Opinions - Advice for possible bipolar sufferer: Opiate substitute?

[BUZZFACTOR]

Swim has self medicated for years and is sick of it. Swim was diagnosed with depression years ago (possibly bipolar also, can't remember) and has tried many of the antidepressants. The problem has always been the side effects. Most of them created such anxiety that swim stopped taking them. Anxiety has always been a problem for swim and swim believes that may have had something to do with the self medicating. Swim has been relatively drug free compared to swim's past. Swim occasionally smokes reefer and pops a few opiates because swim also suffers from chronic back and neck pain from degenerative disc disease and arthritis of the spine. In swim's past he has been prescribed xanax for the anxiety, which worked great, however with swim's addiction history he would rather try other modalities than benzos for anxiety. Also swim was on opiate therapy for years (for the back problem) but that turned into a fiasco, abused them, doctor shopped, etc. etc. Swim is pretty sure that the chronic pain is exacerrbating the anxiety and depression. Needless to say swim is in a bad way here and needs some honest advice. Are there any members who suffer the same problems? Here are swim's main questions; 1. Is there an opiate pain reliever, or something similar, that will help with this? Swim has tried all the NSAIDS, toradol, all the otc products, with little or no relief, with some causing other problems 2. Concerning the anxiety and depression, what combinations have worked for swiy? Swim is not against a benzo for short term while the antidepressant has time to start working. Here is a list of meds that swim has been on that caused unbearable side effects; effexor (caused psychotic thoughts) prozac (caused hypomanic state) paxil the same in fact all of the SSRI'S caused more harm than good. The only experience swim's had with tricyclics is low doses of pamelor for insomnia and deseryl for same. All replies would be greatly appreciated.

[bewilderment]

As far as opiate substitutes go, I believe it would be worth swiy's time to try kratom. It's a legal ethnobotanical that can easily be found on sites which offer similar products. It works for pain and also gives an extremely opiate-like euphoria. There is also a subforum for it on this site.

Swim's wife (and possibly swim as I describe in this thread: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23564) has been diagnosed as bipolar as well as having generalized anxiety disorder and ADD. Her current regimen consists of Wellbutrin, Lamictal, Adderall, and Klonopin and she says that it's worked better for her than any other medications have in the past--and she had to try out a great deal of them to find a combo which works. Of course, the adderall and klonopin are addictive so swiy may wish to avoid such. But, wellbutrin may be good in swiy's case. Good luck!

[snapper]

Kratom would help for pain and may help elevate mood. It has some anxiolytic effects, but they are likely mitigated by opiate receptors.
As far as anxiety, benzos are helpful, and GHB (sodium oxybate) which can be prescribed in the US, is magical. It is addictive, but dosage needed does not usually increase over time, and intermittent use prevents physical withdrawals. It is prescribed for narcolepsy and catalepsy, though when it was still legally available, SWIM found it to be an excellent sleep aid, mood stabilizer, and emergency manic episode comedown drug. SWIM used it for sleep at night, and the aftereffects the next day helped SWIM maintain stability of mood. SWIM also used cannabis regularly, which helped (though it could cause anxiety problems for many), piracetam and other neutraceuticals.
Phenibut also seems to help with low level anxiety in combination with rhodiola and theanine, though these are neutraceuticals.
Do not take any of the above as competent medical advice. Talk to a read doctor first before doing anything. In fact, consider the above highly dangerous advice and not to be considered without the advice of professionals. Drugs are for losers. The above only applies to SWIM.
Also, get lots of light, try to exercise (even walking), consider acupuncture and holisitic medicine.
Lastly, there are many prescription medications which can help with your mood, but it is good to keep an open mind and consider all your options since chronic pain conditions are very difficult to manage and often require many approaches to succeed.
Good luck.