Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

[introspecta]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

My plan is to get off baclofen with etizolam then stay on maintenance dose dose suboxone until I can find someone to hold my pills so i can get off that too. I was looking for the easy way out years ago getting on suboxone and I tried the baclofen because of the supposed no abuse potential plus easier to taper from phen. I shouldn't of been using phen in the first place i convinced myself because i was taking such a low dose that it was sober. This led me to baclofen which lead me to relapsing on coke. ITs all bad new really. The point of me posting though really was to say that there are people stuck on bac that want to get off and here people say benzos won't work which is bullshit. Then you got docs overprescribing this and that thinking they are helping but are really hurting. Like I said I'm not any better than anyone its just sad that a mind altering, physically,mentally addicitive drug is considered a cure for alcoholism. Its just downright funny. I never claimed to have all the answers. Just speaking my truth here and i'm sure plenty of people can see that the bac is not the way to good total sobriety is. But if your just gonna drink anyway I guess you are better with bac but if you really want to quit your just keeping the addicted brain going. I've had mutltiple years sobriety without drugs and had a year on suboxone and nothing else. ALl with the help of a fellowship and Loving God. I am def not connected to god when my mind is fogged up full of drugs and I can not wait to get sober again.

[introspecta]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

If the herion addict is still taking baclofen he is not free. If you forget your pills when you go on vacation you are Fked! That is not free my friend. We are all a bunch of slaves to big pharma. I am glad bac has worked for some people but the 90% thing seems like BS. Oh btw I probably wouldn't be typing this much if I wasn't on bac. I've taken 30mg today. This is sober? what?

[introspecta]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

Oh one more thing I dont know how I missed this. All the answers no solution. You must of missed it. No drugs. AA is solution. Not crazy pills for an easy way out. I'll report back when i'm more successful. Just got caught up in the whole taking a pill for a solution thing and it got me no where fast. Who's hooked on bac feeling side effects but scared to get off. Raise your hand

[Otter]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

missyabby1;1256260 wrote: Why were you taking bac in the first place if you don't have an alcohol problem? This all sounds a bit suss to me.

Missy

I drank every day for over 20 years and could not stop so I tapered off over about 2 years and had crippling anxiety which went away when I took Baclofen. I drank because it calmed my nerves but it got to the point where it didn't do anything at all and I didn't even get a buzz from drinking. I would get up in the middle of the night to have a drink. I am under such extreme stress now that I don't know if I could cope without Baclofen but I don't want to carry on with it because it makes me forgetful but I don't know if I can reduce and still function until this stress goes away. Before I started taking it I was a nervous wreck and I started at 10 mg a day and was on that for most of the time but the pressure got really bad so I had to increase to cope and just kept going up with all the stress I am under. It has been unbearable, you have no idea how bad it is.

In hindsight I wonder whether doing Zen might have been better but I don't think so. I am convinced from my own experience that this is a neurological issue and that only Baclofen is the right medication but it does have very powerful side effects. I don't have any problem with people coming off or not taking it because of side effects. If you can quit without it, that is a much better option because no one should have to rely on a life of taking medication just to be stable. For severe cases it is the best thing out there and the side effects do go away but I find that when under heavy stress the anxiety breaks through and the confusion doesn't help either. I just envy people who can use it and not have all sorts of problems in their lives which make it so hard to cope even with a good prescription.

I am getting through to people now who I have to deal with that Baclofen is a legitimate and effective treatment for alcohol and that craving is anxiety based. The drug has enormous potential to help a huge number of people and it needs to be given every chance. There is nothing else that matches its efficacy and price.

Introspecta:

You are absolutely right. Baclofen is not a cure and it can leave you having to take it for the rest of your life and relapsing if you don't get the dose right or stress levels go up.

A lot of medical conditions require life long medication to control them and for many that is better than being dead or drinking and destroying their own and their families lives. You are fortunate to be well enough to come here and partake. Others are not so able and need this treatment. People get upset here with talk of side effects because it might put off others who really need the drug and would have a better life once the side effects go away and they stop drinking.

Best wishes.

