any doctors out there? Baclofen question

[olivertwist]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Hi,

I went to my doctor, and told the truth, this is my last chance, look at my records in front of you (she did) I then showed her the book....."Oh my god, he is a cardiologist?" (I thought, yeah baby, these demons do not choose who to infect).

I said I fully understood how the process of pain/depression = addiction works, not the other way round as most medical professions still state as fact and treat the same. I must have made a good case as she states that she will put it to the 2 other doctors that know more about baclofen, and will come back to me in one week, a yes or no to prescribe for me, under supervision.
I have ordered on line anyway...........this is a critical time of year, I would prefer for them to advise on dosage, but yes or no...........I am going ahead with it anyway.
No harm in asking?

[Brave Hearted]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

I too have gained weight on baclofen, I put it down to the fact that before I was so anxious and stressed before and not to mention the days when I was so hung over that I could now eat , now that I am much calmer I find I want to eat more. I am just aceppting it at the momnet and will look at a diet in the near future .

[flasht75]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

I have gained about 10lbs also. I believe it is b/c the bac affects your blood sugar. Also, when I went off of it suddenly (not by choice), I fainted and my doctor said it was probably hypoglycemia. I have never had a problem with blood sugar before, but I think the bac affects it and I want to eat more. At first I thought it was just replacing alcohol with food, but now I believe it is a blood sugar thing.

[Larisa]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

ewaz, I have also spent hundreds of dollars, and at times, I just stopped eating so I could drink. I've always had a trim, healthy body, but over the last 5 years, the wine (and whatever I ate when buzzed, which was, basically, EVERYTHING) put 30 pounds on me.

I'm down 13 as of today. It's amazing to see the scale actually going down!!! I've been eating NS for over a year. I would have lost the weight long ago if only I hadn't been drinking the whole time. Bac has let my vanity resurface, hehe.

[Anna B]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

I've lost weight on baclofen but that's because I'm not hung over anyone and I can exercise in the morning and b/c I'm not "stress eating" as much b/c I'm not as anxious as before. I haven't been on a diet or been super aggressive about trying to lose weight as I have been in the past so it's kind of nice. I put on weight over the years from drinking ridiculous quantities of vodka & red wine on a daily basis, even though I wasn't eating very much. Larissa--I'm like you, I would basically stop eating so I could drink. I needed to drink so much just to get buzzed that I didn't want food to get in the way.

All in all, my understanding is that weight gain and/or weight loss isn't a side effect of bac (or at least it's one of those 1 in 1000 kinds of side effects that is hard to make anything out of). It seems like taking bac may lead to weight gain or loss b/c it spurs other behaviors that lead to those things (e.g., having less anxiety so eating less, etc.). I don't think bac affects the metabolism directly.

A few months ago I posted a study that was published on baclofen and binge eating. Sample size was very small so it's hard to draw any conclusions from it really but it's a provocative finding nonetheless. Here's the summary from the paper and the link to the article about the paper:

"Baclofen (Kemstro | Schwarz Pharma) may be effective in the treatment of binge eating disorders (BED) and bulimia nervosa(BN) according to a study conducted by researcher Allegra Broft, MD, and colleagues at the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, and the Department of Nutrition, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, published in the December 2007 issue of The International Journal of Eating Disorders.

This trial was conducted on 7 women (4 with BED and 3 with BN), who were administered 60 mg/day of baclofen for 10 weeks. Of the 6 women who completed the study, 5 showed significant reduction in the frequency of binging, and 3 women were totally free of symptoms at the end of the study. The medication was well tolerated and 4 subjects chose to continue the treatment at the end of the study."

[Anna B]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Looks like there's also a new rat study on baclofen suggesting that it suppresses cravings for fat but not sugar. I'm not making too much of it but thought others might be interested:

Baclofen suppresses binge eating of pure fat but not a sugar... : Behavioural Pharmacology

[animal love]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Baclofen prescribing doctors

Hi from Charlotte NC
Does anyone know of a physician that prescribes Baclofen for alcohol addiction in Charlotte? Read Dr. Amiesen's (sp??) book and would like to give it a try. Does anyone have any good information to share with me about it? Thanks so much. :new::thanks:

[Bill.P.]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

xx

[Guest]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

WOW there is comprehensive answers and then theres comprehensive answers if thats 2 cents what will I get for a buck fifty very interesting stuff the brain pharmocology stuff V the cognitive behavourial approach my guess its both Hi Bill P

[Bill.P.]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Hi Reggie, nice to meet you. Save your buck fiddy lol.
Havent had time to post for a few months but I do tend to ramble in my posts. I guess thats why I havent had time to post as I overexplain things.
Although I should be back around more in the near future as I complete some priorities that limits my online time.
Until then *back to the bat cave--- whooshh!!*

[Guest]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

No Way Bill P that answer was awesome and so spot on hope you post more
Reg

[Bill.P.]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Aww shucks, thanks Reggie. I actually did post quite a bit. Ran out of things to say and plus I have a huge load of stuff to accomplish. I promised back in April to have a website on baclofen up and still shooting to have it up by the end of the year. But online posting and basically eveyrthing took a backseat until I am done next friday.

Most of my story is here https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...n-2-32504.html
There wasnt much on the way of baclofen when I dropped into post on that thread but its awesome to see how successful it has become through the work and trial of so many brave people striving to stop the madness.
Quite thrilling actually to stop by and see all the baclofen threads and new people finding their own successes based on Dr Ameisen's work that inspired me in my journey.
I wont be gone for too much longer. But thanks to baclofen. My marriage is not over like it wouldve been without it. She actually is making me come to bed. Somthing I never thought would happen at the rate I was going.
Until we meet again.
Cheers

[Andy R]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Cool Bill.

You have a gift!

[Larisa]

any doctors out there? Baclofen question

Bill, thanks so much for taking so much time and effort to answer my question. That helps tremendously. I've been at 270 for a couple of days now, and I need to titrate down to at least 250 - I can't handle the somnolence at this level. I have had passing thoughts about getting a bottle of wine, which was concerning me - but I haven't acted on them, and I guess that's pretty huge. Part of me suspects it's because I've been too catatonic to imagine driving to the liquor store!

The volume has certainly been turned down, in my case. I can stay at a pretty darn high dose for awhile until I get the cognitive part under control. But I really need to have at least a basic understanding of how things work before I can really subscribe, and your explanation has provided that for me.

Thank you! *yawn*

BTW, have already made some progress on the cognitive part, with the bac's help. Like tonight - it's Friday, and I don't have to get up tomorrow. I don't have any plans. My brain immediately says, perfect night to get wasted - get couple bottles of wine on way home!! And then I think, why? I'll spend the money and then just fall asleep anyway. And maybe I'll stop losing weight for a couple of days. And my allergies will kick back in, and I'll have 2-3 days of red, itchy eyes. And wth, I'll be high on bac anyway, who needs wine? I could just eat my nice Nutrisystem dinner and then weigh myself in the morning and get buzzed on that! And the Dog Whisperer is on tonight!

Baby steps...this is *major* progress for me! Normally, my brain would stop at "get couple bottles of wine."