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I have a lot of very strong arguments for prescribing opiates for depression, especially in people who experience pain AND depression. It does not matter which causes what in this case. I am 100% sure there will come a time that it will be an acceptable solution to some profound issues. I know for a fact that it already is being used for those reasons and prescribed by some to some whom have proven that they can control themselves and DO NOT have addictive tendencies.
There is one very simple reason for tramadol to be used against accute depression (the need to lift it instantly) and that is that it will shoot your serotonin levels through the roof instantly. Like another drug which I will not name here but is very well known for that effect. This is also the reason it is not prescribed very easily. Although it is considered a "weak" opiate, compared to methadone, oxycodone, morphine etc., the relatively short-lived feel good is the reason people tend to keep taking it, you can function very well still mostly, but... wel... I need not say more I guess.
For oxycodone I have no good words to say when it comes to lifting depression even though it acts on the same neurotransmitters, albeit not the serotonin so much. Because of it being an opiate it can deliver a high, just as any other drug, but not in way that tramadol does.
By "short lived" I mean: the same dosage will keep you "happy" for 3 times maybe. Then you'll need more to feel good. That is why it is dangerous to prescribe as an antidepressant of course. Let alone the withdrawel you might have to cope with, thus multiple reasons why you might derail.
On the other hand: MOST if not ALL anti-depressants will kick you down even harder during the first weeks you use them, about six in most cases. This is the time your brain needs to adjust even though the drug starts working immediately. So... for heavy duty depressed people, tramadol COULD have a benefit if used under very tight supervision. The risk of serotonin poisoning is enhanced then, and since it is not very well understood and full of taboo's, not much research has been done yet on that department. I am in the process of asking one of the worlds leading geneticists to look into this aspect of the medication, genes and brain, and am pretty sure some research will be done since I feel it must be possible to harnass the instantly noticable serotonine enhancing effects of tramadol WITHOUT the strong addictive properties of the rest of the chemical that makes it so addictive. As a side note on that, "addictive" is a relative term and a bad use in this context, since a lot of people who really need it and have a disorder, will need antidepressants for the rest of their life. They become dependant on them the same way one does to opiates.
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