Does morphine help more with anxiety

[Resolutionary]

Hi i;m new.

A question for those of you experienced with drug use.

First here is the person's situational info:

This person i know has been taking clonazepam to deal with anxiety when it rises up at various intervals (basically whenever it feels like it), but it really isn't effective enough. This person's brother killed himself a few years ago and dealing with serious issues here. Trying to get therapy, keep working, keep marriage happy, and move on with life and grief.

So would morphine or oxycontin be more effective on the anxiety at these intervals than clonazepam? and if so, how many milligrams would be recommended as far as you know? (this person is female, age 29, 5'4", 110 lbs)

Thanks in advance.

Reputation Comments on this post:

sweet post, i can identify heavily!!

[Resolutionary]

come oooon someboddyyyyy, this person i know really needs help.
Plus, she's going to the walk-in clinic soon, since her family physician in on mat-leave and can;t find a replacement...

Speaking if which....*how* is this person supposed to be able to score a pain killer to help with anxiety. would a doctor allow this?

[OhCasey]

I highly doubt a doc would write an opiate script for anxiety maybe if it was manifesting itself as physical pain. As far as would it help im sure it would but then as soon as the opiates were discontinued you would feel more anxiety/depression then you did before taking them ust based on the body wanting to take the opiates to feel normal. Morphine and oxy are strong opiates if you were able to get opiates i would suggest Hydrocodone as either 5mg Vicodin or 10mg Norcos. I would think that they would be plenty enough to hellp with anxiety. You might want to try Xanax as i hear good things about it being able to treat severe anxiety.

[samuraigecko]

Agreed, a doctor will not prescribe a narcotic analgesic for anxiety purposes.

However, here is a quick rundown of what SWIM experiences personally both from observation and self administration.

Morphine can actually INDUCE anxiety in some people which is why benzo X opiate use is very prevalent. A fair number of people love the feeling of the opiates but it also induces an initial anxiety in them so they self medicate with benzos to counter this.

Morphine does not produce this anxiety effect in all peoples but peoples whom are more prone to anxiety attacks will be more likely to experience anxiety from it.

Morphine on the whole triggers the "reward" endorphin system and therefor in the majority of people will not produce an anxiety effect. However since the drug is a narcotic analgesic this is not its intended mode of action. Its intended mode of action is to flood enorphin receptors with something that the receptors "mistake" as endomorphin thereby blocking moderate to severe pain signals.

Hope this has been of help

[Resolutionary]

Awesome, thanks for the info.

[roman6886]

I am GAD (general anxiety disorder) and recommends going to the doc and getting on a SSRI. I was on Prozac for 2 years and now is on zooloft. You have to take relatively higher dosages for GAD than depression. I downloaded a tape off limewire that talks you to sleep they have them for stress, meditation, re-energize, etc. I put it on my ipod w/ a 60 min timer

[Solinari]

It's a very bad idea. While it probably will kill the anxiety some one would have to be taking them on a relatively long term and regular basis, even if it were a couple of weeks, repeated daily doses would most likely cause some sort of physical dependence not to mention a huge psychological dependence as well. I am also guessing this wouldn't replace the clonazepam because they would already be dependant on them, so it would supplement it and intoxicating effects would be prominent and probably highly addictive.

Actually i think the psychological dependence would be extremely prominent as well, not only would some one be taking opiates for fear of withdrawal but they would take them for fear of anxiety. This would cause a real problem especially when the time comes to start coming off of the drugs. The other thing would be the intoxicating effects of the opiates and benzo's would probably skew some ones perception of reality, and while they lose them self in an opiate and benzo binge, their problems will continue and probably get worse.

[roman6886]

IMO benzos arent recommended for people w/ anxiety 4 long term because once you take them you have to keep taking them out of fear of being anxious/having panic attacks its a very cyclical disease

[JJx23]

Benzo's are very good at relieving severe Anxiety, but they can also be very dangerous and people can become addicted to the drug(s). I mean if you are suffering through severe Anxiety, than perhaps you need to go down this route, and any doctor would be able to help you out here, or at least point you in the right direction. I know people who are on Xanax, Valium, etc, and they say it works wonders for them.

As for Opiates, they do take away a lot of people's problems, or at least the effects allow people to feel great, IE. taking away their Anxiety, etc. But Opiates are used to take away pain, so I am not sure a doctor would prescribe a potent Opiate to a patient with severe Anxiety, but the Benzos? Yeah, I don't see why not. That is what they are mainly used for, as they used for other complications such as Muscle Spasms, etc...

Hope this helps.

[Ididnotinhale]

Please do not start morphine! Morphine will stop anxiety just because it will drug the user out, when people are high on opiates, they don't realize it, but they become really dull and not fun to be with which could hurt his marriage. Also he would likely develop extreme anxiety anytime that morphine isn't in his system or readily available. Starting morphine to cure anxiety is far worse than using alcohol.

