Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

[susanna]

Hello peeps:

I know there are references in various threads about tips and tricks people use to address insomnia and baclofen. However, now that I am looking - I can't find them.

Care to share your tips? It would be most appreciated.

Susan

[Isolde]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Luckily, I don't experience baclofen-related insomnia, but I have definitely dealt with my fair share of regular old insomnia in the past. One thing that helps me quite a bit is to take both melatonin and valerian about an hour before bed. Doesn't knock you out like a sleeping pill, it's more just that it lets you sleep, quiets your mind.

I've also used Benadryl, which works great. I worry about using it all the time though; I do feel like I get kinda used to the effects after awhile. And also, because I find that baclofen makes me a bit dehydrated by itself, I think the combination of Benadryl and baclofen would turn my respiratory system into dust by the morning. :H

[hoping4better]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

I took trazadone when I was on bac (it's an old antidepressant that's often used as a sleeping aid. Not addictive like ambien or some others.) Ask your doc.

[ignominous]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Hi Susanna

Just to let you know your not alone, its 3.30am where I am.

If I had any good tips I wouldn't be writing this!

One possibility: I tend to be sleeping in 2 hour sessions. When I wake I tend to be a bit disorientated, to try to get back to sleep then is doomed to failure. If I get up, have a glass of water and the go back to bed I can sometimes slip back into the cocoon. If I stay awake for 5-10 minutes then I've lost the plot as far as sleeping is concerned and I'm awake for a couple of hours. The trip downstairs to get water allows me to get straight enough to relax and fall back to sleep.

There you go , how's that for an insomniac's post.

[Seethepony]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Beer usually works for me...

[Topsy-Turvy-Tracy]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

I've heard that if you wake up in the middle of the night, it's helpful to take another dose?

[Greg]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

I also experienced insomnia from baclofen, and ended up mainly using other methods of getting and staying alcohol-free. If baclofen had been the only method left for me to try however I would have probably had to put up with the insomnia in exchange for not drinking.

In some cases the insomnia could be due to the short half-life of baclofen (3 hours or so from memory) which would cause it to wear off quite rapidly during the night. In this case taking another dose during the night could solve the problem.

In my case the insomnia occurred straight away after going to bed if baclofen was taken shortly before bed. This seems odd because baclofen is a GABA-B agonist and is mainly noted for creating sedating side effects. I asked about this on this forum several months ago and a few people suggested not taking baclofen shortly before bed, but my cravings have always been worst during the evenings so this wasn't an easy option for me. I have taken GABA-A agonists (benzodiazepines) and not experienced any insomnia from them, but they are not reported to be very helpful for long-term alcohol avoidance and can be addictive for some people.

I would also be EXTREMELY interested in hearing of solutions to this problem!! I am getting severe alcohol cravings even after 8 months away from it and would love to start taking baclofen now for those cravings but I am scared off it because I can't handle the prolonged insomnia!

[ignominous]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Just woke up. Another 2 hour stint.

I don't think its the Bac wearing off although a high enough dosage will may me yawn after about half hour. I still feel Bac.ed up and my last dose was 10 hours ago. I was hoping to have some respite but not today obviously.

The thought police are looking for you Seethepony.

[tiptronic_ct]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

The insomnia and resultant severe daytime somnolence was terrible. I ended up taking my last dose fairly early in the evening.

Please be careful, folks - especially if you have to drive. I nodded off behind the wheel one morning and caused an accident.

[Sunnyvalenting]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

At first I had wonderful sleep. Better than in years. Now I am back to a baseline of relative insomnia for which I try to take the bac 20 mg about an hour before I want to go to sleep. If I don't get sleepy then I will generally take melatonin or benadryl which help me.
Also try not to be drinking because that causes dehydration and we sometimes have to wake up to drink (or piss if it was beer!)
Sunny

[susanna]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Thank you all for these thoughts and tips. Will try them out.

What a fabulous group of people you are.

[Greg]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Thanks for the sleep study link Reggie. The study seemed to indicate that baclofen generally helped sleep rather than hinder it. I'm sure Dr. Olivier Ameisen said in his book that it helped him sleep too, and I don't think he mentioned insomnia problems with it...but I'll have to check that to be sure.

This is why I can't quite understand my or other peoples' effect of insomnia from baclofen. When it happened to me I thought I must have been getting a rare stimulant effect from it, like the paradoxical stimulation some people get from alcohol or benzodiazepines, or the calming effect that stimulants can create in ADHD/ADD patients.

[Pride before Fall]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Here's the full article, Reggie:

The effects of the GABA agonist, baclofen, on sleep and breathing — ERJ

[susanna]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Here's a summary of people's tips so far:

Isolde:
melatonin and valerian about an hour before bed

Hoping for better:
trazadone - an old antidepressant that's often used as a sleeping aid. Not addictive like ambien or some others; I've also used Benadryl, which works great

Greg and Topsy-Turvy-Tracy:
the insomnia could be due to the short half-life of baclofen (3 hours or so from memory) which would cause it to wear off quite rapidly during the night. In this case taking another dose during the night could solve the problem.

Greg:
not taking baclofen shortly before bed, but my cravings have always been worst during the evenings so this wasn't an easy option for me. I have taken GABA-A agonists (benzodiazepines) and not experienced any insomnia from them, but they are not reported to be very helpful for long-term alcohol avoidance and can be addictive for some people.

Ignomious:
I tend to be sleeping in 2 hour sessions. When I wake I tend to be a bit disorientated, to try to get back to sleep then is doomed to failure. If I get up, have a glass of water and the go back to bed I can sometimes slip back into the cocoon. If I stay awake for 5-10 minutes then I've lost the plot as far as sleeping is concerned and I'm awake for a couple of hours. The trip downstairs to get water allows me to get straight enough to relax and fall back to sleep.

Sunnyvalenting
I try to take the bac 20 mg about an hour before I want to go to sleep. If I don't get sleepy then I will generally take melatonin or benadryl which help me.

[Otter]

Tips for Insomnia due to baclofen?

Melatonin for sleep

You don't sleep as a result of alcoholism because your body is not producing melatonin properly. You need to supplement this by buying on-line from Biovea or Bio-Recoveryor another reputable supplier. Also, you don't get enough serotonin. You can get L-Tryptophan to give you increased seratonin on-line as well.

They are both natural and are recommended by HRC in Minnesota which specializes in alcohol recovery.

You get a very good night's sleep and these supplements are natural aids so you don't have to worry about them interacting with Baclofen.