Using opiates for anxiety and depression?

[patagon84]

So I have had pretty serious anxiety and depression issues for as long as I can remember. I am 22 years old, and I have spent everyday of those 22 years obsessing over things that are completely out of my control. I have been diagnosed/misdiagnosed as having multiple disorders; GAD, agoraphobia, borderline personality disorder, and finally as manic depressive, which I think is the most accurate.
During college, I saw multiple university mental health doctors, most of whom just offered me a bottle of xanax, clonopin, or ativan and sent me on my way. Among these meds, I have also tried: lexapro, paxil, zoloft, seroquel, lamictal, xyprexa, buspar, and welbutrin. Currently I am taking depakote er, which actually seems to be working fairly well. It makes the anxiety bareable, but doesn't do much for my depression.
However, there has always been one thing that has relieved all my symptoms; pain medications. First I would like to say something that Im sure everyone knows; these medicines are very addictive and should not be abused. Unfortunately, they are the only things that work for me. The make me completely calm and relaxed, and not wozy and out of it like benzos do. I have never tried to obtain them illegal or without reason, but have come to this conclusion on occassions when I have been given them for legitamate pain. I am curious to know if someone can offer any scientific or medical explaination as to why opiates are so effective. I am also curious whether there are any anxiety medications that incorporate opiate therapy.

[siren2112]

What opiates are you taking?

[patagon84]

i have taking vicodin and percocet in the past. I am not taking anything currently.

[Helena Wojtczak]

I have been exactly where you guys are. The panic got so bad that I wanted to kill myself to escape the horrible feelings.

I have written a little booklet about what happened and how I cured myself without drugs. I give this away free of charge to anyone who suffers from anxiety. Download it free here:

http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/hypo.pdf


Any comments you can email me via that home page there is an email link.

Helena Wojtczak
PS I am a real person - Google my name.

[396SS]

Not to my knowledge.  My mom is bipolar and she does the same thing you do.  She has been on all the meds you have listed.  Have you been on Lithium though?  Anyway, she seems to like opiates better than anything, but she gets into ALOT of trouble with them:  buying from neighbors, jail for one week, was locked out of the pain clinic, doctor shopping, pharmacy shopping, etc.  I feel sorry for her, so bad, but on the other hand, I have anxiety and depression and I just stick with benzos and antidepressants (lowest dose possible).  I have to say, I have anxiety/depression issues all the time, but I try to forge through them and use as many coping strategies as possible.  My mother is fried from years of drug use (never non-prescription either) and I don't want to end up like her.  Be careful about those opiates, you may end up miserable if you depend on them.  Give yourself the allowance to feel a little bad/jittery some days.  A lot more people are doing the same thing at the same time and feel the same way we do, so try to remember that you aren't alone.  Try to be as positive as possible - I am working on it, so I am no guru on how to fix it, but I am just speaking from personal experiences.  Take care!

[sparkeler]

Why do you think people become heroin addicts?  It's an opiate for christ sakes.  If it were legal & acceptable why would anyone walk around without it?  Drugs, especially opiates give you that feeling where you just don't give a ****.  Unfortunately honey, it's not reality.  

[munchimaid]

Hi. I have done the exact same thing as far as seeing University Doctor's and having them precribe me benzo's that do not work. What's weird is that some benzo's make me feel like I have the flew where your body is aching all over.  I am diagnosed with BPD, Panic disorder and Bipolar II disorder and am currently taking Lamictal, Prozac and Lyrica for sleep.  I am also taking percocet for the horrible panic episodes that I have because that seems to work as well for me.  I think I know why this works for some people.  In an article that I read a couple of years ago,(unfortunatly I lost it) they said that the brain produces it's own morphine. Some people's brain are actually deprived of that which is why we need opiates to feel normal and balanced.  If I find this article again I will post it.

[captian]

It seems to be the only thing that makes me feel stable and normal. I am very productive on opiates as well; not manic - like a lot of adderall (adderrall), but really levelheaded  and calm-  not drowsy-  just the way I think you should feel-   probably what most 'normal' stable feel like when they wake up.  Tried everything else-  its the only thing that works for me.

