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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 05:07 AM
  #1
I was on painkillers for a couple days recenty and I realised I didn't have my usual cycle of negative thoughts.

Well my pain ended at least for now, and I'm going through my usual routines of negative thinking again.

Is it even worth being off painkillers when I feel like **** without them?
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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 07:04 AM
  #2
Which painkillers exactly, if you do not mind my inquiring? And how long were you on them?

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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 08:32 AM
  #3
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Which painkillers exactly, if you do not mind my inquiring? And how long were you on them?
Oxycodene. I was on them for about a day or two.
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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 05:59 PM
  #4
Ah. Well, oxy short-term certainly often helps with depression/negative thinking, because it is euphoria-inducing--but it is obviously not a solution to the issue.

I have found abilify to be helpful to some extent, esp. with rumination. The most useful thing for negative thinking for me by far is CBT.

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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 06:01 PM
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Oxycodene. I was on them for about a day or two.
There was a time in America when doctors used good judgement and carefully monitored patients ,back before opiate became a naughty 4 letter word because of big pharma and doctors throwing out the wisdom learned from the 1st opiate epidemic 1915, small doses of opiate was used on depressed patients ,now a days doctors won't treat actual pain appropriately ,let alone a mood disorder, with something they have all the science on ,but they will push big Pharma's latest expensive B'S knowing little to nothing about it .
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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 08:54 PM
  #6
before the "opioid epidemic," there was a flurry of research into opioids for "treatment resistant depression." I think most of the research used Suboxone, but I could easily be mistaken. oh, and some psychiatrists used tramadol (Ultram) off label in bad cases of depression and/or OCD (I think...) because its actually -a lot- like antidperessants, it just...also relieves pain. but now...

it seems to be all antidepressants, all the time. oh, that and atypicals...now and then you'll hear talk of Ketamine...there's new research in psychedelics for depression...

but opioids? I did read a little case study, once...a shrink used oxycodone in 'severe Schizophrenia," with good results. the author justified this by talking about "the agony of psychosis" or something. I think it won't be possible, given the sociopolitical problems with opiates right now, for $$$ to go to getting good, modern data...

but I"m glad you had a brief period of -relief- . :-)
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Default Jan 29, 2020 at 09:01 PM
  #7
Taking painkillers for mood is a very quick and short ride into addictive lifestyle

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Default Jan 31, 2020 at 12:00 PM
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My opinion is that I wouldn't risk getting addicted to opiates just because they help with negative thoughts in the short term. There are much better and safer ways of dealing with negative thoughts.
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Default Jan 31, 2020 at 01:12 PM
  #9
I mean... why do you think drug addicts often relapse after they've gone through detox and are clean? It's not that being high just feels good. It's that it's an effortless escape from emotional pain. That's hard to resist.

I sympathize with your feelings but I hope you don't go down that path. I do get it. I'm extremely depressed and it's to the point where I'm not sure what I'd do if someone offered me something really awful, like heroin. Is that crazy, or what? But I just want some relief, you know? Just for a little while. I can totally understand the allure of drugs in that way. Luckily, my depression has completely isolated me so I am safe from temptation. I wouldn't know where to get that stuff, and my rational self knows what a terrible idea it would be to go looking. But I get it.

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Default Jan 31, 2020 at 05:42 PM
  #10
I get it. I use Xanax to deal with physical problems. Stomach aches and nausea and that stuff. I’m probably in the same boat.

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Default Feb 25, 2020 at 01:32 PM
  #11
Physical and emotional pain register in the same areas of the brain. They are almost indistinguishable. Many people take opiates to cope with emotional pain.

But if you're smart, you can find a way out of it.. working on yourself, reading, having emotional support from family and friends help etc.. Exercise increases the same endorphins in the brain that opiates do - Opiates mimic endorphins which are "feel good" chemicals. Eating healthy, trying to have fun etc helps.

I tried a couple opiates/opioids but I didn't like them. They made me feel depressed. I don't have the genetic predisposition to opiate euphoria so it takes effort for me to get addicted to them - But for most people, it's very easy to go down that dark slope and many will never get out.

I think psychedelics like ketamine are a better route and are even have anti addictive properties and can cause growth of new brain cells, while opiates just cause deterioration of the brain and lowering of intelligence.
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Default Feb 25, 2020 at 01:48 PM
  #12
People do get addicted to ketamine and its analogues, though...

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Default Feb 25, 2020 at 03:39 PM
  #13
If absolutely nothing helped I would use opioids. Nothing as strong as Oxy though, that stuff is like heroin. Milder ones are enough.

Of course they are addictive, but some people don't build tolerance fast, I don't, if they do they are not suitable.

Not a good long term solution, but as a last resort...

Coming off that stuff isn't exactly pleasant though, but doable.

