Hello all

[boosted_b16]

Hello all, I want to start by saying that I do not believe that I am an alcoholic, but I do occasionally binge drink (usually once per week)and I have a history of drug abuse to cope with severe anxiety. I also fear that eventually I will become an alcoholic. I have had issues with anxiety, social phobia, mild depression and insomnia for as long as I can remember. In high school I experimented heavily with ecstacy and methanphetimines. I believe my previous drug abuse was a result of coping with anxiety issues, as is the occasional binge drinking. Thankfully I am now 29 years old and have not touched ecstacy or amphetimines for about 9 years, and I hope to keep it that way forever even though the urges have come and gone. I have in recent years gone on opiod binges as well. For some reason unknown to me my anxiety and social phobia spun out of control about 1 1/2 years ago, and for the first time I sought medical treatment for these issues as I could not bear the incredible panic attacks I was having over and over again. Since seeking medical treatment I have been put on and tryed many different medications to help resolve these issues. First of all I tried all of the commonly know OTC meds to help with sleep and anxiety such as diphenhydramine, doxylimine, and various herbs and extracts like valarien, gaba, 5-htp, melatonin etc. of course none of these helped at all. So I was then put on paxil, and this medication made my insomnia and anxiety so much worse that I did not sleep for days, and nearly lost my job. I was then put on amitriptyline and buspar, which I believe helped the depression but not anxiety or insomnia. So next I was given various prescription strength antihistimes, and none of them helped, so my doc gave me propanolol which does help a bit with controling the physical symptoms of anxiety but does not last long or help enough. I was also put on ambien for sleep, I took ambien for about a week before I had side effects so bad I couldn't take it anymore, so I was switched to lunesta and this did the trick for good sleep, however I have recently switched yet again to sonata because the lunesta costs me $100 a month even with insurance and I can't afford it, so far the sonata is working OK. Untill a couple of weeks ago when I discovered phenibut, I had been basically living with severe anxiety on a daily basis, and I have nearly lost my job and my wife and child several times because of it. Oh the magic of phenibut, it actually takes away my anxiety! I feel like a "normal" person when I take about 1000-1500 mg. Now I should say that there is a possibility that benzodiazapines could help with my anxiety, but I have never asked for them, and never been offered them because of my history of drug abuse this is not really an option. But never before I found phenibut did I feel such relief from crippling anxiety, even my non-benzo sleep pills have not worked as good as phenibut. So I believe that I have finally found the cure to my anxiety, but wait, then I find out I will become tolerant to the phenibut and it WILL stop working, this was devistating. So I went on a mission to study what phenibut was and how it worked, thats how I dicovered what a gaba B agonist was, about baclofen and this forum. I know that many people on here also suffer from severe anxiety with thier alcoholism, and that baclofen has been a life changing medication for them. I have also found that there are a small number of studies done that prove the efficacy of baclofen for anxiety. I hope to find a way to get a script for baclofen, because I believe it will save my job, marriage and my life like it has done for many of you. This forum has inspired me and given me hope that my future may not be as bleek as I had once thought, and I thank all of you troopers for that. I hope that somebody would be kind enough to give me the contact email address and information for dr. levin in chicago so that I may try to pursue getting a script from him. I live in new york, and have not found any doctors around here that would be willing to try this medication. I asked my doctor on my last visit to let me try gabapentin and he scoffed at that, so I will not even bother asking him about baclofen. Thank you to anyone who reads this post and may be able to offer me help, god bless.

[mario]

Hello all

Hi and welcome boosted to mwo,This is a great community with lots of good support and advice, As i dont do meds myself you might want to paste this thread and re post in the Meds forum ,Topamax, Campral, Naltrexone, Baclofen, other meds - My Way Out Forums Good luck and hope to see you around feel free to post in any thread you take to.:goodjob:

[Lavande]

Hello all

Hi boosted,

Welcome to MWO, this is a great place with lots of support!
You may want to copy & paste your post onto the Meds forum. People using Baclofen post there & may be able to help you with that.

I have suffered from anxiety as long as I can remember. As a middle aged female my anxiety/panic levels skyrocketed with hormonal changes. I looked for help from my doc but didn't get any so I turned to wine & developed a pretty heavy, daily wine habit. That's all been over for 2 1/2 years for me now & I am most grateful!

I did find some OTCs very helpful - Amoryn, Seredyn & Mellodyn. They all have informative websites.
My understanding of Phenibut is that you can take up to 1500 mg twice/day. Have you tried taking it like that? I know that pharmacology of Phenibut is similar to that of Baclofen but less potent. I am not a fan of people taking Baclofen without a Rx. (I'm a retired health care professional & have a lot of concerns about that).

I hope you can find the help you are looking for here & wish you the best!

Lav

[Unwasted]

Hello all

Boosted, just wanted to welcome you. The link Mario gave you to the meds section is definitely where you want to be.

I too had a lot of anxiety but it has gone since I stopped drinking alcohol. Your history sounds more complex than mine, but I just know that alcohol created my anxiety.

Best of luck with bac should you go that route. You will find a wealth of information by clicking on Mario's link.

[Juja]

Hello all

Dear Boosted,

I, too, have suffered from anxiety all of my life, which has led to debilitating depression. Lexapro, an RX drug, has been a life saver for me. I swear by it, and hope it doesn't poop out on me (depressives' lingo).

I truly understand how you feel.:h I felt like I was possessed, and couldn't begin to get a grip on anything to get myself back. If I understand correctly, the amygdala part of our brain (fight or flight) is overactive, and the frontal lobe (reasoning) can't override it. Anyone, please feel free to correct me.

My best to you.