Taking Hydrocodone For Depression
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I am wondering if anybody else out there has taken Hydrocodone and noticed that symptoms of depression are alleviated? I find that many of today's anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs come with unpleasant side effects, whereas while taking Hydrocodone they aren't there. The caveat to all of this is that yes, I know that Hydrocodone and opiates in general can be addictive. So long term use would result in withdrawal symptoms. I'm just wondering who else might agree with my on this?

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I found this discussion thread while searching for any information on Vicodin as a treatment for depression. I was diagnosed with depression 10 years ago and take Effexor and Welbutrin daily. I was recently prescribed Vicodin after knee surgery and noticed a profound remission of my depression symptoms. I don't feel 'high', but I feel an optimism about my life - my job, future, relationships, that I've not felt in over a decade. Believe me, I would much prefer to avoid ANY medication, and the last thing I wast to do is create an addiction to Vicodin. But I'd like to understand if any science is behind this or if it's just my interpretation. Maybe there is a different antidepressant that operates on the same chemical principles?

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BOZO, thank you. I agree.

I would just like to caution that a very common side effect of using opiate, including Hydrocodone, is constipation. It can be severe and necessitate medical intervention.

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Always tell your Dr. amd lawyer EVERYTHING. That's the best policy, and let the chips fall where they may.

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I appreciate the posts explaining how hydrocodone is able to relieve depressive symptoms. I'm trying to get up the nerve to discuss this with a doctor. I'm having an awful time with depression. A friend offers me hydrocodone, but I don't want it, unless I can get my own prescription.

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@ Donna.
a state leader for the american pain society? collecting IP addresses? what the hell is that going to do? you have no idea what you are talking about, especially when it comes to opioids. if you did, you would know the role opioids play in firing of dopaminergic neurons within the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens which would result in almost immediate cessation of depressive symptoms in most people. and the fact that some people get no remission of symptoms from ssri's because they actually lack normal function of endogenous opioids.
there are many people who could benefit from this type of therapy. and fyi, the withdrawal from any ssri would rival, if not surpass, a low dose hydrocodone therapy.

@ Halfshellie
Thank you for sharing your story! Interesting read. Mine is number 17 on here. I tried to go to the website but it is still under construction. I think this would help alot of people. Its awesome that you have a doc willing to work with you. No telling where you would be without her.

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I found Hydrocodone extremely helpful in recovering from a severe depressive episode. For me, it is extremely constipating, so I'm not attracted to using it routinely. I happened to have some left over from when I had lower back pain. But it is used up now. I'm afraid to ask any doctor to let me have a small amount of hydrocodone for relief from severe depression.
I think it is wrong that someone like myself, with no history of substance abuse, cannot have this available as a tool to arrest severe downward spirals. But I wouldn't even have the temerity to ask a doctor to give me a prescription. I don't think that the doctor would be able to legally do this. I have heard of some depressives receiving opiates for depression relief in special studies. I wish I could be allowed that.


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Hi Kay,@Kay,

I have been working on the website but am having a hard time using the website editor. I want to get it up as soon as possible. So much is happening all over the news concerning opiates that I feel the website would be noticed now. I don't want people to suffer like I did. The address is going to be opiates4depression.com. I hope to have it up by 10/3/11 or 10/4/11. I am working with GoDaddy and I think I need to use an less sophisticated editor .

I had the same success that you did when I started using hydrocodone as an antidepressant. I had been using xanax and didn't need to take that anymore. My mood became much better when I didn't need to take it. Hydrocodone should be used as off-label antidepressant again. We are proof that it works.

I'm so glad that you posted here again. I was getting frustrated with the website editor and really needed to read your post. I'm going to work hard on it this weekend and get it done. It is timely and will get noticed. As soon as I publish it I will post here.

Thanks again for sending me the post. I wasn't giving up (I spent an hour on the phone with GoDaddy last nightl) but I didn't work on it today and I was losing some momentum. I really think that somehow you were meant to write that post so I didn't give up. I know that sounds goofy but I really believe that. And I'm glad that I'm not alone. Thank you and you'll hear from me soon.

Halfshellie

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@halfshellie,

Have u started the website and if so, what is the name? I also wanted to add that taking my antidepressants always make me tired and sleepy but when I take my hydrocodone it does not. I never take more than what I am prescribed and sometimes less. I understand when u say it helps u feel normal and not depressed. For me instead of feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I do feel like I can handle life. That is the best way for me to describe it.

