Medication with sedative and Anxiolytic properties similar to Opiates?

Hello,
I'm desperate for something that works.
I have 3 personality disorders, 2+ anxiety disorders. All in my Signature
I've had a lot of therapy, and plan on having a lot more. However I am struggling to engage in therapy currently as I am so anxious the whole time. I get so lost in my thoughts and I dissociate heavily when stressed..
At this point in time, some effective psychoactive agent will greatly aid my receptiveness and ability to engage in talking therapy (which has been what's helped most in the last 10 years)


Anti-depressants
I've tried all the SSRIs, and clomipramine and mirtazapine.
I've drawn a line in the sand there - they don't work for me, they don't help my anxiety and have a very negative effect on my headspace and mood.

Benzodiazepines
I have been on Diazepam and others for about seven years as they are the only psychiatric medication that I've tried that has helped at all.
They help with the physical sensation of anxiety but do nothing for the mental side, or my mood.
They still have an anxiotic effect after all these years, but it never was a silver bullet... It just helped tone things down, it didn't ever make me feel calm, just tranquillised and numbed.

What I really want is something sedating and calming - not blurring or numbing.
Out of everything I've tried, prescribed and otherwise - Opiates are the thing that calm my anxiety and stop me feeling so awful.
All other drugs tend to make my anxiety worse while improving my mood.
Benzodiazepines reduce my anxiety but I feel dulled by them, and would like an alternative.
However, opiates are addictive of course, and I don't actually have a problem with being addicted - I've been dependant on Benzodiazepines for 7+years and without them I'd probably be dead by now.
So, sign me up for an addiction, provided it is a beneficial one.

>

I'm looking for alternatives to the anti-depressants and Benzodiazepines.
The psychiatrists want me to try a low dose anti-psychotic however I don't want to be numbed... nor do I want any more of a flatted affect. (I'm naturally that way)
So, I've deduced my options to; trying Pregablin, dosing CBD really really high. Or opiates.

I'm kind of at the end of my tether, I've tried so much medication wise. I just want something that sedates me a bit, reduces anxiety and keeps my mood light.
I'm really thinking about taking up opiates full-time. If Pregablin doesn't work, and CBD at very high dose doesn't cut it.

I wish there were different classes of medication out there!
Why don't we have some opiate anti-depressants? They can reduce the MU opiod activity (responsible for the addictive nature) and focus on the other opiod receptors which have therapeutic effects.
Or some variety in the sedatives available. Maybe some augmented psychedelics instead of another batch of SSRIs.

Anti-depressants, Benzodiazepines and anti-psychotics.
That's it. Poor selection imo.
Looking for alternatives.
Very interested to hear if anyone has found something different or unorthodox that has helped medication wise.

(Please, I don't need advise on addiction - I've spent my whole life addicted to one thing or another. I've had periods of sobriety, they were some of the worst times in my life. I know meditation and natural approaches are ideal, but I'm a bit beyond that - I do need some sort of medication before I am calm enough to even contemplate meditation)
Once I attain a base level of calm and stability then I will go hard with the meditation, exercise, mindfulness, breathing techniques - all that.
But where I am at currently, that is all far out of my reach.

I need something powerful, yet not over-powering.
I don't need to feel blissed out or nothingness, I just need some stillness in my mind. I often have 3 or 4 different conversations or lines of thought going on at once. My mind is too busy, and I can't slow it down myself. I can with mediation but my intrusive thoughts make mediation nigh impossible quite often.

Kind Regards,
C5

I'd like the answer to this myself ... hmm. well, all I can think of is if you haven't tried the antipsychotics, or they are sometimes referred to as mood stabilizers, you wont know what they do to help. They can slow down your thoughts which seems to be your main problem. If you aren't wanting to take the psychiatrists advice though, I don't know what other options there are, other than stimulants like Ritalyn or Adderall. best wishes

p.s. I'm on 25 mg. of seroquel and I don't feel my mood too flattened.

Gabapentin really helps my anxiety, better than benzos although I'm still very slowly tapering off the benzos.

Honestly, antipsychotics have been a godsend for me. I'm on both Risperidone and Seroquel.

The Risperidone has a positive effect on my mood, as well as helping with anxiety. But it does give me a slightly flattened affect.

The Seroquel is great for my anxiety, and I find it also helps my mood.

I Wouldn't rule trying one of them out.

splitimage

Thankyou all for your replies.

That's good to know about the anti-psychotics. I really should give them a try. I'm not sure exactly why I'm so against them. . I think they scare me for some reason.
Also very good to hear about Gabapentin.
I'm hoping that the Gabapentin will take care of some of my social anxiety related to my Avoidant Personality disorder.

