Author: savanuck
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:21 am
Hi Nabbic:
Congratulations! In spite of the start-up issues, you’re on "the road back." Sounds like you have a caring, empathetic Doc; wish I could say the same. Am I correct that your MD is not a mental health profesional? I was under the assumption that it was a pre-requisite for prescriibers. Guess I was wrong.
Not qualified on any of the medical part: I didn’t believe the doctor when he told me that the 8mg filled something like 94% of the receptors after I complained of WD/craving symptoms. (I was using 80-100mg oxycodone, but mixing with fentanyl, benzos, and so much other crap, that it’s hard to know where my "ceiling level" was! The additional 16mg, as I understand , was only giving me about a 3-5% boost. I have quietly discovered that the additional 16mg was purely psychological! As I have discovered in the tapering, which was a piece of cake down to 4mg, is that this is the threshold where the "fun" really starts. I’m at 3.8 and was drowning in sweat while sleeping last night!!
I can speak to the "talking therapies" part of your question, I’ve been thru them all (I think), from the patients point of view over the last 30 years. They gave me hope, what’s that worth? As to the NA, I again recommend you to one of Dr. Junig’s 19 You tube tapes. I think he provides the best, succinct, and unbiased evaluation that I have heard to date if you feel you require transformational and transcendent healing, and are still young enough for this approach to get traction. The only other "group approach" that I have found that is honestly secular is in a medical setting.
One on one is still the best talking therapy, if its within reach. At this stage, at least 2-3 times /week. Really spend time researching and interviewing the therapist. If you can trade up to a psychiatrist, that’s going to be the best, except for the ones who are trained to just dispense meds. There’s too many "lightweights" out there with Master’s degrees in psychology. Many psychiatrists are still required to do training analysis, where they submit to psychoanysis in order to be cerified. Check out and ask their training orientation, freudian, jungian, etc etc. You must feeel comfortable not only with the person, but their world veiw as well and what they were trained to do. The wrong decision here is costly both in time, money and your psychical health!!
The bottom line: What are people good for, after all, if not to listen? Caveat: A psychiatrist (during one of my hospital visits) told me , rightly, the only problem with talking therapies, is that they don’t last. Meaning, if you are looking for support and hope during a trying time (and what could be more trying than quitting opioids), talking therapy is a big peice of the puzzle. Future trauma can bring regression…but from where we are, we can only focus on the day-to day. The future will have to wait!!
Good luck!!
