scared to start

[TracyA]

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Bill Gorton;1070318 wrote: Actually, if you read thread, you'll see that c0ffee/Paul says he did die while withdrawing from baclofen and alcohol in a hospital. Twice.

GS, please don't let the above scare you. If you follow Dr. L's instructions to the letter, what happened to Paul will not happen to you. Paul himself stated that he titrated way too fast. He has started over, following Dr. L's protocol.

[TracyA]

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bleep;1070348 wrote: Agreed - there is a huge difference between baclofen being dangerous, and baclofen withdrawal, which we all know is dangerous once you have been taking it for any length of time.

I've been thinking that I need to keep a stash in my car and maybe one other place, so if something happens to the original, there will still be some around.

[Booktree]

scared to start

I carry a little pill fob on my key chain with a supply of baclofen, just in case. And I have stored a month's worth of extra baclofen in my medicine cabinet. I also carry some in a little pill container in my pocket.

I read somewhere on here, too, that we should carry some sort of notification on our persons of our current dose of baclofen and that we are on it, in case of medical emergency/loss of consciousness, so if we ever end up in the emergency room, unconscious or unable to communicate, the doctors will know that we need to continue on with the baclofen so we don't risk going into withdrawal.

[Bill Gorton]

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c0ffee;1061530 wrote: I flatlined a few times in that coma.

I assumed that by "flatlined", he meant that he was in cardiac arrest. Maybe he was misusing the term. My point is that you could certainly die from bac WD if you're taking a very high dose for long enough and suddenly stop. Having said that, I'm on high dose bac (175 mg/day), because I think it's worth the risk. But please don't downplay the risks.

[TracyA]

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Bill Gorton;1070572 wrote: I assumed that by "flatlined", he meant that he was in cardiac arrest. Maybe he was misusing the term. My point is that you could certainly die from bac WD if you're taking a very high dose for long enough and suddenly stop. Having said that, I'm on high dose bac (175 mg/day), because I think it's worth the risk. But please don't downplay the risks.

Bill, perhaps I misread Paul's post, but I recall him posting that he was attempting alcohol detox himself, using baclofen. Now, I suppose you could assume that the medical crisis was all the fault of baclofen withdrawal. But since baclofen withdrawal is just not widely known to kill people - and alcohol withdrawal is notoriously deadly - I'm going to assume that the latter had something to do with the initial crisis.

But thanks for reminding me not to downplay the risks. I'm really bad about that. :H

[redhead77]

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Yeah, flat lined would be conducive to cardiac arrest I suppose. Thanks for calling me on that. I'm not trying to downplay the withdrawal part. That could be dangerous. I actually am trying to figure out a way to have some sort of alert if I were to get in a car accident or something. I don't know where the best place is to put it? Wallet? Medical alert bracelet? Just while I'm really titing up to hit my switch. Still trying to figure this one out.

[TracyA]

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Red, what would you put on a bracelet? Just "High-dose baclofen"? Would med professionals understand?

I found one on Amazon that comes with a wallet card too, but it's more than I want to spend.

[I-want-to-be-sober]

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It's important that relatives know that one is using (high dose) baclofen, including the potential risks, especially withdrawal syndrome. Seldom occuring severe W/D symptoms from abruptly stopping oral baclofen like delirium usually set in delayed after 24-72 hours. So the people who care about you can inform doctors. Nevertheless having a card or something in the wallet is a good idea

[Mema]

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:new: New and happy to be here. I am just trying to figure out how all this works!

[Lowcountryman]

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Mema:welcome:,

I find it hard to believe that when somebody new is actually scared to start Baclofen, scared for this, scared for that, other members start almost hijacking her/his thread by posting one horror-story of one exception in a case that was not typical for the way Bac is used by members of this forum.

Mema, Getting Serious,

Baclofen IS safe! It has been safe for many many years! It's prescribed for little children. NObody ever died taking Baclofen, not even when trying suicide with it.


That is what you should remember. And that is what all the posts below should be all about, but people got carried away.

Mema, GS,

Try to read as much as you can about this stuff. Don't let one weird case trouble your mind here. It works, you'll experience some SE's, but you if you will be able to handle them, you'll be okay.

Low

[bleep]

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Hi Mema, welcome to the forum.

Have a read around some of the threads - basically most of them concern baclofen, which we all fully believe is a cure for alcoholism. Well, most of us. Some of us are cured, some of us are on the way there. Settle in, it's a nice place to be.

Good luck.

[_serenity_]

scared to start

Lowcountryman;1070765 wrote: Mema:welcome:,

I find it hard to believe that when somebody new is actually scared to start Baclofen, scared for this, scared for that, other members start almost hijacking her/his thread by posting one horror-story of one exception in a case that was not typical for the way Bac is used by members of this forum.

Mema, Getting Serious,

Baclofen IS safe! It has been safe for many many years! It's prescribed for little children. NObody ever died taking Baclofen, not even when trying suicide with it.


That is what you should remember. And that is what all the posts below should be all about, but people got carried away.

Mema, GS,

Try to read as much as you can about this stuff. Don't let one weird case trouble your mind here. It works, you'll experience some SE's, but you if you will be able to handle them, you'll be okay.

Low

AMEN, Low. I've been noticing that for a while. People on MWO can be such alarmists when it comes to SEs. It's a safe drug that completely suppresses alcoholism. Newbies shouldn't be scared off by the horror stories. It is a miracle drug.

[I-want-to-be-sober]

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Nobody should be scared to start treatment with baclofen for alcohol dependence. Side effects are not really bad even with high doses in my opinion - at least when compared to excessive alcohol consumption.

Nevertheless acute baclofen withdrawal can be very dangerous. Therefore it's essential that people know about the W/D syndrome and how to avoid it.

[TooBrokeToCope]

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TracyA;1069675 wrote: Dixon, I don't know where you are, but in the US it is not illegal to prescribe it off-label. Getting a doc to prescribe at the high doses we discuss here would be difficult though.

It's really unlikely that anyone would die of baclofen. The only the case that I've heard of was in an MS patient who had an implant that delivered baclofen directly to the spinal cord. The pump failed and the patient, who was already very compromised physically, died in withdrawal. Withdrawal is probably the biggest risk we face, but I haven't heard of anyone who takes bac orally dying of withdrawal.

The doctors who do prescribe are taking a chance. No doubt about it. But they take a chance when they prescribe anything, and baclofen is pretty low risk. I think they are reluctant to prescribe for two reasons: 1) They know nothing about the drug being used in this way; 2) Alcoholics tend to be more unreliable patients and higher-risk patients than your average Joe.

Just my opinion.

any possibility I can get that info from you too?

[TracyA]

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TooBrokeToCope;1071024 wrote: any possibility I can get that info from you too?

I pm'd it to you.