flea
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/17/02
Posts: 276
Loc: Recently moved to Mid-West, bu...
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Hi all - -
Just a quick question for all of you....do any of you that take pain meds on a regular basis tend to feel sad more often than prior to taking the meds?
I am taking over 200mg daily of oxycontin and I am also now on celexa as well, (for almost a year for both meds actually) and I do not know if it is the meds that do this to me, or if it is just my own way of dealing with this constant state of back pain. I mean the pain meds obviously help me with my level of pain, but unfortunately I am still in pain almost all of the time. Nights are the absolute worst as it seems as soon as I lie down my back is always hurting and i almost always end up crying. It sucks.
So basically I do not know if I am more in mourning for my old life, you know the one prior to any back pain and or failed back surgeries (well not plural on the surgeries, I only had one but thats all I needed for this nightmare to begin).
I am just not sure if the amount of meds in my system is what is causing so many ups and downs (mostly downs, most not definately not anything like Bi-polar or anything). So my question to everyone out there in the kinds of meds or amounts I am taking, do you suffer from a more elevated amount of depression than normal?
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Flea
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tone
Veteran
Reged: 06/29/03
Posts: 531
Loc: Chicago
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SSRIs can really mess with your head. see if celexa is the cupurit first. sometimes SSRIs actually make things worse. they have even been linked to increased risk of suicide.
an essay on antidepressants and options that i recommend reading is:
www.biopsychiatry.com
biopsychiatry.com is by dave pearce, the same guy who did opioids.com and countless other domains. the man is a genious writter, when i first read his stuff, it was like 'finally someone who thinks like me'
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Tred
Enthusiast
Reged: 10/18/03
Posts: 262
Loc: USA
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You may want to think about switching the OC to some sort of long acting patch.. (fyntl -spellings off I know) or Durasic (spelling again..sorry) Anyway, I haven't experienced these meds first hand, but I've heard a lot of talk about their great pain controlling properties. The OC might just make things worse, since tolerance to those suckers is pretty bad. Anyway, good luck!..
Tred =)
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Entertainment Specialist!
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drewsmerdel
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/14/01
Posts: 1137
Loc: Nap Town
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Any drug that surpresses the CNS system can cause depressed mood, mood swings, etc. It can be treated with drugs, but it is just best to try and get off the cause, the narcotic.
Drew
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Are you hungry?
Are you sick?
Are you begging for a break?
Are you sweet?
Are you fresh?
Are you strung up by the wrists?
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flea
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/17/02
Posts: 276
Loc: Recently moved to Mid-West, bu...
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Thanks for all of your thoughts.
Firstly, i have tried the fetynal patch. As a matter of fact I was on the patches for several months but I was so allergic to either the medication or the adhesive or SOMETHING related to those patches that I had to stop using them. I still have a few small scars left from where the rashes developed after using them. It was bad. Also, I did not get as mnuch pain relief as I had thought I would from them. Could very well be due to the rashes that occured at the patch site. My conclusion on that is that the rash somehow blocked the transport of the medication through my skin. Who knows, but either way I had to stop using the fetynal. That was how I got switched to the OC in the first place!!
I do know all of the info about the anti-depressants as I minored in psychology and have done some really specific research on the matter. Pretty ironic now, I'd have to say!
I understand the physiological aspects of the meds and seratonin and the receptors and all of that data, but I just was more curious if this mild depression (which I must say is not a constant, but more of one day feeling pretty down, the next day OK, and then feeling fine for several days again when all of a sudden, boom, next day I am down again. No real set patterns, you know?)is due to the reality of my changed life or the true chemical changes that I have been dealing with during this past year, or a combo of both.
I was more curious how many others of you out there feel like you have more bouts with depression since being on pain meds for a long time, and whether or not most if any of you have turned to any kind of anti-depressants.
I'd eally like to know the different kind(s) of anti-depressants that many of you are taking and the differences (if any) you have had since taking them.
I for one have run out of the Celaxa a time or two and I swear to GOD, the withdrawl from that was worse than the withdrawl from the oxyvontin. Believe that or not, it is true. I would never have believed it had I not lived it myself!!
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Flea
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night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
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This may sound really elementary, but I wonder if we tend to lose sight of "normalcy" after so many years on medications that we over-analyze every single aspect of our physical and emotional well-being?