[Jersey Lightnin]

Well let me say this. I also have MAJOR anxiety issues. But I am also currently heavily addicted to percocet. I was prescribed them for pain from a car wreck and have been on them steadily for at least 2 years.

Its funny you say that about how you feel "pain killers" help you cope with the anxiety issues because at one point I THOUGHT the same thing. I even said to my doctor, "man these things really are helping my anxeity"...well WATCH out!!!! If you feel that way and start using these drugs your anxiety WILL increase 10 fold....What will happen is, sure, you'll feel "good" for a while because of the opiate but its all diguising and hiding the anxiety by making you "feel good" Then before you know it, you take more then viola, you're addicted to opiates.

Now you think anxiety is bad now? wait untill your heart skips beats and you face goes numb and all these adverse side effrects start happening to you and here comes the onslaught of anxiety caused by the opiates. Then when you'll find yourself WORRYING about:

How am I going to get off these?
How am I going to work and make a living using these pills?
How am I going to sleep at night?
How bad are the withdrawls?
How sick am I going to be?
How much damage did I do to my body?

You get instense headaches, cant go to the bathroom(constipation) they rob your brain of ceretonin(not sure how to spell) dizzyness, and on top of that WILL do damage to your body organs. Then your motivation level drops and even more depression sets in. More stuff to "worry" about

and the list goes on and on and on. You'll find yourself running out of your pills to early because you'll take them to often, and when I say "you" I mean in general, not actualy "you", I dont want to come across that way. You'll find intense headaches and pain caused by the same pills that are sopposed to stop that.

I find now, in my situation, these pills at first yeah I thought they were sub-siding my anxiety but in the end they cause more because now I still have the anxiety and now have to face the battle of fighting a mental and physical addiction to these pilss, the devil.

I'm telling you this because I dont want more people to fall into this trap with these pilss, they are NO GOOD, the do NO GOOD, they are EVIL aqnd NOT the answer to anxiety. I hope this post will be read by you and I truely hope it steers you away from them as a treatment for your issues. I hope you come out on the winning end, we're all here to help and intervene with. good luck to you....

[Jersey Lightnin]

I know its a lower level drug but Valium and Xanax seem to be great treatment for anxiety...I've been put on Paxil and Zoloft and Buspar and all those "anti-depressives" to me thats the doctors just writting off scripts to get paid from the pharm. companies...

next time you go into an office look at all the "promo" stuff there is for all these meds....doctors use the anti-depressants on people as if you're being tested. its like a science test to see IF and only IF it'll work for you jumping from anti d to anti d and guess what, you STILL find yourself in intense panic attacks and anxeity.

I'm sorry but the linkage between anxiety and depression makes not a whole lot of sense to me as I dont really feel that my anxiey is brought on from depression. Yes I have bouts with depression but I dont thing that brings my anxeity....Worry about health and money and paying bills are a big mainstay of causes of my anxiety. maybe I'm just speaking on behalf of myself.

Try getting a strong dose of Valium....when you feel an attack coming, take it, it works for me hopefully you guys as well. and its HIGHLY less physically addicting....and its only 1 pill to deal with. let me know what you guys think about this? hope it helps :)

[dyeem]

