic) -for the last 3,5 years, but he is retiring and it is getting a problem to find another doctor willing to continue the off label treatment with bupe for depression/anxiety/PTSD.

Temgesic 3 x 0,2 mg daily or 2 x 0,4 mg has helped me. I still feel the effects when taking a dose - a very mild buzz - more energy - and less anxiety. I do not abuse/misuse any other narcotic painkillers or opiates - this very low dose of Bupe is sufficient.

It is my hope that more patients with depression and anxiety who also have abused pain meds to selfmedicate their depression/anxiety will get a chance to try this medication.

Yes - it is addictive - coming of the meds will cause some mild physical withdrawal symptoms - I have not been of the meds more than 4-5 days - so I can't tell what the psyhological withdrawal symptoms will be longterm - if I am forced to discontinue this medication - but I hope I don´t have to ...

Very little has been written about treating depression/anxiety with Buprenorphine:

http://www.naabt.org/documents/The_Buprenorphine_effect_on_Depression.pdf

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/mdd/content/article/10168/1733207

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01071538

http://biopsychiatry.com/bupref.html
 
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I wonder why, if you flip back to page 4 - Most of the Bupe' (depression) post's are at least 2 years old ?
Gives you the idea doctors turn a deaf ear to you, unless you ("ask your doctor today") about the precriptions you see advertised 20 times a night on the media screen...
 
psilocybinsane said:
Any doctor in their right mind would never prescribe an opioid for depression.
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I agree with this. But I don't think it's because opiates are ineffective for depression; they are highly effective. But the risks will almost always outweigh the prospective benefits - i.e., addiction is necessarily a certainty with continued opiate use, and this just isn't medically legitimate unless the patient has tried EVERY other option available:

1) Sleep, exercise, diet (etc.)
2) SSRI's
3) SNRI's
4) NaSSA's (and all the other weird ones)
5) TCA's and Tetracyclics
6) MAOI's
7) Probably even ECT.

I think that only then a responsible psychiatrist would BEGIN to consider unconventional meds for depression/anxiety like tramadol, adderall, buprenorphine and so forth.
 
And presenting a doctor with some obscure study from Harvard (conducted several decades ago?) showing that bupe may be effective in treating depression is the best way I can think of getting laughed at and considered "just another junky".
 
As I previously said, Bupe provided no anti-depressant action for me and I was prescribed it mainly for depression and some moderate chronic pain. I actually found a doctor willing to work with me and talk to me about this idea, and he consented, but in truth, it just doesnt work, especially for someone who is used to full-agonist opiods.
 
itsnt it well known that opiates make depression worse in the long run?
 
no doc will RX bupe for depression. if u have a pain condition, and are on it, your doc may off label suggest its anti depressant qualities and help increase.ddecrease ur dose for that reason too to help depression along with pain, but in reality u wont get bupe written out for depresssion, either for pain or opioid dependency, i told my sb doc it helps with my depression and he zsaid thats cuz im an opiate addict and my receptors are being saturated with what my body always craves therefore keeping me content. however 4mg or more gives me anxiety, irritability, etc..i trry not to go above 4mg a dose.
 
all drugs that are addictive or have recreational value are good for depression, its the whole point of taking them. lol, until tolerance, addiction and dependency come along.
 
I'm on suboxone after a 6 yr opiate addiction. I've always had anxiety/depression and the classic SSRI's never worked for me (made me manic/psychotic). Bupe is a godsend! My doc's are very excited to see it working as an effective anti-depressant/anti-anxiety. I take 8mg a day, 4 morning, 4 night (though I can get by on 4mg a day). You have to put in work to get the full benefit though- I excercise daily, which helps tremendously. I just feel 'normal' on bupe- something I haven't felt for a decade honestly. Don't want any other drugs either. It's awesome!
 
bupropion said:
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?
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Doctors are now reviewing it's potential as an antidepressant medication, yes.

They find that some people who are otherwise resistant to antidepressant treatments respond very well to Suboxone. Those people have a dopamine deficiency, and the Suboxone gives the brain a boost of it, thus pacifying depression.

I am a firm advocate for the use of Kratom, in such a situation. Kratom is like an opiate, but is less addictive. Helps A LOT for opiate addiction, depression, ADD/ADHD, shyness, and does about everything opiates do without the OD potential and life-wrecking consequences of opiates.
 
opiatekrzy said:
no doc will RX bupe for depression. if u have a pain condition, and are on it, your doc may off label suggest its anti depressant qualities and help increase.ddecrease ur dose for that reason too to help depression along with pain, but in reality u wont get bupe written out for depresssion, either for pain or opioid dependency, i told my sb doc it helps with my depression and he zsaid thats cuz im an opiate addict and my receptors are being saturated with what my body always craves therefore keeping me content. however 4mg or more gives me anxiety, irritability, etc..i trry not to go above 4mg a dose.
Click to expand...

Hold up, there.

They are doing studies. My doctor is participating in them. He thought me a likely candidate and invited me to join in, but I turned him down in light of using Kratom instead.

So far, he tells me the results are incredible. Suboxone holds an apparent 2x effectiveness over standard antidepressant treatments, or so he says.

It is very likely we will see a formulation of Suboxone be approved for depression within the next ten years.
 
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