Baclofen and Anxiety

[truvision]

Baclofen and Anxiety

So true, benzos actually gave me a new type of anxiety , kind of like a fear of being so diconnected in my body and mind that I was sure I was going to be found out. Euphoric yea, but still scary in an odd sort of way and then no lie, I would have rebound anxiety from two xanax for five days afterwards.

[Diver]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Before starting baclofen, I would need to take xanax whenever I went AF to help with anxiety. I also used xanax and ambien to help me sleep at night whether I was AF or not, I always had a tough time staying asleep all night. When I first began the bac I was able to eliminate both the xanax and the ambien.

I am now up to 310 mgs. of bac a day and have been hit with some nasty insomina, so now I have started to use one or the other to help me get a good nights rest. I don't really need either for anxiety per se but find that I can't sleep without taking one of the other meds. I am still titrating up and hope that once I hit the switch and am able to get to a maintenece dose that I will be able to discontinue the other drugs.

I just thought that I would add my experince to this thread for what it is worth.

[truvision]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Hey Diver,if you get back on here I have a couple questions for you. What if any effect has 310 mg had on any of your anxiety as opposed to much lower doses? I was just curious as I am only on a mere 30 and have heard that lower doses are actually more effective for anxiety as opposed to higher ones. 310 mg must be a pain getting down everyday;I wish they would come up with a time released version of bac.

This might be a bit off topic but have you had any other side effects like weight gain and how did you find a source for your baclofen in such high doses?It works so well for me that I dont think I need anything much higher but I am worried that I may have a problem even getting my script raised to 40mg.I am new to this board so I apologize if I am asking a bunch if questions that are easily found other places. Im going to do a little more research now on this in the other forums as well.

[bleep]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Perhaps try going higher? I had to go a fair bit past that to get any reduction in drinking, although later levelled off at 240 successfully.

Sorry to hear you aren't getting much joy. Worth sticking at it though. When and if it works, it's incredible.

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Bacfolen and Anxiety

Just a quick note, only this morning did I start reading this thread -and only this morning did I realize (after reading one certain post), that I have not had the intense circling negative thoughts in the AM that I was so use to -pre bacfolen. I am only 14 days into my bacfolen regime (120 mg -starting today). I remain amazed and grateful.

[edifice98]

Baclofen and Anxiety

My journey has gone full circle. I will try to keep this brief but it may not turn out that way

In 2010 I was searching for my own way out because my drinking was out of control. On average I was drinking around 6 to 8 very big glasses of wine. Going to work with a hangover almost every day. When I found this forum I found hope in baclofen and I decided to try it out. So I ordered Dr A's book and read it cover to cover. His story struck home with me so I ordered some and then tried to get myself up to a "switch" dose. Unfortunately I tried to titrate up way to quickly and I made myself sick from it. Having failed again to quit drinking I decided to go to outpatient rehab. Going to rehab I successfully quit drinking for at least 6 weeks. It might have actually been closer to 2 months but the time frame is a bit fuzzy. The problem was that my anxiety was still killing me. I have always had what I called social anxiety and I was recently diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I realized a few years ago that I was self medicating with alcohol to make myself "better" for short periods of and I started drinking again to get relief.

Fast forward to 2012 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My drinking was back up to a very unhealthy level. I was miserable and had been living in Washington state for about 4 years. My depression and anxiety was very bad. I had a new friend named clonazepam to help me with anxiety but as alot of us know it stops working after awhile unless you increase the dose. I was fed up being a drug (clonazepam) and alcohol addict and completely miserable so I made a drastic change in my life. I decided I needed to quit my job and get out of rainy Washington and move home to San Diego after being gone for 20 years.

Fast forward again to 2013 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Moving to San Diego was the right choice. My Alcohol consumption is 3 to 4 drinks a couple times a week on average. Much improved. Drinking less has also reduced my anxiety but it's still there. It's something that never leaves me. It's irrational, it's persistent, it's agonizing at times. I don't want to talk to people, look for a job, or do many of the things "normal" people do. I have tried group therapy but the other people annoyed me so much that it elevated my anxiety so I stopped going. The DR at the VA has the best intentions to help me but I don't believe she knows what to do except prescribe benzo's and anti-depressants. It took me two visits to convince her not to try and sell me on benzo's anymore. She tried for awhile to put me on effexor but I declined after reading how bad the discontinuation symptoms are. Finally she convinced me to try Mirtzazapine (Remeron). I have to say I found Remeron quit amazing for awhile because I knocks you out cold. Best sleep ever! In fact I am still on Remeron and it seems to help with my depression but that damn anxiety was still there! So on my quest to stay off of effexor I decided to look into herbal remedies for anxiety. I have used Kava Kava in the past to combat anxiety but I found that I needed such high doses that it is not practical to use as a day to day cure. During my research on kava and other herbs I happened to stumble across a supplement called Phenibut on Amazon that I had never heard of before. Once I researched that I realized it acted on the GABAb receptor and was very similar to Baclofen.