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Dear halfshellie,

I am in total agreement with you. I was diagnosed with PTSD, panic attacks and depression over 10 yrs ago. I take clonezapam, buspirone, venlafaxine. I started taking hydrocodone (10/325) a few yrs. ago for ankle/back pain (pins in ankle). I have noticed the changes of my mental state since then. My dosage of the other meds have even decreased. Went from taking 6 mg daily to 1 mg a day of my clonezapam.
A website would b great showing that there are other medications to help with depression/mental disorders. Instead of taking 4-5 different meds, I only need to take .05 clonezapm a day and reduced my other meds. I plan on talking to my therapist about this.



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@ Ann
Yes, I felt I had to address that comment.

The more I research this the more concerned I get about this issue. I spoke with my doctor about this and she feels that for patients that are using the medication for pain that they may have to increase their dose. She is a psychiatrist and not a pain doctor, however she does treat people with chronic pain. I am her only patient that uses this medication for depression. however I have been sending her the links to all of the research I have done the past 6 days and I hope to change that. As well, I am a walking talking test subject. I think that for pain patients they have to increase their dose because they think that if they can't feel the euphoria of hydrocodone that it isn't working. For those of us who take it for MDD we are so happy to have our depression in remission we don't want to feel that euphoria, we want to feel normal, like ourselves before the MDD. This is only my opinion. But I am starting a website over this controversial issue. I don't think anyone else should suffer. This is society and the government telling MDD patients that we can't use a narcotic to relieve our depression and as a result hydrocodone fell into oblivion. I really want to change this and I feel that I am not alone. There must be others who use this the same way I do and are prescribed this for depression. I hope there is. I don't want to give out the website address because I am not looking to advertise but keep googling for opiates and depression and you will come across my website. I am still working on it and haven't uploaded it yet but it will be done by the weekend. This will be a place for support where we don't have to be afraid. My contact information will be available there so that I alone can defend this position. I think, so far as I can see, that I am qualified to be the so called "poster child" for the effectiveness of this medication.

I don't forget how awful it was to live with MDD and I never will. When I say that my life was circling the drain that is putting in mildly. I don't run to this medication when something goes wrong in my life or when I am feeling down (yes, people with MDD do feel down every now again just like people without MDD). I don't have to because I know I can address it and handle it like a person without MDD would. The thing is I just can't believe the number of people who have treatment resistant depression - TRD and here we have a researched antidepressant that works and no one is using it. That is absolutely ridiculous. When I think of the poor souls out there suffering it breaks my heart. The more SSRI's I tried that didn't work the more hopeless I became. Hydrocodone is a lot like the SSRI's where it takes a bit of time to reach it's full effectiveness. I kept a journal through all of my experiences with the different antidepressants and upon review I see it took about 3 weeks before I was truly feeling like myself (the good and the bad) again after starting hydrocodone. I wrote in that journal that my doctor told me not to see my life through "rose colored glasses" and I never did. I think she meant the euphoria of the medication. Like I said my life was in the dumper and I had a lot of work to do to get it back on track and that took a good year and half of hard work. However I was able to pull it back up and would never have been able to do that without hydrocodone. When I think of where I could be now without it it scares the beejeezus out of me. I am sure that I would have been either institutionalized or dead. I am not joking about that. I should also mention that MDD runs in my family and that I have had 3 aunts who were institutionalized (documented) and one died in an institution. That was my reality. Even now my hands shake when I think about it. Anyway thanks for your support and keep looking for me on the net. God bless and good luck to everyone. Remember this, don't let anyone talk you out of what works for you. Do the research and follow protocol. My new website is going to be able to help those people who are refused this medication by providing links and evidence of it's effectiveness.

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To Halfshellie. Thank you. That is the point I was trying to make when when one of the comment writers was threatening all of us, I think everone on this page was taking Hydrocodone for legit reasons when they accidently found out that it did more than relieve physical pain. It helped the emotional pain and not by getting high. Unfortunately a lot of people believe that if you are taking Hydrocodone for anything other that physical injury, then you are abusing it. I also agree with you about the Oxycodone. I do take it for post surgical pain. But it makes me irritable. Good luck to all of you and God Bless.

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If you are experiencing depression every day then you should try taking 5mg twice a day. Taking a double dose probably does give you a feeling of euphoria and that's not good either, it only distorts reality. I am certainly not telling anyone what to do but if your depression is like mine where it never goes away then why live with it?

