I checked that I am open minded. As I have mentioned in previous threads, current anti-depressant medication is effective at about the same rate as a placebo sugar pill (which interestingly works better with depressives than others). I would not be surprised if opiates are much more effective than anti-depressants. I would also guess that cocaine and possibly nicotine are better than current AD meds at treating depression too. The downside obviously being that they all produce changes in brain receptors leading to dependence on that substance. That aside, Buprenorphine looks like an interesting designer opiate in that it will not produce addiction per se (tho does produce chemical dependence), and is safe from overdose. I haven never heard of a test for endorphin deficiency. Does such a thing exist and have you had your theory verified clinically?
One other comment: None of the medications mentioned in this thread produce a cure for depression; instead they alleviate symptoms. As the links to Buprenorphine materials that Reardon posted indicated, the drug is only designed to be used as a short term measure to manage chemical dependence while the underlying issues that led to the depression/addiction are resolved. There is much research showing that psychological changes produced thru psychotherapy or life experiences can produce the exact same brain changes as treatment with anti-depressant medication.
res, As a non professional in the field of mental health let me offer a casual comment from what I have observed. The connection between the mind and body continues to mystify the majority in both the medical and mental health field. It is a chicken and the egg scenario to a great degree. They clearly have an impact on each other, mind and body, but no one knows with certainty which damage came first. Did physiology cause depression, or did psychological damage lead to physiological changes that appear as chemical imbalances. The debate seems unsettled. Given this uncertainty of how to treat, and a lack of consistency in recovery from depression with either modality alone, doesn't it make the most sense to treat both the mind and the body with medication and therapy both? This is not at all what I am hearing from RM, who just wants to be left alone to medicate himself. I would have more respect for his desire for recovery if he was working at this from both sides of the equation.... To me he just comes off as another addict who wants to do his drug of choice and not look at any psychological damage that may be a very pertinent and causal factor in his chronic depression.
From my reading of the literature, I agree with your statement above. The chicken and egg question is not resolved. Further complicating the picture, there is a concept called neuroplaticity which documents adaptive and maladaptive brain changes in response to illness, life experience and treatments.
Stupidity is defined as repeating the same course of action over and over, expecting a different result each time. I'd be alot more enthusiastic about psychiatric & pyschicological therapy if not for the fact that. A) Countless hours of experience with it has not shown even a thread of effectiveness. Actually, it often does more harm than good. B) I know more about effective treatment for refractory depression than most 'specialists' do. Look Commie, of course you choose to advocate the dead wrong, flat-earth side of this debate. That's your specialty, after all. I know you didn't read all the way through the scientifically proven clinical trial results in my thread opening post. Even if you tried to read it, you lack the education to understand many of the key medical terms contained therein. Little by little, our proven discoveries WILL be accepted as scientific fact.... in spite of people like you would rather repress instead of learn.
A test for endorphin deficiency? They've yet to even come up with a reliable test for herpes- a virus infecting 20% of the population! My theory has already been proven true via the scientific method, as described by the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology research paper, which I provided in the opening post of this thread. Proof has been established. All that's needed now is acceptance.
Of course, you are the objective expert on depression, addiction, and effective recovery...... ROTFLMAO!!! The grandiosity continues....
The irony is, that if someone you cared about went through the hell of refractory depression, was 'uncurable' despite countless visits to MD's and dozens of different medications, maybe even ECT... you'd quickly understand that the advice I'm giving here is the only possible way to save him/her. Of course you're quite safe from the above scenario ever becoming reality, as rubber sex-dolls are immune from endorphin deficiency issues. You've expressed your flat-earth opinion multiple times already on this thread, but will not be satisfied until you completely drag this thread into the gutter, and make it a full blown flame-fest like the one thousand other threads you've ruined this year. Resinate or Bungrider: I'm trying to spread my knowledge to save lives, and this creature insists on littering all over it. You know I support free speech as much as you do, but seriously, enough is enough already. Isn't it time to ban another Z-commie alias?
So now you see yourself as a modern day Albert Schweitzer only trying to "save lives." Hee hee hee. Grandiosity to the max... Good thing you don't have anger and control issues to go along with your depression.... Too funny. Oh man, too freaking funny...
I'm not sure what I said that upset you. I am sorry you have had bad experiences with psychotherapy. I am not a medical doctor and certainly not a booster of psychiatric medications. I did read thru that study and like I said, I am inclined to believe that opiates are more effective than traditional medications for treating symptoms of depression and probably safer. The study is tiny and very short term, but does show a rate of improvement approximately twice what Prozac et all can claim. Did I see any suggestion in the research you linked to that it presents a cure for depression? No. My question was genuine. How did you conclude that you suffer from endorphin deficiency?