Depersonalization Disorder

[Notsowild]

A 2001 Russian study has shown that naloxone can be used to treat depersonalization disorder. According to the study: "In three of 14 patients,depersonalization symptoms disappeared entirely and seven patients showed a marked improvement. The therapeutic effect of naloxone provides evidence for the role of the endogenous opioid system in the pathogenesis of depersonalisation."

Has anyone heard of this drug? It sounds scary to me. I've had some bad reactions to drugs but if it could help

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

From what I've just very briefly googled, it's mostly liked to counteracting opiate overdoses, so does it help all forms of depersonalization or just drug induced depersonalization. I would ask a trained professional.

 

[Notsowild]

Thanks @Kas_Can_Fly... I agree I'll ask my psychiatrist about it. I just have never heard about a drug specifically for depersonalization. I was just wondering if anyone else had.

 

[Springer80]

Hi, put endogenous into the site search engine and see results. Ive posted on this from an estd discussion. Dose is a very important factor. Heroin addicts and people with chronic dissociative issues are rather different animals. Personally, I dont consider medication anymore when thinking about my life going forward, however the comment about ancient Egypt consuming black cumin oil (a naturally occuring source of this) I find intriguing.

 

[Lucycat]

If the study was in 2001 and only 14 patients it cannot really tell you very much. If it was great results you would expect it to have been replicated by now with larger numbers to prove or disprove the original results.

The first thought in my head is 'placebo effect', however I may be mis-judging it.

Naloxone has been around for a very long time - as others have said it is used to reverse the effects of opioids. An example is giving it to a newborn baby when the mother has had opioid pain relief in labour, or to someone immediately post-operative who is struggling to wake up. Also as previously mentioned to heroin addicts who accidentally overdose. It has been very widely used for very many years under the trade name Narcan

 

[Dragon Fighter]

I think they are kinda throwing this drug at all kinds of things right now. It's also being used for alcohol dependence. Technically, the mechanism of the drug is to block the opiate receptors in your brain. So it counteracts heroin, and with alcohol, it blocks the euphoria of drinking. I suppose if you extend that theory to dissociation/depersonalization, which is said to produce a natural opiate in our brains, the naloxone would block that as well? I have not researched this, just theorizing here. It could be worth a try.