I take 10mg a day, 5mg 2x's a day, and my depression has been in remission for 4 years. I did try to take oxycodone as a substitute for hydrocodone. It made me feel sad. There is something in hydrocodone that isn't in other mem opiates. I am sensitive to chemicals and the relationship I have with body/mind is close. I rely on this relationship to guide me, so to say, when trying anything new especially medication.
I have to say this....It bothers me to hear someone say that they will report someone else if they think that person is abusing pain medication. I want to point out as well that this person is not qualified. Untreated mdd leads to not only physical abnormalities such as shrinking of the brain but psychological abnormalities as well. Not only that, why does one happy healthy American want to deny another the same? Unless they are not a happy healthy American. There is no abuse going on here but off label use and that's legal. If there is a medication that saves your life but you can't take it because that isn't what the medication is meant for is absurd. No physician in the world would not give you that medication. Hydrocodone saved my life. My life was circling the drain (to my standards) until I started to take it. I challenge anyone who would try to take that away from me. I am more than happy to give you my name and address and save you the trouble of trying to find me from an IP address.

Up to 40% of people have treatment resistant depression - TRD. What does that mean? It means that a little over 1 million people are walking around not living up to the American standard. Who knows what contributions these persons might make if they weren't suffering? I'm outraged at this. Taking 10mg of hydrocodone does not make anyone a drug addict. Drugs are not bad it is abuse that is bad. Really, I haven't read something so ridiculous in years, since I was a teaching 11th grade and they had an excuse. It doesn't surprise me that person is a "state leader". It should remind us all to vote even in the smallest elections.

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I was astonished at what hydrocodone did for my depression when it was prescribed for me for back pain. I did not need all my tablets because my back pain resolved and I very seldom have any problem with my back. I take medication for depression, but in the past year have had more severe depression. I have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, as opposed to "dysthymia," which had been my diagnosis for years. I found that, if my depressive mood became very severe, taking 2 Vicodin (5/500) would stop me from going further into a downward spiral and even reverse the tailspin I was in. The effect would last for days - after one dose! Once I got that relief, I would be apt to start doing more and the increased activity would pull me up to where I was not mired in mental quicksand. I am even thinking of asking my psychiatrist to order me some hydrocodone to have available to use just to pull out of a severe episode. I know it is unlikely he will agree, but there are psychiatrists who have used hydrocodone for depressed patients, at least in studies that I have read about. I would have no interest in taking hydrocodone regularly because I am easily made severely constipated by any kind of CNS depressant. Managing my sluggish gut is an issue all on its own. I just am convinced that having access to some hydrocodone for aborting a severe downturn into depression would help me manage my chronic depression. I think it would be a better option than ECT, which has been offered to me.

I have heard that some persons are "opiate responders." These are persons, like myself, who, when very depressed, can have a great reduction in depression by taking an opiate. I read that not all people are affected that way. I've read that, for some reason, hydrocodone works particularly well, in that regard - better than other common opiates.

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I see that no other posts have been made on this topic. I did write a post this AM and it has to be reviewed before posted. I think this is strange. The first and only post I made was done without review. This must be a very hot topic. I can't believe that my post created such a hulabaloo.