For example, it is really very normal to feel OK for a day, not OK for a day and so on. People who don't take any medications at all feel this way.
Yes, I understand the paradox of the SSRI's. But again, I ask how can we pinpoint with any degree of accuracy that "mild" depression lasting a few days or so isn't just NORMAL?
Just something to ponder.
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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mermaid72000
Member
Reged: 01/19/04
Posts: 125
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i am off most meds now, but i know when i was taking hydro i would just go into rages and act like a fool. trazadone, ambien anything to alter the mind affected me mostly in the negative. now hydro free i no longer have werid thoughts or get a bad attitude. i am on a very low dose of klonopin with my pcp tapering me in 30 days. he understands addiction. the klonopin does get me high or buzzed just helps with the situational anxiety i have that i know time will release soon. benzos are too scary to mess with for too long of a time. seriously being off narcotics brightened my world 100%. just my experience
carol
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tone
Veteran
Reged: 06/29/03
Posts: 531
Loc: Chicago
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yes, withdrawl from SSRIs is bad. withdrawl from paxil is reported to be particularly bad. some people, like myself, report that withdrawl from tramadol is hell on earth, this may be because with tramadol, not only are you withdrawling from a mild to moderate opioid, but also serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake. SSRIs have withdrawl just as opioids have withdrawl, yet they are not considered "narcotics" or "evil drugs of abuse" because they cant really produce euphoria on a single dose like opioids can. DEA/FDA does a lot of strange double standards and lies dont they?
you asked about our experiences with anti depressants... i can tell you that i didnt like any of them except for the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor strattera and the noradrenaline / serotonin reuptake inhibitor // Mu Opioid agonist tramadol. tramadol works the best for me. others i have tried over a 7 year period from different psychiatrists include: paxil, prozac, wellbutrin, serazone, celexa, lexapro, effexor, imipramine (tricyclic), nardil (MAOI), and probably some others i cant think of right now
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voyager
Old Hand
Reged: 04/17/03
Posts: 415
Loc: United States Virgin Islands
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Effexor XR basically saved my life. After I found it my panic and anxiety left and my depression is SO much more managable.
It truely is a MIRACLE DRUG for me. I now know why they are SO MUCH BETTER than benzo's for long term treatment of anxiety.
Cheers,
voyager
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flea
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/17/02
Posts: 276
Loc: Recently moved to Mid-West, bu...
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Thanks everyone for your replies. It always seems helpful to find out that there are others out there experiencing some of the same things i am, or at least it has alwyas been helpful for me.
One last thing - -Night Shade- -
I appreciate your comments and I too agree that at times we can all read into our own medical and psychological psyche far more than necessary. However, when I mentioned that one day I feel OK and then the next not, and then the next I feel bad again, but then that stays that way for far over a week sometimes, well I do not really categorize that as being a normalcy in my life.
Granted, we all have our ups and down but rest assured that if I thought I was only dealing with the average "ups and downs" I never would have thought twice about it, and I especially would never have asked any of you for your experiences.
I really have to apologize if that was how it appeared. I was having a difficult time expressing my current situation as I wanted to tread carefully when saying I feel/felt blue, or and even more than that I wanted to stay away from the mere mentioning of "ups/downs" as a way to explain what seems to be going on with me lately. But I also did not want to over dramatize my situation, or even worse make what I have been dealing with seem anywhere near what a lot of people out there are going through at the time, which sre some very serious mental health issues.
Guess I was trying to explain it without really allowing myself to hear that I actually thought I might be going through depression right now. Wow, thats crazy that I thought that but apparently thats what I was thinking when I asked my question.
Just wanted to clear that up, as I did not want to come across as too needy if for some reason it turned out I was just goiong through what everyone goes through every day. Nothing more nothing less. Sadly, I am going through a bit more of the every day ups and downs. I am sure I will snap out of it soon. Otherwise i may look into switching from Celexa to a different anti-depressant.
Thanks everyone for you contributions to this post!!!
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Flea
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piper65111
Member
Reged: 12/16/01
Posts: 105
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I have been on hydro for back pain for about 7 years .Lately Ive been noticing that Im depressed alot.I think you are on to something with the pain meds.Im afraid at this point if I got off them witch is something that will be hell becouse ofwds.I might be even more depressed.You cant win.
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