as a former opiate addict ( or rather let me rephrase, chemically dependent on opiates) I must respectfully disagree with some of what you said. I realize that your experience may have been very diff from mine. i have suffered crippling anxiety attacks for years. My boyfriend will come home to this day and find me on the floor crying because im terrified and cant breath...happened just last night.i have recently been diagnosed with ADD and OCD as well as major depressive disorder and anxiety. Opiates were the ONLY THING THAT EVER EVER made me feel normal...or what i think normal is supposed to feel like, I could work, I could go to college, I could keep appointments and multi task, I had my creativity again, I could function socially for the first time in my life and my panic attacks were few and far between. Once I voluntarily withdrew from opiates and began therapy....all that is GONE. AND I MEAN I FEEL WORSE THAN I EVER HAVE. My phychiatrist has tried zyprexa, seroquil, nuerontin....im already on xanax and have been for about four years....but I feel like I am going crazy. Nothing helps me feel any joy even though I do take celexa as well. So now that Im off of opiates I have lost my TWO jobs because I cannot funtion, have gotten into a car wreck because Im completely out of sorts, cannot go outside because of my anxiety....cannot sleep.... so please know that  I have been through the opiate phase of self medicating for years and have been off of them as well for a good amount of time...and I have secretly suspected all along that the opiates were the thing tht made me feel normal. they did not get me high. they got me to a point where i could function....so I completely feel for the people  on this board that have said the same thing Im saying.......sorry for the long reply

[bbrian35]

I have seen both sides of the opiate issue.  I have been on too many psych meds to list here to help with depression and anxiety I have suffered for many, many years.  About 8-9 years ago I suffered a compression fracture of T12.  Upon taking opiates for pain I noticed instant relief from my depressive symptoms that I had never experienced through numerous meds and years of therapy EVER before.  After several years of opiate use for back pain I had become physically dependent on opiates.  They are difficult to stop in the short and long term.  I started reading about opiates and all of the horror stories from those who became addicted freaked me out.  I was convinced I had become an addict even though my prescription remained the same, I did not take more than my daily allotted dose, I never Dr. shopped, and did not run out early.  It turns out I am not an addict in the traditional sense.  I tried Wellbutrin to see if I could mimic the increase in dopamine receptor firing, but it only agitated me.  I have now been on opiates for my pain for over 8 years and still get the benefit of having my depressive symptoms, which in the past were debilitating, kept at bay or nonexistent.   Is it a great idea?  Maybe not, but opiates have changed my life for the better.  Opiates do alter brain chemistry in multiple ways as do SSRI's, SSNRI's, etc.. My opinion is that they seem to be better understood in their action than many of the newer meds that "are believed to work by" descriptions in their explanation of the way they work.  I will say that using opiates for depression is not something I would recommend, but they have worked for me.  I have a great support and monitoring system in place though.  I work in health care and have seen many people become addicted and opiates have made their lives worse.  I do not like the fact that opiates cause such a strong physical dependence, but I have been able to keep my use of them under control for many years.  If I would ever have to stop taking them, I imagine it would be difficult after reading about post acute withdrawal in combination with my mulitple diagnosed depressive disorders.  I have also read about many people having a problem getting off psych meds or even meds for BPH too.  Who knows what the answer is.  Opiates can be an evil drug for those with an addictive nature, but I also believe that I may not be here today if it were not for the way opiates have worked for me.  I would try everything and anything else first.  If a Dr. does prescribe, I highly recommend an agreement be arranged between the M.D., the pharmacy, and family.  

[bbrian35]

I should mention there have been 2 occasions in 7-8 years I've run low due to stupidity, other than that, I find if I stay on schedule I do well and do not crave.  Discipline is needed and realize that the extra pills on some days makes you run short on your script.  It does take some discipline though.  Last time I ran short I posted my experience and I just make sure to stay on schedule.  No depression and no withdrawal due to stupidity.

[hmf099]

My biggest suggestion is go to the addiction page on this site and you can read all about what these drugs really do.There is a reason why drs done prescribe opiates as anxiety meds. Long term use even as directed WILL cause liver problems, kidney problems, changes in your brain chemistry which causes post accute withrawl syndrome and can last up to.two years (I'm going through it from alcohol, no fun), death to brain cells that control thought (that's why people who use these drugs for years hallucinate and hear voices). It can cause other permenent problems too including addiction to harder opiates (yes this means herion). I was in rehab with people who went through this and you folks who are doing this have no idea what your playing with. You've never bought it off the street...yet. You haven't dr or pharmacy shopped...yet. You haven't spent your family savings...yet. You haven't sold your body for it...yet. These things WILL happen, it's only a matter of time. Addictive drugs are nothing to play with and if you do you're playing with fire.