Does Baclofen‏ work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

[RevoltingRich]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

struggling

Been Really struggling this week on 90ml. Bad dry eyes, tired all the time, keep waking up through the night but nodding during the day.
sometimes feel a bit quesy too.
Should be titrating up, but I'm scared to until I get used to these side effects! Embarassing me at work. Tried to talk with a colleague yesterday but my mind kept going blank and made me sound like a total idiot. He asked me if I was 'on something', luckily he is an old friend so I explained about the Baclofen to him, but I dont think he was convinced.
Noticed that some people seem to say that they get worse Side Effects and some levels than others. Maybe I should just titrate up to the next level? Could do with some advice here. Any idea how long I will have to put up with these side effects for before my body becomes used to them and they disappear

[bleep]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

I'd just go up. They may or may not disappear, but you'll need to go up anyway, and it might help. It might sound obvious, bu stay in bed when you wake up! You're much more likely to nod off, and a bit of extra sleep during the night will help a lot with the nodding off in the day.

[RevoltingRich]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Had another bad day yesterday, nodding badly, still on 90ml, may be to do with my weekend using of crack and smack combined with the baclofen.
I'm worried about going up because I might run out before the end of the month even though my doc said I could take 100ml a day he only prescribed me 2000ml for the month (200 x 10ml tablets). I guess I need to go and see him and get him to re-prescribe me at least 100ml per day (think thats the max I can get here in the UK).

Had a fantastic day today though, but I think that may be because I snorted a line of subutex (buprenorphine) this morning. Got loads of work done.

[bleep]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

How long have you been on 90 now Rich? You should start adjusting to it soon, I would think, although some people have taken a while. Definitely have a word with your doc, as you'll more than likely need to go higher.

[RevoltingRich]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Hi All!
Sorry havent posted for a while. Had a bit of a blip on the ol'relapse front, but back on form again now. I realised that the really bad S.E's were partly caused by mixing opiates with baclofen and also cos i wasnt used to it. Now I'm not really experiencing any bad S.E's.
Plus I no longer take my evening dose, as I cant go out at night anyway (due to the electronic tag I'm on) I only really need to take it during the day, so I dont really get any of the sleep related S.E's now as my last dose is usually after lunch (or sometimes dinner) rather than just before bed (which is a pretty pointless time of day to take it, thinking about it!). I was taking 120, in 3x40ml doses but am now taking 2x50ml doses and about to go up to 2x60ml.

Generally doing ok, although I am also taken subutex (buprenorphine) with it (which is a semi-synthetic opiate & a blocker), between the two of them I feel great!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Hiya, Rich!
Glad to hear you're back on track, my friend! It sound like you have a good combination, though I know nothing about that.
In general the conventional wisdom is that it doesn't work to curb cravings, in the moment, the way I presume subutex does. It's the overall daily amount that makes the difference.
That said, if what you're doing works for you and the SEs have abated, you're on the right track!

KOKO (keep on keeping on!)
Ne

[bleep]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Hey Rich, glad you're back. If SE's become an issue again, try and split your dose further, so you aren't taking large amounts. I've found that to be very helpful. The trick is consistency on a daily basis, so that you get a regular amount in your bloodstream...

[RevoltingRich]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Doing ok still guys. On 140ml now and not really experiencing any major cravings, although I am also on a script of Subutex, but I only take 2ml of the 12ml I am prescribed each day.
Thanks for all your help. A friend of mine may show up at some point on here, so I hope you all make him as welcome as you have me.
Will drop in and try to help any other addicts on here from time to time. Get them to pm me if they are opiate or crack addicts and I will try to help them.
I hope to stop the subutex and then I will truly feel that I am 100% clean and I will then endevour to be of help to others like you have been to me
Thanks again.
Rich

[RevoltingRich]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Its funny, but I still sometimes think of using, even though I dont really crave it. Mostly when I'm bored or got stuff going on that I dont want to think about or deal with (like my debts etc). Bizarre eh?

[bleep]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Fucking fantastic to hear Rich!

And even I think about heroin when I'm dealing with my debts, so nothing odd there, I don't think.

