Failures of Baclofen

[Lusus Naturae]

Failures of Baclofen

Zman;687241 wrote: SG,

I guess you can post whatever you want, wherever you want. But inability to continue Bac due to side effects was not what my intent was.

Sorry, Zman. I didn't mean to appropriate this thread. The thought (of sticky threads) has occurred to me while reading various threads, and has been suggested by several others, and this thread is one of several that I thought it would be easier to find by newbies if it were referenced in a place that was always easy to find. It just happened to be this thread where I initially expressed my thoughts.

This thread does need to diverge into failures and side effects branches. That's one of the things that brought the need for sticky threads, and the inevitable proliferation of them, and all the problems that presents to mind. Again, my appologies for appropriating this thread.

I know I jumped into the middle of a discussion probably inappropriately, and I appologize for that.

I've been weirdly Internet challenged for the last week or more, and have only been able to access this forum through my work netowrk. At home, it is simply unavailable. Bill.P. can probably appreciate the problems this presents. I have been unable to keep up with things. This was just a random read that inspired the thought.

Again, my appologies.

.

[nancy]

Failures of Baclofen

Hi

Stopping a drug due to intolerable side effects counts as a failure in my book.
Side effects thread could be about experiencing them, minimizing them, what they are like and failures too.

Nancy

[Zman]

Failures of Baclofen

Hi,

Like I said, anyone is free to post whatever they like. It's not "my" thread, its there for everyone. I'm just saying that when I started the thread, I was more interested in whether the drug itself failed to cure alcoholism, even if taken at sufficiently high dosage.

But as some of you correctly state, not getting cured by the Bac, even if due to side effects, is in fact a failure. So i'm not going to change the title. This thread can be broad enough to encompass all forms of failure.

And Saving, I am not cured, and therefore have no "joy" at being cured. I am at 120mg a day but still drinking and still craving and getting despondent with thoughts that maybe Bac wont work for me. Thats actually why I started the thread, bc I wanted know whether there were cases out there where people titrated very high and still were not "cured".

[Guest]

Failures of Baclofen

Zman,
Ok, wish you all the best.
I'm going back to my life.
I do not feel I failed, and I'm not saying you have said that. Gee....I'm allergic to it. Just that simple.
I have so many things in my life to 'handle' and I have to be here to do that.
Take care dear friends.

[Zman]

Failures of Baclofen

Zen,

Im about 175lbs (80kg).

Im not giving up. Ill keep going up. Im just saying that its depressing that I dont feel too much of a difference. Ive been on 120 for 2 days now. Will stick to it another day or two and then go up to 135.

[beatle]

Failures of Baclofen

Before Zen steered this thread back on track, I think the little discussion about what people should, could, or should not post got a bit out of hand due to some trivial misunderstandings and picky semantics-- so to put this to rest (as if I can ever let go of anything!), I'd just like to suggest that we all agree that "failures" on Bac refers to failures for Bac to work for people and not the individual's personal failure. Ok?

As for Zman, I agree completely with what Zen said (wrote). Remember that Dr. A was still drinking heavily right through fairly high doses of Bac. He did start to slow down at even higher doses, but wasn't able to stay AF long until he reached the 3.6mg/kilo level.

As long as you are not experiencing any major side effects, I think you should keep your chin up and continue as you are until you feel an effect. Yes, many people have been successful at low or lower doses, but that doesn't mean everyone responds so quickly.

[bernard]

Failures of Baclofen

"Failures on baclofen" means failures of the drug to do the job after being given a good try, whether because of intolerable side effects or lack of efficacy. I.e., it's the drug that is failing the patient, not the other way around. These few failures reported here are vitally important because they will translate into millions of failures worldwide after the drug becomes widely used for alcoholism. Detailed understanding of these failures will help clinicians anticipate the reasons for the failures and possibly avoid them by measures as simple as altering the regime or mitigating the side effects. This information helps the R&D people, such as Alkermes who is reading this thread, develop and sell variations of the drug that avoid the problems leading to failures. Baclofen is so astoundingly good for most alcoholics that it is well worth some hard work to fix the failures, and that work cannot begin without this vital information. So please, please keep it coming.

[louise]

Failures of Baclofen

Who or what is Alkermes?

[bernard]

Failures of Baclofen

Alkermes makes Naltrexone and Vivitrol, and is developing an extended-release baclofen as well as other drugs for addiction. I'm in touch with one of their salesman. Although sales and R&D have "firewalls" between them, I think it's safe to say that R&D consumes information wherever and whenever it's available. They're interested in what we're interested in, so wouldn't they get here the same way we got here? They don't talk, but I'm sure they listen.

[Going Strong]

Failures of Baclofen

Well I guess Its me!

Well I didn't really want to post this as I had so much hope that the bac would work for me.

The side effects are just too much and my husband is putting pressure on me to discontinue the bac.

When I first tried it I titrated up really fast and reached my switch but couldn't handle the spaced out feeling and a feeling that I was in slow motion as opposed to the rest of the world.

I titrated down when I was waiting for my next shipment of bac and titrated up slowly this time hoping to get to my switch again without the effects.

But I am now on 140mg again but it is not working this time. I am still craving really badly and drinking a little but nowhere near where I was.

I would go higher but husband is not supportive with me taking the bac and has even gone as far as threatening to cut off my money so I can't order anymore.

I tried to explain that you can't just stop taking this medication but he just doesn't get it.

I am so despondent about this.

[brightlite]

Failures of Baclofen

I'm only new to Bac, but according to most others, if you stop the drinking the BAC will be much more effective and then you can titrate down to a more comfortable dose. You might just need some AF time to get things under control.

[nancy]

Failures of Baclofen

You need to get medical advice! I read that withdrawing suddenly can cause seizures.

[louise]

Failures of Baclofen

Shas, I so hope the info on the rare but possible effects of rapid withdrawal (comma, seizures) will convince him. I'm sorry it is not working as well this time. Can you tell us more about your side effects?

[nancy]

Failures of Baclofen

Info about caution on coming off baclofen

I hope nobody looked up that link i posted, was for baclofen injection. sorry.
Please look up withdrawing safely.

[Zman]

Failures of Baclofen

Thanks all for your responses. Correct me if im wrong, but i still dont see any failures from people who have titrated up to a fairly high dose and stopped; not because they couldnt tolerate the side effects, but because the Bac just wasnt working.