Swim suggests to have swiys friend visit a doctor. A doctor visit will only take about 30 minutes and nothing bad can come up from it. Like it has been said some of the new ssri/snri's are great. Also for short term benzos work great. Also now there is a long acting xanax that seems to be less addictive than other short acting benzos.

Swim had really bad post traumatic stress disorder. Lexapro which is a ssri worked pretty well, mostly just to stabilize swims mood. (Swim was waking up crying for no reason) Unfortunately swim still had occasional panic attacks, so he was prescribed Ativan. Ativan worked wonders, except now swim is worried that he is developing an addiction.

Ididnotinhale added 0 Minutes and 31 Seconds later...

Also swim found this:Gorman JM.
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. jmg9@columbia.edu
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by chronic worry that may persist for many years. It is a debilitating disorder, and effective long-term treatment is required. Psychotherapy, particularly relaxation, cognitive therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy, has shown long-term benefit in GAD and may be a useful approach alone and as an adjunct to pharmacotherapeutic options. Available medications for GAD include benzodiazepine anxiolytics, buspirone, and antidepressants. Although benzodiazepines are effective as short-term anxiolytics, their use is compromised by a poor adverse event profile and, like buspirone, they lack the antidepressant efficacy important for addressing the comorbid depression experienced by many patients with GAD. Antidepressants, including paroxetine and the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine, are effective anxiolytics and resolve symptoms of depression in patients with GAD. The benefit of venlafaxine is sustained long term, enabling increased numbers of patients to attain remission from symptoms and experience restoration of normal functioning. Although further clinical studies are required to establish the use of psychosocial therapy in the treatment of GAD. preliminary results are encouraging. At present, the use of psychosocial therapy and second-generation antidepressants, such as some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine, offer the best approach to attaining long-term benefit for patients with GAD.

Ididnotinhale added 7 Minutes and 33 Seconds later...

Cognitive therapy is becoming more and more prevalent and has been shown to be as effective as ssri's and benzos in the long term. Swim highly suggests swiys friend to find a cognitive therapist(not a normal therapist) and one that specializes in anxiety. If swiys friend doesn't click with the therapist, switch doctors. Cognitive therapy is far less likely to be effective if swiys friend does not click with ther doctor. Make swiys friend to commit to at least 6 weeks of treatment and they should notice a large improvement and without any side effects of drugs.

You can read this article, it does a good job of explaining cognitive therapy:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...jYNR54#PPA2,M1

[JJx23]

Well, seeing that Morphine is a very strong opioid, there are actually other opioids that aren't as potent, such as Hydrocodone and under. Ones like that are still addictive, but they can be waned off of much easier. I am not saying that SWIM should take opiates for Anxiety, I am just saying that they obviously do help, and there are certain types that do not put SWIM in a dull mood, etc.

As for the main problem (Anxiety), yes there is a longer acting Xanax drug out right now called Xanax XR, it's a very reliable drug if you are suffering through severe Anxiety, and any psychiatrist or family doctor could prescribe it for you if you fit the symptoms. Hope this helps.

Regards.

[UpAllNiteOCXTC]

sometimes opiates CAUSE anxiety. at least for swim.

when swim takes too much (which is everytime it is used recreationally), swim experiences the following feelings:

anxiety, irritation, (sometimes) anger, paranoia, and a few stomach problems.

These symptoms are occurring because swim took too much. Asking whether or not morphine causes anxiety is a very vague question. As with all pharmaceuticals, effects vary from person to person.

[JJx23]

Yes, there are some counter-effects that are not too pleasurable from taking opiates, those are included in your post.

Regards.

Originally Posted by UpAllNiteOCXTC

sometimes opiates CAUSE anxiety. at least for swim.

when swim takes too much (which is everytime it is used recreationally), swim experiences the following feelings:

anxiety, irritation, (sometimes) anger, paranoia, and a few stomach problems.

These symptoms are occurring because swim took too much. Asking whether or not morphine causes anxiety is a very vague question. As with all pharmaceuticals, effects vary from person to person.

[Ididnotinhale]

JX suggested possibly trying a less strong drug, but plain morphine is one of the least strong opiods on a mg basis. JX suggested vicodin, but vicodin is twice as strong as morphine per mg. Almost all opiods turn into morphine when they are ingested. Morphine has a low oral viability so drugs like vicodin or oxycodone were made to solve this problem and as a result are more powerful. For instance morphine is made in 5 10 and 15 mg tablets (not long acting). Even the strongest dose is not as powerful as the 10mg vicodins.

