My Baclofen Blog/Journal

[BacloTim]

Hey guys,:new:
I have never posted and my girlfriend found the info on Baclofen through this forum.
I am setting up a journal at Baclofen 4 Addiction

I am slightly different in that I have been an addict to all substances (heroin,crack,alcohol,GHB,methampetamine,benzos) But am only an alcoholic at this time. I have tried many treatments including methadone maintainence , etc, antipsychotics, anti-depressants, etc. I am a chronic addict who suffers from extreme panic attacks and anxiety since a teenager and nothing works that doesn't end up having a big tolerance issue and stops working.

I believe that Baclofen could be used for more than just alcoholism and that alcoholics are drug addicts just as the rest of us. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it is not a psychoactive drug which relieves these feelings of anxiety. I know stimulants such as crack/meth sound like the opposite but the euphoria does act as an anti anxiety agent in some way. sounds crazy but I think it did the same effect since you don't care about anything which was bothering your state of mind.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone but it is what I believe and I have also been what is called a alcoholic for a very long time. I would have made a diary thread here but I am a web developer and just like the way that blogspot or my own site works better to catalog and sort my progress(tags,date sorting,etc. Maybe forums can do it also but I don't use them much). Maybe some one will also benefit if this works out. It it works for me it could work for anyone! That is my moto and I plan to experiment under dr's orders.

I guess this could sort of be my diary thread on MWO as well, i'll check it often.

-Tim

[bleep]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Hi Tim, and welcome.

I agree with you completely about the drug addict view of alcoholism. Of course alcohol is a drug and we are addicts.

It sounds like you are fairly knowledgeable about baclofen already, which is a good place to start from. There is a lot of information here, but finding it can be daunting. A lot of it is summarised here : Home - Baclofen UK

What sort of a titration schedule have you decided on?

Best of luck.

[BacloTim]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

I'm following Dr. L's advice and taking it slow while drinking small amounts. It doesn't seem that 5mg a day resolves shakes/seizures just yet, I get them very bad + hallucinations.
I hope it will eventually resolve this.

Here is the schedule he had me write down:
5mg per day for 3 days then 2 days I goto 5mg twice a day and then
week2 is 10mg 3 times a day per day
week3 is 20mg,10mg,20mg per day
week4 is 25mg,20mg,25mg per day

I feel that I could handle more and a quicker increase but I will do it as he says since I think he knows alot. I'm a smart ass when it comes to meds and always diddle with what I am prescribed. This time I will do it as he says since I respect him.

Thanks for the good words!
-Tim

[Ne/Neva Eva]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Hiya, BacloTim and :welcome:

Sounds like a good plan you've got going on. Picking and sticking with a schedule for taking the doses is a really good start.

I look forward to hearing more!

Ne

[Murphyx]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Hi Tim

I'll be following your blog Baclofen 4 Addiction avidly.

Thanks.

Murph

[Greg]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Hi Tim

Yes alcohol is a drug as much as any other psychoactive substance, in my opinion too. Some alcoholics would not like that idea but I don't see how it's not a drug just because it's legal and is in the form of a beverage rather than a pill or powder.

I've experimented a bit with drugs too but ended up running into the tolerance problem. I have thought of rotating different drug classes to cut tolerance but swapping between different ones seems to lead to problems too.

Good luck with baclofen, it's virtually the only thing I'm aware of that can work long-term for alcoholism/addiction with a fairly high success rate. I once wrote a controversial post on this forum about all manner of other drugs that could act as direct substitutes for alcohol, but I think tolerance would eventually render nearly all of them ineffective, or else a person might have to take endlessly increasing doses!

I am finding it helpful in reducing cravings to take other drugs besides alcohol too, which had become a problem for me when I was trying the alcohol substitute idea.

[ignominious]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Hi BacloTim

In the whole you are preaching to the converted here, but hope you stay around as you will find a lot of support here.

I've also suffered from other addictions. Finally ending up as an alcoholic with an uninterrupted supply of my drug for the last 30 years, beats getting sent to jail for getting high, 'though I've been there for D&D!

Bac has worked miracles for me, hope it does the same for you.