I haven't stopped thinking about it all day. Why would my story create this kind of interest? My story isn't very different from the others I read. The only difference is that I am prescribed this medication for depression, make no mistake, and that I have taken the same dose for 4 years and don't have to increase it. I suppose that is my answer, my use of this medication is strictly for depression and my physician is aware. I don't look at hydrocodone as a pain killer but as an antidepressant that should only be taken as directed otherwise the side effects would hurt me. As well another fact is that every 90 days I do not take this medication so that we can see if my body chemistry has returned to normal from the menopause cocktail it has been serving me (I feel I would be lying if I didn't say that during that week I go to my church every day and pray for it to be normal and that I don't have those feelings from the MDD anymore. Although it isn't a big deal to take a pill every day I suppose I want as much as anyone else out there to feel like myself without it.) For those of you who read my post and want to consult their physician for the same treatment please be advised that I have had the same therapist for 25 years, the same physician for 15 years and that my depression and the treatments I have tried are well documented. I made the post so that others could learn from it. I should have made it clear that I work at feeling "normal". I did include this information in my post but I should have worded it differently. When I was first diagnosed with depression at the age of 23 I was given prozac (that's when prozac first came out) and inside of a month I was eclipsed by sadness. I knew right away it was the medication and stopped using it. I went to a nutritionist and he lead me the direction of not only diet but exercise. The depression back then wasn't a daily feeling like it has been for the past 5 years but would come a couple of times a year and was much less noticeable and easy to work thru once I changed my diet and incorporated exercise into my life, not just that though I also worked very hard at meditation. For my 25th birthday my parents hired an apostle of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to instruct me. This was in the 1980's and there wasn't an internet, now you can search and find a meditation expert or a book without a problem. It was a big deal back then and I am forever grateful to my father. Meditation is difficult (if you take it seriously) and it has taken me a lifetime to come close to what I would like to achieve. My point is that I have/had worked hard to combat my depression in a more natural way before taking hydrocodone. It isn't easy and takes many many hours every week to keep these commitments. I know what you are thinking...no matter what the cost in hours or money you are willing to try anything.....I understand. I have looked into the eyes of the depression monster too. For people that do not have depression you wouldn't understand. I can't even give you analogy that comes close to those feelings of MDD. If you would have asked me 18 years ago if I would ever be in fear for losing my sanity I would have answered "no way, I've combated mental illness and I know how to handle it" boy was I wrong. Anyway, I don't want people to think it's as easy as taking a pill and your life is transformed. It isn't like that at all and you have to work at it. You may be saying to yourself "why me? Why don't other people have to work at their mental health and I have to?" My answer - luck of the draw. Be thankful for what you have and not what you don't have. I think this another piece of advise that helps. Be thankful for every thing you do have. For instance I recently went through a divorce and lost my big giant house and moved into a 2 bedroom condo. I wasn't unhappy about that at all although all my friends seem to think this was a step down, quite the contrary for me. I was so thankful not to have to clean that monster house any longer and to be able to not clean if I didn't want to. I was still sad that I didn't have the mansion any longer however I knew I couldn't continue to think that way and I needed a new perspective. This was something that I had to work on as a young adult, changing the way I thought about certain things, thinking that way wasn't good for me and there are always many ways to look at something. A lot of facts were true, I didn't have the big house anymore with a pool and tennis court but the fact that I had to clean all those things were truths as well. It is a fact that I no longer have to worry about that monster anymore so that was the part of the truth that I focused on. Do you get it? I hope you do.

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I had no idea my post would stimulate this topic. My only intention was to verify that hydrocodone is an off label antidepressant and that it works for patients who otherwise had TRD (treatment resistant depression) and not to be used to get "high". For those of you new to conversation please read my story. I'm grateful for a doctor that takes their oath seriously. Please know that if you are taking hydrocodone to relieve depression then the dosage should always stay the same and that dose should be effective to combat depression. As I have said, I take 10mg hydrocodone 2x's a day for 4 years and break from it every 3 months for 1 week to verify that my chemical makeup has not changed. I do not have any withdrawal symptoms, not one. Unfortunately my depression returns within 3 days. I don't have feelings of euphoria or a "high". This really bothers me. Do not take this medication to get feelings of euphoria. You will hurt those of us that really need this medication whether it be for pain or depression. For those of us that legitimately use this medication for depression you do not need to increase our dose. I cannot speak for those that take the medication for pain. I feel pain on this medication. I had to have extensive work done on my jaw, bone grafts and such, and anyone who has ever had a broken jaw knows the pain. The maxillofacial surgeons who have worked on me are aware of my history and current medication. Hydrocodone is the only prescribed medication I take being I used to believe that diet and exercise could cure anything. I was wrong, again please refer to my earlier post. However I'm glad that I changed the way I think because now I take vitamins and herbal supplements and they work well too. If you have to increase your dose of hydrocodone to get relief from depression then maybe you don't have depression and something else like addiction, but I do not judge. Please read this study opioids.com/antidepressant/opiate.html
For those of us that use this medication for depression and do not abuse it (have taken the same dose for a year or more) let us speak up. I do not think that a stigma should prevent us from using this as an antidepressant especially for those of us that have TRD. Be well everyone and exercise!!!!!! I'm sure that we will be running into one another in the future if we speak up about this. It hurts me to think that people aren't getting the help they need because of drug abusers. For the record, I don't know what it is like to go thru opiate withdrawal but from what I have read the withdrawal from antidepressants and benzodiazepine is much worse. I cannot verify and I only know from my doctor and what I have read. I'm sure the psychological effects of any addiction and then withdrawal are a constant battle. This subject is obviously a controversy and this is when things go wrong. Let us look at this on an individual basis. Let us look at one another as people and not a group. Don't be afraid especially when a portion of the medical community is behind us. And for everyone on this board please do your research before you post. Know what you are talking about and if you have never had depression then please do not comment. For ME and only ME depression has been much worse than any bone graft from my jaw or hip (hip is worse) that I've had. I mean no disrespect to anyone who has chronic pain it's only that this discussion is support for depression and not pain. There are numerous online support groups for chronic pain that leads to depression. Let us not judge and make threats. This isn't a witch hunt it's support. Again, don't be afraid to speak up as we have a portion of the medical community that agree. Please read the study I have linked to and do your search. These studies may be hard to read because they are meant for the medical community and use language that is specific to their lexicon. I have a PhD in biology and I understand this lexicon but you will be able to understand the "meat" of these studies. If you have questions please feel free to contact me but it would be better to consult your physician. I study animals and although some are close biological relatives they can never replace human trials.

