i saw my doc today for an unrelated issue and fessed up to her about using my
hydrocodone prescription for focus issues. i was surprized to find that she was not too concerned under my particular circumstances. i have to qualify that she did express how highly addictive such drugs could be, but since she was the one that gave me the original prescription for 15 pills in july 2006 and realized i still had several left, she did not think the rate at which i was using them was a concern.
it was definitely a jumping off point, however, to discuss why she thought hydrocodone helped me focus and what that indicated would be a more appropriate long-term solution for me. she thought that the hydrocodone relaxed me enough to reduce anxiety so that i could write. to get at the underlying anxiety for the long haul, she prescribed an SSRI for me that she suggests i take for 6 months to a year under her monitoring. she anticipated the seratonin leveling effects would address my anxiety on a more consistent basis. i imagine this was the underlying cause of why a previous doc prescribed
zoloft to me, though that doc failed to elaborate on why she chose that drug as opposed to a stimulant. i was prescribed a different ssri since previously i did not like the zoloft effects.
my current doc said given that i was struggling and the
lexapro would take a while to kick in, she would normally have provided me with a few doses of
xanax to help me accomplish my short term goals. she interestingly said that since i already had the hydrocodone and was taking such a low dose (half of the lowest prescribed dose of the medication and only when i was really struggling) that she was comfortable with me continuing to use the hydrocodone as opposed to the xanax. the low dose combined with the limited number of pills i had remaining were what put her at ease that it would not be a scenario in which i could become addicted. it was a case of sticking with what we know works until the lexapro has time to become effective.
i know this is not the typical use of this drug, and i don't mean to recommend this approach to anyone else. just tying up my story with the best insights i can provide on what i deemed an oddball reaction to an opiate.