[introspecta]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

I'm not sure what your trying to get at Bill. Otter I'm glad it worked for you and i'm sure in some extreme cases it is 100% necessary and helpful but I think alot of people look for the quick fix. I honestly think suboxone would be a better treatment for alcoholism. Plus after a few weeks you stop feeling the high from the opiates and remain balanced. Dose once a day. Still addictive but can't be abused after awhile due to the ceiling effect where it won't get you any higher. Trust me i've tried to abuse it and its a waste. Still want off it though even though it technically has helped my life. You should of seen me when I was 21. Complete mess no friends, DUI's, you name it. I went down the drug path searching for the perfect cure with the least side effects. In the end the only true cure is 100 percent sobriety and walking through the anxiety. There are some non addicting, withdrawal causing drugs for extreme cases. THis Baclofen seems too wacky and you have to dose toomuch, too often and the withdrawals if you run out, lose script, foget it are too painful. It seems fairly irresponsible to prescribe this in high doses for alcoholics. Not to mention the fact that it potentiates alcohol. Gaba B agonist are the best potentiators for other drugs. But yet the doctors don't know this? They seem so book smart but yet so dumb in certain areas and we trust them with our lives. I'm not trying to scare people away from it. I'm just trying to stimulate some thought if someones searching ask yourself if your really just copping out and trying to cover the problem rather than heal it. This is more of a revelation that i've already known but am realizing more and more every time I try a new suppose cure for alcohol and drugs it always seems to backfire.

Its cool if you don't agree with me. But if you can't agree with something i've said in here then there is a problem and I hope you see the truth someday.

I don't know why i'm writing so much here. Def not myself but this is def the way I feel drugs or not.

[Otter]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

You underestimate the success people are having with Baclofen. A lot of people have gone from here who have had incredible success with it where nothing else helped. I tried to develop a theme a while ago along the lines that Baclofen is just a maintenance drug and there must be an actual cure. I agree it is not perfect to stay on a drug like Baclofen all your life. I think the cure is in diet and a vitamin regime which I posted somewhere. Once you get your body back to what it should be and reverse the effects of alcohol, then you don't need Baclofen but it gives the opportunity to do all the right things for a lot of people. Again that is the shortcoming of this type of forum. Support is great but wth something like Baclofen it is essential to understand the chemistry of it, side effects, long term effect and so on but that information gets sucked into the haystack of threads and you need to hang around here to get help from people who know where it all is. Then there are people out there who have a handle on this addiction and have gone beyond Baclofen and they get hammered because of past problems. I know people who are using Baclofen to come off Suboxone as well. It is like Naltrexone and the TSM method in alcoholism, I think. Some people here have had some success with it.

[introspecta]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

I think your right maybe I am underestimating it. I'd like to know the true numbers though. How many people just out of curiosity. Not to prove I'm right or wrong. Just want the Truth thats all. Do they have a Poll here for that?



That is another reason I got on the Baclofen. My plan was to titrate up on baclofen and wean off suboxone. It does help a little with the sub withdrawals but once I noticed I was getting euphoria from the Bac and it stimulate some reward center I knew this wasn't a good idea. I ended up relapsing on coke which I hate. Once I get triggered being High I just want more of everything. Then I tried weaning down but the anxiety in between doses sucked. I'm sure if I really tried to discipline myself it could be done but I'm an addict and alcoholic and want to feel normal or good and its tough to not take the normal dose because I would notice when I took less. I wouldn't call it tolerance but I do notice that about 3-5 hours after dose I start having anxiety. This dopamine or Glutamate rebound sucks. Thats why I don't understand how people have done good with this but I think I moved up too quick. Plus once again being an addict its easy to do. Oh well I'm getting off and can't wait.

Your right about the diet Otter. My best clean times have been when I was meditating, reading, exercising and eating clean. Raw Food is the way to Go really. Its very hard for me though because I lose so much weight. Most people wish they had that problem. But you feel great eating fruit and veggies all day. THis guy is super inspiring.liferegenerator's Channel - YouTube Been watching following for awhile. He is the best raw food educator I know and He is very spiritual. Ex alchy and drug addict also.

[Otter]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

I don't take exception to anything you say. There have been polls but it is just too difficult. After a while here you see the long term effects and see that Baclofen does what it says but the road is torture for many. Most people don't post here or stop and move on. I don't see huge numbers of posts of people who have got better and come back a year later and say it was all a big mistake so it must be working and there are thousands using it now, not just Dr. Ameisen.