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Default Feb 26, 2020 at 01:20 AM
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People do get addicted to ketamine and its analogues, though...
Yeah that's true.. Some people get into doing like 60 high doses a day..
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Default Feb 26, 2020 at 04:20 AM
  #15
I know that when I've taken painkillers like percocet I get energized and really happy. I have had 5 surgeries in the last two years and everytime have use percocet and in addition to having no pain, I felt very productive, talkative and focused. None of this made sense to me because being in the recovery community I have seen my fair share of people F'd up on painkillers and nodding off. I have no idea why that didnt happen to me. Part of me wants to believe its the adhd that prevents me from getting dopey and slurring my words or seeming impaired but I dont have any evidence to back that up. Based on those feelings I can see myself wanting to have painkillers for mood modification (in a perfect world with no possibility of addiction) but I know that as an alcoholic in recovery its a slippery slope for me. I have never had an issue with pills before but I cant risk it taking them long term. I have severe chronic pain issues that cause flare ups and when that has happened my doc will give me a small script for Tylenol 3 but that doesnt hit me the same as the other opiates. Its a tricky place to be in because on one hand painkillers would make my physical symptoms more managable but could possibly cause addiction. My pain management doc referred me to a medical MJ doc that I just have to get my but in gear to make an appointment. I have only smoked pot like three times in my life (in college) and didnt like to smoke it. I am hoping with a medical card I can avoid that intoxicated feeling and not smoke it.

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Default Feb 26, 2020 at 07:45 AM
  #16
I can see how easy it is to get addicted to opiates. I was in rehab once with some high performance athletes who would take mega doses before big games.

I've only played around with mild opiates, Tylenol 1, which you can get over the counter here. I like them occassionally because they make me feel warm and comfortably fuzzy and numb, because that's how I used drinking. But they scare me, because I know I could get addicted very easily. Besides, they aren't really safe with my current meds.

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Painkillers as a treatment for negative thoughts
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Default Mar 09, 2020 at 05:09 PM
  #17
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Originally Posted by Pavlov's Cat View Post
I was on painkillers for a couple days recenty and I realised I didn't have my usual cycle of negative thoughts.


Well my pain ended at least for now, and I'm going through my usual routines of negative thinking again.


Is it even worth being off painkillers when I feel like **** without them?
Except for people who get incredible nausea from opiates, most people feel better on them and it's not rocket science to see why. But unless you have a terminal illness or you've tried literally everything in terms of meds, therapy, ECT, ketamine, etc. I would hope no doctor would give into this request as, even though you might be struggling now, whatever brief relief you got from opiates would quickly fade, leave you with the same or worse problems as before as well as a notoriously difficult addiction to treat and keep in remission, including all of the other fun stuff that can potentially come with opiate addiction — broken relationships, loss of job and income, homelessness, crime (prostitution, theft, b&e, armed robbery, etc.), prison, various medical issues associated with IV heroin use (which a lot of people switch to when they can't afford "clean" opiates), HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, overdose and death, as no matter how careful and smart you are, eventually you're going to get fentanyl at least once and you're not going to realize before it's too late, and then it's a roll of the dice in terms of if any of the other addicts you shoot up with care enough or are alert enough to either narcan you, call 911, or dump you at an ER or you're in an open area with enough foot traffic and you come across someone who cares enough and wants to invest the time into saving your life.

Long story less long: I personally don't think it's even remotely worth it, but I can understand the desperation and thought process driving it.
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Default Jul 04, 2020 at 12:08 AM
  #18
I was on oxy for 4 years, and getting off them was the hardest things I've ever done. At first, they were the miracle drug, I was positive, outgoing, productive; until I became a full blown addict.

It's a slippery slope with opiates, they are intoxicating especially to bi-polars. After I got through the chills, vomitting and tears- another devil of depression was waiting for me on the other side. It was the hardest and longest depressive episode to date. So be careful with the allure of these powerful little pills.
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Default Jul 04, 2020 at 04:19 PM
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Most difficult and miserable thing I have ever done is withdraw from tramadol. Complex drug, strong antidepressant, apart from Mu activity. Weak opiate, way, way harder than getting off Vicodin, say--for me.

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Default Jul 07, 2020 at 02:40 PM
  #20
Opiates are fabulous, until they're not.

Opiates are like having an extra-marital affair - that incredible high of your whole world feeling like one huge, warm comforting hug. You've got it - even better, you and your new lover have got it, together. No more of that painful alone, no more fighting alone. The two of you own the universe.

But time does it's thing. The relationship starts to feel maybe not so great, after all. And that happens faster than you had expected it to. Except you're in shite-deep now and your entire life revolves around that relationship. Everything in your life, it's all about the relationship between the 2 of you, and the problem is that the relationship is becoming more demanding and more sour every day.

You decide you really want out. You'll just slip out; she'll barely notice you're gone. Because this is not at all what you first thought it would be. You're spending every moment of your life with her, or thinking about that her and ruminating over what to do, paranoid as hell. How to escape? Wishing like crazy the two of you never would have met.

But she won't let go. No matter how much you beg her to, she won't let go of you. Everywhere you look there she is, looking back. You're going batshite crazy, seeing her everywhere. Nothing in your life means anything anymore. It's all gone to shite because you want to let go of her, but you can't. Cannot.

Major regret. Maybe better to be dead than to be here? Pleading. And so on. Before long, you are either dead or close to dead. If you're alive, you're spending the moments of your life struggling really, really hard to recreate something close to the life you thought was so hard before.

No exaggeration. And it's the same ride for every single opiate user, no exceptions. Opiates are not a fun road, but they are a 100% guaranteed gold-paved road to hell.

I have no judgments, just experience - do it if you want to.

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