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@ Donna . Most of us on this page, if you actually read our comments, are actually taking it for the right reason and depression relief is basically a side effect. As I stated in my original post, 5 days ago I had my 7th surgery in 18 months. Believe me when I tell you that I know pain. However, I also have a doctor who believes in treating the patient, as well as the disease. We are seeking relief NOT A PARTY! We are not the reason that patients in pain are having trouble getting their medication.


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@ Donna. I can't speak for anyone else. But the depression relief that I get from Hydrocodone is not a high. The first couple moths that I was taking it, there was a type of high. Personally I don't like being high. That's why I don't drink. What I do get from Hydrocodone is feeling like myself. Before my depression started so long ago and during the few short periods of relief I had when antidepressants kind of helped, I enjoyed my life, I was a hard worker, loved spending time with my family and most of all attended Church pretty much every Sunday. I was also very involved in my church. The problem with the ssri's that did help, the relief was very short lived. I also know from experience that the relief from the Hydrocodone would only last another 6 - 12 months, then I would have to try more antidepressants. After a year or so when they either didn't work or they quit working, I would go back to the Hydrocodone for 2 or 3 years. And yes I know exactly what the withdrawls are like. I am fortunate that my doctor will wean of off over a period of 3 months making my physical withdrawls milder. I still deal with the psycological(spelled wrong). But for someone that suffers from Major Depressive Disorder, it is the lessor of 2 evils until something better in psycotropic drugs comes along. I don't believe that any of us on this page that are talking about using Hydrocodone for depression relief are interested in a high. Just a chance at a somewhat normal life.


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I can assure you age 68, with a curved spine, severe arth. in hips, knees, feet, with night pain so severe you walk the floor and cry.... is reason to take anything given to you... My point is I only take it when the pain is so severe I can't stand it.. I've had a lung operation, heart attack, and fibromo ... you name it, I got it.. I also have neuropathy, feet and hand pain... try that one, and feel the needles in your hands... again you'll grab anything to keep from crying... at night the feet, feel like an abscess tooth, throbbing so bad ... you do not sleep... period

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I agree that Hydrocodone does wonders for depression. I too found this out by accident. I have tried many ssri's over the years with very little relief. Over the past year and a half I have had 7 surgeries. The 7th one was just last week. 8/30, to say the least I have been prescribed a lot of Hydrocodone and Oxycodone. Because of the length of time that I have been taking them and the tolerance that I have built up,, the Oxycodone works best for my pain. But the Hydrocodone does wonders for my depression. While 7 surgeries in a year and a half would probably make anyone depressed, I have fought this disease most of my life. If you read the majority of the information about Hydrocodone on the internet. You will come across a few sites that list depression as one of the off label uses for this drug. As many have already stated, Good Luck finding a doctor that will prescribe it for that reason. Yes it is addictive. Yes taking it only as prescribed, you can and probably will become physically dependant on it. And for those of us that know it helps our depression, it will be even more difficult to wean off of it. God willing, this 7th surgery will BE MY LAST! I so look forward to the surgeries and physical pain coming to an end. I do not look forward to my depression returning. During the past 18 months I have tried some of the newer SSRI'S, in hopes of finding one that works before the Hydrocodone is no longer needed. So far no luck. God willing, something will present itself in the next few months. I will pray that we will all find relief in the near future. God Bless And Keep You All.

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Unfortunately you may feel that artificial high for a while, but after a constant period of time I promise you that what you think feels like heaven will end up feeling like hell. Also taking pain medication for a happy feeling is taking it for all the wrong reasons. Withdraws are horrible n painful. The opiates shut down your natural hormones that control pain naturally n when stopped abruptly after being taken regularly your natural pain ihibitors are completely shut off. It will take up to 6 months for them return. You will not be able to sleep right for months if at all.
One more word of caution. people that take these meds for your reason is exactally why legitimate patients are having problems getting the meds they truely need! If you don't have broken bones, or a serious enough medical condition to require this med, then you should not be taking it. I'm not trying to be nasty but I'm a state leader for the American pain foundation and I will report with IP addresses those I find online abusing drugs to preserve them for those in serious need.
Find a hobby or another mood lifter that is a healthy choice like exercise.
APF advocates

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