[RevoltingRich]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Has anyone had a really bad reaction to Baclofen before? This is what happened to me:
I drunk 2 glasses of wine and then had about 4 or 5 shots of whiskey and a small bit of heroin. I puked up alot and then thought not much of it and went to bed. I woke up 4 hours later with my spinning and had to vomit loads and was sick all day. I still feel pretty rough now and that was Wednesday night!
I even went to the doctors about it and he told me that as Baclofen has side effects of dizziness and drowsiness that it shouldnt be mixed with alcohol or other downers. I had mixed it with heroin before and had felt a bit sick but nothing like this. Must have been the booze or the combo...

I havent had a drink or a drug for a few weeks now, so this may very well be part of the reason for the bad reaction. I'm on 140ml of Baclofen per day too..

[patti20222]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Rich hope this helps

Baclofen, known as Lioresal?, is a GABAB receptor agonist (GABA is the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain) that is used to alleviate the signs and symptoms of muscle spasticity from Multiple Sclerosis. It is thought to inhibit transmission of reflexes at the spinal cord level. Off-label uses of Baclofen include treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, tardive dyskinesia and intractable hiccups.

In alcohol and opiate withdrawal, one can see a heightened level of vital signs and a highly excitable state. With agonist properties similar to an inhibitory neurotransmitter, it is hoped that this medication will reverse some of the signs and symptoms of withdrawal in the alcohol and opiate dependent patient.

Initial alcohol research has found that Baclofen can reduce voluntary intake of alcohol by rats, decrease alcohol craving and alcohol withdrawal syndrome intensity in alcohol dependent patients ( Am J of Med 2002 - a small study using 10 mg as an initial dose and 10 mg every 8 hours for 30 days in 5 patients). Work presented in the Alc Clin Exp Res issue (2000) supported Baclofen as reducing alcohol intake due to its anti - craving properties.

In opiate research, Baclofen was tested in comparison to Clonidine for treatment of opiate withdrawal. Presented in the J Clin Pharm Ther (2001), 62 opiate dependent patients were treated with either Baclofen or Clonidine for a 14-day, double blind trial. Maximum doses of Baclofen were 40mg per day and 0.8 mg of Clonidine per day (This appears to be a fairly low dose for opiate withdrawal treatment). The findings showed no significant difference between the two groups as to retention in treatment or side - effects, though the Clonidine group had more problems with hypotension.

There is also research using Baclofen for cocaine dependence, looking at the GABA modulation of cocaine self-administration and Baclofen's ability to reduce this. As published in the Dec. 15 edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the randomized, double-blind study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of a project to screen medications with potential for treating cocaine dependence, found that Baclofen used in conjunction with substance abuse counseling significantly reduced cocaine use in recovering addicts compared to placebo coupled with counseling. UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, Dec. 15, 2003

Baclofen is available in tablets with the initial dose of 5 mg three times a day to a maximum of 80 mg per day for treatment of muscle spasticity. Hallucinations and seizures have occurred on abrupt withdrawal of Baclofen. Side - effects have included: somnolence, dizziness, paresthesia, nausea, vomiting, headache and constipation. There is a report of a Baclofen overdose (300 mg with alcohol) which led to severe respiratory depression requiring airway and respiratory support.

REFERENCES

Baclofen versus Clonidine in the treatment of opiates withdrawal, side-effects aspect: a double blind randomized controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther 2001 Feb;26(1):67-71
Ability of baclofen in reducing alcohol craving and intake: II--Preliminary clinical evidence. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2000 Jan;24(1):67-71
Ability of baclofen in reducing alcohol intake and withdrawal severity: I--Preclinical evidence. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2000 Jan;24(1):58-66
GABA modulation of cocaine self-administration. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2000;909:145-58
Baclofen and ethanol ingestion: a case report. J Emerg Med 1999 Nov-Dec;17(6):989-93

[buddabelly]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Hope this helps

Hi Rich,

Here's a link to a video on You Tube about the effect Baclofen has on the opiate receptors in the brain. I hope this reassures you that it will work

http://youtu.be/byain0Vo5mo[/video]]

Lea

[bleep]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Rich is off heroin, and baclofen as well. He said baclofen helped, but the SE's were too much.

In the end he used ayahuasca, which he said worked brilliantly.

[buddabelly]

Does Baclofen work on Heroin and Crack addiction - in particular CRAVINGS

Thanks Bleep, that will teach me to pay more attention.

Lea