Soooooooo... I realized that I still had my Baclofen from my first experiment and I tried taking 10mg that night and then 3 x 5mg the next day. Now it could be a placebo effect but I doubt it. I feel amazing. It's as if all my anxiety has been washed away. I have to say that I am also taking Kava at the moment because I was desperate for some relief the other day but I am familiar with how Kava feels and this is not Kava.

Somehow I forgot about DR A's link with anxiety when I read the book. I was in a bit of an Alcohol fog when I read it. Here I am again on My Way Out having come full circle.

I believe I have found my anxiety cure. This could be the miracle I have been looking for. It only took me 30 years to find it.

Only time will tell. I am so glad that I came back to this forum to read all of the other amazing stories of how Baclofen has helped with their anxiety. It is my belief that I will be able to come back here in a few months to confirm my experiences. This community has given me the courage to think outside the box not not once but twice and it is something I can never truly repay. I hope my story will encourage others to keep trying until they find the cure that works for them.


Brian

[bleep]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Hi Brian,

Great that you have found something that works. The trick is to titrate gently up, and don't go mad like you did the first time! Add 20 mg's a week, or thereabouts, and see how you get on. Read around here, there is lots of advice that will be pertinent to your situation.

Good luck.

[TexasAg]

Baclofen and Anxiety

:welcome: Bac!

Best wishes on your journey. Bac and MWO has been a Godsend for me.

Keep posting and keep updating, the good and the bad. It helps everyone.

Cheers!

[edifice98]

Baclofen and Anxiety

bleep;1495404 wrote: Hi Brian,

Great that you have found something that works. The trick is to titrate gently up, and don't go mad like you did the first time! Add 20 mg's a week, or thereabouts, and see how you get on. Read around here, there is lots of advice that will be pertinent to your situation.

Good luck.

Well said. Going mad is exactly what I did the first time. I was so desperate at the time.

[JoanC]

Baclofen and Anxiety

another anxious drinker

Hi all, I hope it is okay to put my personal post here, because alcohol dependence (AD) and anxiety are flip sides of a coin for me.

I am 49, a mother of one, have a kind and supportive husband, and I have been AD for ~15 yrs. I have always been anxious (?those older psychological theories that equate personality and physiology make a lot of sense to me?.) and childhood events exacerbated these tendencies. Sadly, never treated for it, my mother had a serious problem in regulating her emotions and instead regulated the lives of her kids. I was very close to my father and am probably less affected than I might be by her mental illness (my youngest sister had a breakdown some years ago, and was diagnosed with atypical depression stemming from childhood trauma).

The present is so much more important to me than the past, so speeding forward; I moved to the US in the 1980s and fell in love with my adopted county (I know it is too big to actually adopt but I loved the ease and unpretentiousness of American society and the diversity of its culture). Drinking at that time was about food and music with a little pot thrown in; it was always sociable and enjoyable. In my late twenties I began to drink more, always still in company but now usually getting quite drunk.

Later, due to life stresses (saying goodbye to the US, a new job with crap management?), anxiety took serious hold. I had my first panic attack, and work issues began to dominate my life. Consumed with anxiety, disagreements and petty issues that are the mainstay of most jobs would have me, literally, up all night ruminating. I started to drink at home. Since then my relationship with alcohol is one of control ? three days a week I have to deal with a lot of people at work so try very hard not to drink the night before ? the rest of the time I drink wine, about 1.5 bottles which is enough to sedate me. Alcohol is my medication for anxiety, and paradoxically, while it calms me down, I am more anxious than ever when sober

Excuse my rambling on: my schedule is 15mg of baclofen three times a day to start, to gradually increase to 30mg three times a day
This is Day 3, and my experience so far is?