But I think I need something to slow my racing mind.. and that may well be an anti-psychotic. I'm so obsessional currently. I use a computer for 14hours a day.
I can't wash, cook or clean as my obsessions and avoidance and - everything is so complicated, even the most simple of tasks seem HUGE and terrifying.

I'm going to give both a try. Hopefully this week if I can get hold of the psychiatrist.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Cheers, C5

There are early trials going on as we speak with psychedelics (specifically Psilocybin) for use in depression. So yeah that avenue is being studied vigorously in both the US and UK.

Also, have you considered ketamine? You sound like a good candidate for it. Spravato should be available there now. If not, there should be clinics to receive infusions.

Yeah, I know Psilocybin is being trialed. -> I have used it with a lot of success in the past. It blows SSRIs out the water in terms of efficacy for depression and it doesn't have side effects.
It will probably be five years or something before it's accepted and prescribed however.

Ketamine I also have experience with - I liked it. But, it causes ketamine cystitis. It is so toxic it rips out the inside of your bladder, causing scar tissue which shrinks your bladder over time.
Hardcore Ketamine users have needed bladder transplants as their bladders had shrunk so much they had to pee too often.... it's real bad stuff.
I will not be touching Ketamine again for that reason.

Psyilocybin is very benign. But it doesn't sedate particularly or slow down - however combined with some sort of sedative it might be the perfect fit for me. I just need to figure out the sedative component - I can acquire psilocybin without a doctor.

Yeah but that's street ketamine being used by junkies and addicts. I am talking about ketamine administered by a doctor in a clinic specifically for depression and related symptoms. The doses are MUCH lower than what would be used on the street.

you use 'junkies' and 'addicts' in quite a judgemental way if i'm not wrong. How about 'recreational users' instead - or even; people desperate for help but the doctors won't give them anything but SSRIs?
Yes the doses may be lower in clinical settings. but poison is poison.. Ketamine has a detrimental effect on your bladder and it is ketamine that causes that - not any impurities from illicit street ketamine, this effect increases with dosage, but there is no guarantee it doesn't happen at lower dosage as there have been no studies.
And I was looking for a sustainable solution, not a one off use in some clinic.So the long term effects would be just important to me as these 'junkies' and 'addicts' you refer to.

you can adopt the dopamine model of psychosis and utilize the dose of whatever neuroleptic you were prescribed. or you can accept that you are drug seeking to an extent. those pills ain't gonna cure your ills my friend. pop a neuroleptic and forget it. or ask your friendly neighborhood junkie about what he has in supply

I doubt you will ever find a Doctor willing to give you pain meds for a non physical illness, even then the government is tying Doctors hands even more so daily when it comes to any pain meds.

There are Doctors preforming surgery and advising patients to take Tylenol or Advil once discharged from the hospital, this is all hopes to curb the death rate and addiction rate across the country. Sadly it is sending many people out trying street drugs to find relief.

I think it would be wise to at least try a AP, I know years ago I was put on Seroquil and that was the first time in decades I think my brain was working at a average normal persons speed.

I hope you find relief

Buspar had been amazing for me and I'm Treatment-Resistant.

What about kratom?

ok. i take a neuroleptic--a new(er) one--to keep me out of a hospital. hospitals have been hellish for me, so...ok. im ok with it, i suppose.

personality disorders are...vague, subjective, under-researched. low quality data, which is true of most psych data, anyway. i wouldn't let their labels get too deep in your mind.

i wouldn't recommend daily use of a neuroleptic -if- one can avoid it. i dont seem to be able to, right now. hospitals are $$$ and painful...they punish 'trouble makers' and 'non-compliance,' its..rough.as.hell.

now, a low dose of a neuroleptic, when and if needed...perhaps combined with gabapentin or a benzodiazepine...that can give you some breathing room. but daily use...

bad for the brain. lots of them cause weight gain, metabolic disturbances, now and then cataracts. i stick with mine because...a hospital would be 100x worse than 1 pill daily.

buspar is a much less toxic option than the neuroleptics/antipsychotics. if you take it with an ssri or ssnri, just be mindful of the increased risk of serotonin syndrome (still rare, I think).

oh...lyrica could be awesome. long term use can = rough discontinuation, though.

some of the tricyclic antidepressants have analgesic properties. no, no one's getting high off Elavil, but...it might explain why they help in severe depressive states. most (all?) are toxic in OD, so that will be an issue with most psychiatrists.

before the 'opioid epidemic,' there was some interest in using tramadol in some mood disorders and i think perhaps obsessive stuff (?). probably not an option these days. :-(

i dunno. low dose flupentixol can be helpful in depressive states, but its difficult to taper.