Getting the dosage right is very difficult and it is not a cure. I get criticized for crazy posts about what I think underlies this but it comes back to healthy living and undoing the damage done, if possible, or having to be medicated for ever if not. Baclofen is a profound development in addictions research. It does work but that is the first step and if you go through the posts here, particularly Lo0ps, you will see how much emphasis there is on other treatments running along side Baclofen. If anyone can achieve sobriety any other way, that is the way to go but for a vast number it isn't and Baclofen is the answer.

I have decided to try weaning myself off Baclofen by taking 5 mg every so often.

[Bminor]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

introspecta;1268169 wrote: BTW i just registered here to comment on this thread because after searching endlessly I can't seem to have any success finding reports of people saying they tapered off succesfully. All the threads end while they are still tapering and don't say how it went down when they jumped off completlely. I wish there were more reports of people getting off successfully. You hear a few people say they got off without problems but thats about it. I'm currently on 40 mg's a day and am experiencing sleep issues and anxiety, mood, headaches side effects. I just want a clear head and this drug does not leave me clear at all.. I can't believe what people are willing to put themselves through to not drink. How about go to an AA meeting and surrender to drugs. I'm no better here but I know how ridiculous it is to take a drug so I won't take another drug. I'm not drinking but i'm drunk on a pill. Maybe more functionable but really is it any better? I know some people have good success but I hear alot of shitty stories of major side effects and fogged up drugged up people. Its kinda sad knowing that this disease can be healed through just showing up to AA and the power and energy of the mtg along with the intention heals. Pills don't heal or Cure. Saying Baclofen is a Cure is ridiculous. And Doctor L is a Moron. He told me to just stop taking my suboxone at 6 mgs before I got on baclofen. Thats real smart advice. I'd be withdrawing for months. And prescibing xanax and baclofen together? Does he realize they potentiate each other making each other stronger down regulating the whole gaba system. wow. Doctors are just complete idiots who live there studies as word of god but have no subjective knowing whatsover. Good luck to all and if I offended you i'm sorry just speaking my truth and frustration here.

I tapered all the way off in December. I haven't drank in over a year. Couldn't give a shit about alcohol. There's one case for you. I was on HDB for a year and a half btw.

[introspecta]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

Thats good to hear. The baclofen really intensified my personality and I probably shouldn't of been so intense about what I was saying. It just didn't work for me. I could of gave it more of a chance but the initial side effects were just too much. Todays day 2 no bac. I feel much better. Taking 1-3 mg etizolam for a few days..

[Ky]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

Well said, Ginger.

I use Baclofen for my PTSD. I cannot imagine it "causing" my anxiety. It is the one and only thing that has ever stopped it. The next best was propranolol for panic attacks, but none of the other medicines ever made me "normal." Baclofen makes me normal. No cranky. No fussing. If my dose hasn't worn off, I'm just me in control of me with normal levels of feelings and responses. Without it... well, it's just awful. I don't crave it ever. I just realize I haven't had and choose to take it so that I can be, well, me. Which is better than a mass of fight-or-flight (catecholamine) chemicals.

Since baclofen clears the body rapidly, I don't understand where the issue is. Meanwhile, benzos act just like alcohol. Might as well have a margarita instead. This is why they cause addiction. Meanwhile, baclofen combats addiction. Of course, I'm on 10-20 mg 3 times a day for a year so... maybe I'm just at a more mellow dose? For me, it's the only medication I've ever been on that I am grateful for and wouldn't go without. I make certain I have it on hand to deal with any stressful situation and to take in a timely fashion. For me, it's not "withdrawal" ... without baclofen it's a return to the crappy existence of being a slave to my PTSD.

Anyway, I think the bottom line here is that it sounds like more is going on then baclofen. I cannot even begin to recount the number of ridiculous stories where people blame a particular medication for a symptom while they have on hand another 3, 4, 5... dozen they are taking! Seriously, all those random chemicals plus whatever OTC vitamins and medications and the food and drinks you are consuming... Anyway, when I've had people weened off all the other junk they are on and put on a simple regimen of baclofen, all the sudden they are doing better. It's just a lack of honesty with one's self about how well medication is working. As they have proven, antidepressants don't work any better than a placebo for most people. For people with PTSD, they make it worse. So, are the other meds working or is it wishful thinking (placebo)? Did the benzo do more than a margarita providing a buzz on your empty stomach? I thought those were my solution when they were first prescribed... then it turned out they are just like alcohol and useless and then problematic over time.

Blah. Anyway, Ginger was well said and my bottom line is... really?! And let's be honest... "What else are you taking?"

