(Flag this post if it cross the line and sorry if it is)
80 years ago opium was the most used drug for depression, psychosis, neurotic behavior. I sincerely mean that the industry should consider producing new AP and AD’s on the basis of opium.
I grow my own opium poppies in my garden, crush the pods and make my own opium herbal tea. Its very mild and gives me for a couple of hours the feelin of normality. I don’t get “high” just happy and relaxed and it cost me nothing and i have been doing it for years without getting addicted. There can go months between a cup of tea.
AD’s like effexor and mirtazapine affects the opioid receptors, so do esketamine - the most postent AD on the market. There is a big potential especially for negative symptoms, anxiety and depression.
https://www.opioids.com/antidepressant/opiates.html#:~:text=Conclusion%3A%20Opiates%20can%20be%20a%20hopeful%20option%20in,is%20more%20impaired%20than%20the%20monoaminergic%20systems%20(3).
ABSTRACT
Aims: Until the 1950s opiates were often used in the treatment of depressive disorders (1). Because of the development of the tricyclic antidepressants, opiates fell into oblivion concerning this indication. However, only 2 of 3 depressive patients respond to newer antidepressants today, and even ECT achieves a remission-rate of only about 70%. Method: 3 patients (2f, 1m; 24, 39, 50y), suffering from major depression, were unresponsive to Tricyclics, SSRIs, Tranylcypromine, Venlafaxin and different combinations. Even ECT up to 14 treatment sessions remained unsuccessful. Subsequently, in an open label study patients were given Buprenorphine 0.8-2mg/d or Oxycodon 20mg/d as monotherapy. Results: In course of the opioid medication, within 1 week the HAMD-score decreased from 24.0 (range 19 to 28) before treatment to 4.3 (2 to 8) with opiate treatment, the BDI-score decreased from 27.3 (23 to 35) to 10.3 (9 to 12). Temporary appeared nausea, obstipation and dysphoria. Conclusion: Opiates can be a hopeful option in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), even if ECT fails. Our results confirm former studies (2), but a new aspect is that in some cases of TRD opiates can be more effective than ECT. Perhaps, in these cases the endogenous opioid system is more impaired than the monoaminergic systems (3).