[RudyB]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

hey tim!

i've just read your first post and bravo! welcome! i am very sure that your thread could help many people, so thank you for posting and weee haw! welcome to mwo! we're great people here. and i'm sure you'll find this a very rewarding way to chart your experience. please do try it out. we'd be thrilled to have you.

you'll surely not offend anyone with your input. (unless you start getting nasty and mean. we don't like that here, and fortunately its occurrence isn't frequent. but i sense from your opening that you're a gracious individual who wouldn't take that kind of turn, anyway.)

you have a unique experience, and in my travels through the threads i haven't seen much about more broad drug addiction (though i've only been around for a couple few months), so it would be an important dimention to add to in this conversation.

post away, please!

[bleep]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Just from an informative point of view, the action of baclofen was first discovered in a crack addict called Edward Coleman, who was on it for reasons of paraplegia. Suddenly he discovered he didn't want his crack pipe anymore, much to his surprise.

So it works on addiction, not alcoholism specifically, which as you pointed out in your opening post, is just another type of addiction.

[Murphyx]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

I agree that bac works on all addictions; OA noticed it stopped his compulsive shopping. I think it also works on tobacco addiction, but the smoking habit is HUGE and habits are so much a part of the whole addictive behaviour thing.

[tiptronic_ct]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

:welcome: Tim and good luck, but it sounds as if your plan is a good one.

I dunno about baclofen assisting with all addictions (especially nicotine), unless we have to take doses so high that it renders us unable to function.

[BacloTim]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Woo! lots of input

Thanks for all of the input on this guys. I didn't expect many replies but woke up with many :thanks:

I'm glad there are people here just like me, I figured I would be a freak:shockedmonkey: in this type of forum.
Someone (I think Greg) mentioned the tolerance issue. I have major tolerance build up issues on all sorts of drugs and think there is something wrong with my brain in that sense. I can't go a month of most medications with out going to crazy insane dosing levels due to tolerance. It is what has caused me to fail on benzos or GHB(MAJOR tolerance issues with that one) instead of alcohol , etc.

I really hope Baclofen doesn't have this type of issue since I know it will affect me if it has any tolerance issues

Oh! I posted this on my blog but i'll repeat. I ended up taking my second 5mg 1 day early(tsk tsk!) I was drinking my evening pints and doing it too fast/enjoying it so I decided to pop 1/4 of a 20mg Baclofen. In under 1 hour I started to feel like the alcohol was working too well but in a bad way, sort of dysphoric/nauseous instead of the usual euphoria. Anyway I poured out my last pint since I didn't want to finish it.I wish I hadn't now because I have to make a beer run soon! I'm also broke

This is like very unheard of with me. I don't throw booze out, at the worst I would save it in the fridge and drink it flat later. It could be because I'm not buying any beer I actually like or it could be the Baclofen I am not sure yet. I have never heard of it doing anything at such a low dose.

Thanks guys!
-Tim

[bleep]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Baclofen is a powerful drug, and can have effects from very low doses. It's also quite a strange drug - I wouldn't assume you would have a tolerance to it because of high tolerances of other drugs. Anything could happen. Witness you pouring your last pint down the sink...

You are on a very cautious titration, so there's nothing wrong with taking your dose a little early, imho!

[BacloTim]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

Yeah it does seem pretty poweful. I swear that I felt a sort of relaxation on my very first pill but nothing else so far. I was thinking this is all placebo but it seems that it isn't.

I am wondering something. Can you use baclofen to stop alcohol withdrawal? I am short on cash right now but don't feel like having seizures or hallucinating today. I really don't feel like going to the hospital for a detox either. I'll most likely get some cash some how today(don't get paid until Friday) but I was just reading that Baclofen can be used for alcohol withdrawal as well, not sure if they mean for out right withdrawal or craving.

I see in wikipedia it says can be used for uncomplicated withdrawal. It doesn't really explain what that is though

[bleep]

My Baclofen Blog/Journal

I believe it helps, but I'm not sure to what degree. Someone more knowledgeable than me would have to chime in.

Just read your blog. Good stuff. If you can keep documenting it like that all the way through it will be a great resource.