Posted by mama141 on November 15, 2005, at 8:25:23
In reply to Re: Great discussion, posted by Squiggles on November 14, 2005, at 17:06:38
> That may be just as well. If opiates
> are indeed effective, safe,
> antidepressants, with the morally
> appropriate amount of unpleasant side effects
> they may become more acceptable and politically
> correct in psychiatry.
>
> I do fear that anything that makes you
> feel "good" or "happy" will be rejected
> just on those grounds and not on the
> power of narcotic addiction; at least as long
> as a Puritanical approach to treatment
> is with us.
>
> SquigglesYes, good discussion. I've posted in this vein before over on the "substance use" board. I think it is partially dependent on what one defines as euphoric. For me I "feel better" if my pain is lessened, but I would not call what I "feel" euphoric. I think there is also some ambiguity here with the terms "abuse", "withdrawal", "dependence", and "addiction"
In my own experience, when I asked my family doc about the effecacy of opioids, he was really only concerned that I would get constipated!
To clarify, I take Vicodin 500mgm for degenerative osteoarthritis. Sometimes I go days without any - other times, I take up to four a day. If I must stay on the four a day regime for more than a week I taper off over a two day period. I have been doing this for a number of years with no problems.
Also, one physician would not perscribe Ultram for me when I was on an SSRI -- anyone else have a similar experience?
poster:mama141
thread:575925
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051112/msgs/578894.html