Baclofen and Anxiety

[buddabelly]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Thanks Joan and Tex x

[edifice98]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Anxiety

I first posted in this thread on 04-22-2013. At the time I was uncertain that my experience with baclofen and anxiety reduction would last. Fast forward to 2+ months later and I believe "my cure" is still working. For the first time in 20+ years I feel like a normal human. No longer do I fret about the little shit that used to consume my life. It is really hard to explain how bad I was but perhaps others in this forum understand. Simple things in life were overwhelming for me. The little shit was big shit. Now the little things in life that are the little things they should be.

My baclofen dose is very inconsistent. I generally take at least 10 at night. For awhile I was taking 3 x 5 mg a day but found that I didn't really need to do that. So at the moment I am taking anywhere from 10 to 30 mg a night depending on how I felt that day.

So far so good. I pooped out early with typing. So I must say goodbye for now.

Thank you and goodnight!!

Brian

[bleep]

Baclofen and Anxiety

It is great to get results at such a low dose. I would really recommend that you try and remain consistent, and you will probably get even better results.

It is really important that after being on baclofen for any length of time that you do not just abruptly stop. This applies to even really low doses.

[skullbabyland]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Agreed with Bleep. From all that I've read, it's really important to stay as consistent as possible in taking the pills, and if you're going to titrate up or down, that you do it very gradually.

I've found that an am/pm pill box that I keep next to my computer helps keep me on track. I also keep 2 doses worth on a pill canister on my keychain. Just the other day I sat down at a movie theater with my gf and realized I'd forgotten my afternoon dose. Ran and got a water, downed an equivalent dose from my keychain cannister, and then got back to watching Superman battle General Zod.

[edifice98]

Baclofen and Anxiety

So far so good. Love Baclofen for anxiety reduction. Unfortunately Dr's are not so helpful in this regard. I have been using the VA for my healthcare recently because I don't have insurance. I have tried their anxiety clinic and docs with little success. All they want to do for me is mess with my brain chemicals and make me worse.

They recently put me on gabapentin because they said that they cannot prescribe baclofen off label. Come to find out anxiety is an off label use for gabapentin as well! So much for their argument. Gabapentin don't do squat for me except give me twitches, make me stupid, and kill my libido. Terrible drug for me.

So here I am again. I have to order from an online pharmacy. I have sworn off the VA's psych interns for good who seem to want to experiment rather than help. Luckily I have a new job that starts in two weeks!!! Yeay real insurance again!!

Good luck to all. As always, reading others experiences has given me hope when I am down and encouragement when I am unmotivated. I really could not have made it this far without the rest of you guys.

Brian

[skullbabyland]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Ed, great to hear that bac is helping you out, though bummer to hear about the hassles at the VA. Unfortunately I've heard stories about the VA health care being less than stellar in some regards, and it sounds like you know it firsthand.
But, great to hear that you've got a new upcoming job/benefits! You may want to consult Cassander's doctor thread to see if there's a known doc in your area who may script you bac- that way maybe your insurance may help with the bill. Even if no luck, you could always do a phone consult with Dr. Levin in Chicago as so many here have done.
Whatever you decide, best of luck!

[RedThread12]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Is it illegal to mention liquid baclofen as an option? I'm not up on the PC protocol, so if this should be deleted, someone, please do. If you're interested in that option, find one of Lo0p's posts and do some clicking. I ordered from AllDayChemist - Prescription drugs, Generic medicines, online indian Pharmacy for a long time. Then got a local doc to write 80mg/day. Then got a big heap in' boatload of bac from Dr. L. All in all, Liquid bac comes out on top for me. And I'm mentioning this only as a possibility, among other good ones.

[Cassander]

Baclofen and Anxiety

bump for calk and alky

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Great thread.

[Jazi's Mum]

Baclofen and Anxiety

OTC GABA versus HDB??

I'm waiting for my first batch of bac to arrive so I'm doing lots of reading. Meantime can anyone answer these questions? I am not asking for medical advice but many of you seem to know a lot about the research on bac and may be able to tell me about the differences.

Background: I'm now taking 500mg of 'over the counter' GABA with vit B6 three times a day and it does help some with anxiety - I can feel a "mood lift" if you know what I mean. However it doesn't help with cravings.

In what way will Bac be different from OTC GABA? Is it just stronger? Or is it chemically different? Should I stop taking the GABA?

I'm also taking topamax which is NOT working and has terrible side effects. I plan to withdraw slowly from it before my bac gets here....thanks very much for any advice re the GABA. :thanks:

[neophyte]

Baclofen and Anxiety

firstly i'm not a doctor

gaba does not cross the brain barrier, so in theory it shouldn't do anything at all for your anxiety. As for b6, i haven't heard of that being good for anxiety but it would be safe to consume both but no point in taking the gaba.

[Cassander]

Baclofen and Anxiety

StuckinLA;1621010 wrote: Doesn't have anything to do with the baclofen patent, but just came across this article on anxiety. Interesting stuff, if this kind of stuff interests you.

Scientists find new anxiety circuit in the brain | Futurity

Thanks, Stuck. Nice find.

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Cassander;1621017 wrote: Thanks, Stuck. Nice find.

Stuck -I second Cass's "Nice Find" quote. (I am going to post this on my medications thread as a resource -if you prefer me not to do so, just let me know and I will remove)

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Great Thread

Cass -I am so glad to see this thread -again. I don't think that I ever read many of the posts until today (and not even that many today)

Anxiety-alcohol: This topic brings out the crux of my life-so called problems. You see, anxiety has always been at the root of my sense of "not well being". Before alcohol, I just lived with this sense of impeding doom regarding most any life situation. However, once I added some calming effect via Firewater, my anxiety problems seemed to all but disappear.

For me, I have come to the conclusion that anxiety has/did control my life -my entire way of being and responding. With my level of anxiety, I am set up just perfectly to be an alcoholic or addict. Anything will do if it will take away the fear behind the anxiety.

Baclofen has been the only substance that I have ever taken -outside of alcohol, that has damn near eliminated the anxiety thought process without disrupting my cognitive processes (or at least I think I can think more reasonably). I would almost venture to guess that most all addictions are somehow related to anxiety-fear?

[NoWayOut]

Baclofen and Anxiety

Apologies if this has been aswered already.

I was wondering if anyone knows of an alternative to baclofen?

Baclofen is phenomenal for suppressing my anxiety, but it gives me severe constipation.. :blush:

Anyone know of an alternative I can try?