Posted by JahL on July 14, 2005, at 23:09:05
In reply to Re: ECT., posted by SLS on July 14, 2005, at 21:37:12
Hi there Scott.
> > Are you concerned about addiction/tolerance issues or is it just that you think opioids aren't the answer? I'm just curious.
> I guess I never thought it would be a stable treatment.I originally had similar concerns but I am now at the stage where I will take relief in whatever form it comes. I suppose I am a (fairly controlled) hedonist by nature (I'm a professional gambler for example) and I would rather be high than low. That's obviously a very personal choice though.
> I have tried taking Vicodin on two occasions, but only a single dose. It didn't affect me one way or the other.
Wow. I thought *everyone* got high on Vicodin. Certainly most of Hollywood does. ;-)
Can I ask how you got hold of this gold-dust?
> I never broached the subject with my doctor, although one time he brought up Ultram. I think I'll ask him about it.
It's so benign in my experience that there's really nothing to lose (IMO), if there's nothing else on the table. Also, you tend to know almost right away if an opioid holds any benefits for you, so no messy 6 week trials.
> Do you think buprenorphine would be the first best choice?
Do you remember Elizabeth? She told me that she had enjoyed considerable success with Bupe. As I remember, it did little for me personally, but was perfectly tolerable. It's a partial agonist and has relatively low abuse potential. As the most innocuous of the bunch (along with Ultram), it might be the one to start with. But what do I know?
I started with Naltrexone - an opioid antagonist - and it lived up to its name (i.e. pure dysphoria, the complete opposite of an agonist effect).
> or would it be oxycodone, or perhaps some other drug?
As Ed says elsewhere, it's the one perhaps most associated with abuse ("Hill-billy Heroin") and so is likely to ring alarm bells with your pdoc. I view it as one of the last you'd try, but if you've tried all the others.....
With opioids it's maybe a case of just how much you are prepared to risk (if indeed there is any risk - it's not absolutely inevitable, I think) in the pursuit of some, any, quality of life.
What does it for me though, is that I know of as many as 10 posters here (past and present) who have had good success with *low dose* opioid treatment. Tolerance doesn't seem to be a massive issue - one girl I knew told me the dose doubled every couple of years - pretty encouraging really. It's perhaps also important to bear in mind that opioids would probably only be a stop gap measure - albeit potentially a very effective (and maybe pleasurable :-P ) one. There's some exciting drugs due over the next few years but I really can't wait; I don't want to hit my 30th feeling like this.
I sound like an Opiate salesman. ;-)
Dog walk, spliff, bed. It's 5:00am here and I'm still buzzing off a weights session I completed an hour ago. Endorphins are nice. Wish me luck for the £55M lottery in Friday night, I could do with a bit of loose change. Nite.
Jamie.
poster:JahL
thread:500631
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050712/msgs/527835.html