More importantly, it really does not matter which opiate swiy takes, it matters a lot more how much you take than which drug swiy takes.

[JJx23]

But Morphine Controlled-Release Tablets are very strong. These are known as MS CONTIN (Morphine Sulfate Controlled-Release). These tablets come in 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 100 mg(for opioid tolerant people), and 200 mg(for opioid tolerant people). If one were taking this drug, it would be more potent than Hydrocodone. SWIM didn't mention whether they wanted Morphine via IV or Pill form, but either way would still obviously take care of the Anxiety, there are just other medications that are strongly for those problems.

Regards.

Originally Posted by Ididnotinhale

JX suggested possibly trying a less strong drug, but plain morphine is one of the least strong opiods on a mg basis. JX suggested vicodin, but vicodin is twice as strong as morphine per mg. Almost all opiods turn into morphine when they are ingested. Morphine has a low oral viability so drugs like vicodin or oxycodone were made to solve this problem and as a result are more powerful. For instance morphine is made in 5 10 and 15 mg tablets (not long acting). Even the strongest dose is not as powerful as the 10mg vicodins.

More importantly, it really does not matter which opiate swiy takes, it matters a lot more how much you take than which drug swiy takes.

[thestranger]

I dont know if anyone has mentioned this:

But they are researching Tramadol as a treatment for depression, as it works on serotonin mostly. So your friend could talk to them and see if they would possibly give her tramadol.

But as other have mentioned, your friend is most likely not going to be prescribed narcotic pain medications for anxiety, damn they dont even really give out pain medications for when you are in pain all the time... this all being said, you wont get them unless the doctor is a quack doctor.

[Resolutionary]

everyone - thank you. your insights are quite insightful.

i do not think i could get an opiate or even tramadol for swim anyways...as it is not a physical pain issue. swim has been curious about tramadol however.

recently, swim has switched from clonazepam to xanax, and at 2.5 mg, it seems to take the edge off anxiety at least for a bit. plus, swim only uses xanax as needed, with 3-5 days in between doses usually.

is 2.5 mg too high of a dose in this case? swim weighs 108 lbs and is female if this matters at all........?? can swim go higher in dosage? or would the long-acting xanax work better with the same potency.? thanks in advance.

[pedosintalgon]

SWIM wouldn't neglect the posibility of using weak opiates as anti-anxiety meds alltogether. If they couse anxiety, theire - theoreticaly- much easyer to quit then benzo's and from his personal experience with codeine and dhc he would rate them much better as direct effects go. Also, in typical habitual doses (around 250/130mg) he finds that the sedation passes in about two hours while a warm, confortable feeling - not as numbing then what he gets from alprazolam - stays thruout the day.
There's also an article on opioids.com.

[Paroxysm]

Swim actually has a very mild anxiety disorder, nothing ever worth going to the doctor, as swim only gets attacks very rarely. Swim has never used benzo's, but believes opiates actually helps cure his anxiety especially when it comes to being around a lot of people in a social event. A small does of tramadol or oxy's loosen's him up and actually allows him to be more social.

[Spare Chaynge]

this dude needs therapy plain and simple. Medication like benzos are a band aid untill the therapy starts to work.

[dark12]

SWIM also has General Anxiety Disorder.
SWIM used to take hydrocodone with GREAT success for anxiety. SWIM's recreational dose of hydrocodone was around 40mg, for anxiety he would take 20mg. SWIM ran out of hydrocodone and had to go to a doctor for his problem. His doctor prescribed him 4x .5mg daily of Xaxax(Alprazolam) and it didn't do much other than make him sleepy and unmotivated. Xanax makes SWIM care less about his anxiety while hydrocodone helped SWIM lower his inhibitions and realize that his fears and worries were irrational.
SWIM strongly recommends the herb Kratom for anxiety. It really helped SWIM when his anxiety was peaking. It was about as effective as hydrocodone and therefore ten times more effective than Alprazolam.

[fiveleggedrat]

Using opiates and opioids are highly not recommended to be used for anxiety.

There is a reason they aren't prescribed medicinally for such.

The chances of physical addiction are too great to use more than say, once a week.

Swim has used them for public-speaking type situations, as needed. Using them all the time for general anxiety or constant stress is a very bad idea.

[dark12]

Benzodiazepines are so physically addictive that the withdrawals can include fatal seizures. Obviously everyone has their own method or medicine they prefer for relief of GAD. I really liked the lowering of the inhibitions that opiates provided. Others like the chilling effect of benzos.

[fiveleggedrat]

True, benzos are riskier when it comes to the seriousness of physical addiction. They have much in common with alcohol addiction.

Everything has it's risks.

Overall, Swim likes marijuana for anxiety. Other would not. It's all what works for Swiy. Everyone has individual needs. That's why medicine is so extensive.