SEs ? I feel like I am stoned (but without the fun part) and am wondering will this go away (as it would not seem to be compatible with using your brain long term)?
A slight, very occasional twitchy feeling near my left eye, a bit of a headache but fairly minor

Alcohol - Went to the supermarket the last two days at 5.30pm (that?s my starting time) and trawled the aisle ? Chile, California, Spain, Italy, Cava in the chilled cabinet ? absolutely no effect on me. Bought a bar of chocolate

Anxiety ? Not a bother; stuff that has me paralysed for hours on end is not entering my consciousness, staring to notice the trees coming into bloom

Will the sedation go away? I can't imagine upping at this point as I am zonked - Thanks - JC

[Colin]

Baclofen and Anxiety

You probably started baclofen at too high a dose. Most suggest 3 x 5mg per day to begin with and not 3 x 15 mg per day; after that increase by 10 mg every four/five days but slow down whenever you get hit by the somnolence. Nearly everyone eventually suffers from somnolence but a slow increase often helps.

[JoanC]

Baclofen and Anxiety

thanks Colin - I really am very tired and made an error in reporting my schedule above!

I have 10mg tabs and am doing 1/2 tab 3 times a day so that is 15mg a day with advice to gradually increase to 1 tab 3 times a day for 30mg a day. Maybe I am just easily affected but good to here that the drowsiness will pass

[TexasAg]

Baclofen and Anxiety

JC,

I would get the drowsiness effect everytime I titrated up. So I would titrate up once a week on Saturdays and usually by Sunday night I was fine to go through my week.

You might want to start you're own thread so we can follow and update us on titration, SE's (if any) etc.

Cheers!

[buddabelly]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Hi Joan and good afternoon Colin.

Joan I am on day three as well. Keep up the good work.

As I mentioned the other day to you, I'm taking the Bac. But as my Doc wont likely agree to prescribe it I'm just taking it as it comes. I'm not in a hurry. As long as I don't drink and handle my anxiety I don't care.
Unlike you, I'm so wired with anxiety, I think it would take a sledge hammer to calm me down.

I stopped drinking Mon. I hate it !. For me anxiety is the worst part of the withdrawal.

I can't remember whether I told you or not that I was 7 mth sober when I started to go on the slide mentally. I relate totally, totally to your childhood. Only my father was distant too. My mother , like yours
was unbearably fearful all the time, still is.

I grew up in constant fear of everything, and I do mean everything. I could not sleep because I was afraid. The dark, small spaces I could go on ad nauseum. Of course as a child I had no idea what was happening. I didn't like how I felt, but I didn't know what it was. My first panic attack was at about 4 years of age. I thought I would die. Only I didn't know what die was, all remember is not being able to breath and being very frightened.

Then I met my mother ! The rest as they say is history. Her and my father had left me 2yrs old and my sis 6mths with and aunt while they went to find work. She did not explain just went.
I obviously have some attachment and abandonment issues issues.

I was a bit HIGHLY STRUNG. Mommie Dearest was even more HIGHLY STRUNG. Because I was so so disturbed at the age of 5 or 6 yrs I think, I was marched off to the Psychiatrist. He told my Mum if he could see HER then he might be able to help me. She saw him once. Obviously something wrong with him too.

I've spent my life trying to sort my head out, all my life. I'm 58 yrs old. I swore to God, when I educated myself about the effects of my upbringing, I would always make sure my children felt safe and loved and be entitled to an opinion. I didn't know I had one till I left home, but I didn't Know what it was, I'd have to ask my Mother ha ha.

She 84 now, bless her heart, and is as bad as ever and as controlling as ever. If she does have any insight into the effects of her behaviour on her two daughters, she doesn't let on. She thinks it's funny that she would give me a good slap if I fell over.

I had a recent full blown panic attack at the doctors. When I came home and told her she accused me of frightening her. There's no point in arguing with her, she goes all hurt, head in haItnds ' oh I wish I was dead ' or totally ignores me when I speak to her. It still hurts to the core, but I will never ever get what I need or needed from her. But I'm still carrying that fear. Killing myself with alcohol because I hate myself and feel totally worthless.

I had awful anxiety this morning so I took an extra 5mg of Bac. I had no sleep last night and I'm still up but my fear is at bay for now. While I'm awake I watch You Tube. I was watching a talk by a wonderful Dr called Garbo Mate, I think you'd like him. Have a look and see what you think.

I see my Doc Sat morning, she can up my Propananole. I will decide then, if I can, whether or not to see Dr Chick. I haven't got a lot of money but wonder whether I owe it to myself to see him.

Lea

Forgot to mention that I was 8 years sober and the sanest I had ever been in my life when my husband of 32 yrs left, 2 weeks after my Father died. That hurt a bit.

[JoanC]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Hi Texas, will do, if I wake up, titrate up or get new SEs, I will start a new thread

Thanks Lea for your encouragement. Sending you an electronic hug :l and I will make some time later this evening to reply to you on your thread