GingerDust;1252990 wrote: FixMySelf, I hope you are doing well with your plan. It is too bad that you are annoyed with the honest advice that you were freely offered. TerryK suggested that you get medical care, and that is the best advice anyone could give you right now. Even if you get safely off of all of it, you really should have your kidneys and liver checked out. The level of kidney pain and liver pain you are describing, along with the protruding abdomen, are not the norm for people taking baclofen. Especially not at the relatively low dose you were on. You could be facing MUCH bigger problems than anxiety or baclofen withdrawal. I hope you look into it.

[Ky]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

I'm 160 lbs and I take 10 mg of baclofen 3 times a day and pop an extra 5-10 mg if I am under stress. (For those wanting stats.) I feel the anxiety/irritability/moodiness starts to taper off in 10 minutes with full relief and feeling "normal" within 30 minutes or less. If my mood is off, the baclofen is wearing off without exception. I'm looking forward to an extended release so I can wake up without feeling irritated.

My Baclofen is mfg by Ivax. I used to take a 20 mg and found the potency of the Ivax was less than when I split the 20 mg tabs in half. I never looked to see who manufactured the 20s, but I am going to ask to get those again if the extended release isn't available yet.

[s7udz]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

Baclofen and my Addiction

I am by no means confirming baclofen as a 'miracle cure,' but I have had some mild success with it.

I was prescribed and addicted to benzos (xanax, klonopin, valium) for 5 years and was a very heavy heroin IV user for the last few years. I have been narcan'ed back to life on 3 seperate occassions. I just got out of treatment for 4 months 2 weeks ago. While in treatment I actually tried to run away and commit suicide because of the intensity of the withdrawals and my condition.

I was prescribed baclofen during the course of my treatment, 40mg a day. I was also on Cymbalta for a couple months in there, but ultimately discontinued. Just started Luvox 2 days ago. At first I did notice some improvement in my mood and an overall feeling of being happier when I took the baclofen. It did disrupt my memory a little at the beginning but Ive become accustomed to the side effects at this point. I notice I dont really have dreams on it either, similar to when I was taking benzos.

But something has worked because I have over 100 days clean now, which is a world record for me. I relapsed multiple times in treatment at the beginning, but luckily they stuck with me. I got to NA and call my sponsor. And while I dont really believe in the program, I just do it because nothing else has ever worked for me in the past.

I am afraid that I may be addicted to the baclofen at times. Some days I will feel excessive cravings and I will resort to taking the baclofen as a crutch to make me feel better. But other than that it has definitely been some sort of help through the darkness.

I do wonder sometimes if Im addicted to baclofen

[Venom]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

I am happy to read about your success. I have no right to judge anyone in here, but I do agree with the Introspect guy about being free. Trading one substance for another isn't really being free. The most freedom I have felt was after stopping percocet, switching to suboxone and ultimately, stopping that too. The withdrawals were merely a large price to pay and freedom comes with a cost. Addiction is a disease, but once you learn how to deal with life without popping a pill when you feel an emotion, you will truly be alive. I can understand how someone's typical scenario might be: "Well I take 2mg of Klonopin twice a day, but I carry an Ativan incase I am going out and start to 'feel' anxious." What is wrong with feeling nowadays? Yes I've had anxiety attacks and a few panic attacks. I thought I was dying when I had my first panic attack. But, we are so afraid of feeling that whenever we start to feel, many of us just analyze it until it snowballs into something exponential like a panic attack and we either pop a pill or resort to boozing it up. We all need a wakeup call. I just woke up and I want OFF all of this crap. God Bless everyone here.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Use clonazepam to deal with baclofen withdrawal?

Venom;1318345 wrote: I am happy to read about your success. I have no right to judge anyone in here, but I do agree with the Introspect guy about being free. Trading one substance for another isn't really being free. The most freedom I have felt was after stopping percocet, switching to suboxone and ultimately, stopping that too. The withdrawals were merely a large price to pay and freedom comes with a cost. Addiction is a disease, but once you learn how to deal with life without popping a pill when you feel an emotion, you will truly be alive. I can understand how someone's typical scenario might be: "Well I take 2mg of Klonopin twice a day, but I carry an Ativan incase I am going out and start to 'feel' anxious." What is wrong with feeling nowadays? Yes I've had anxiety attacks and a few panic attacks. I thought I was dying when I had my first panic attack. But, we are so afraid of feeling that whenever we start to feel, many of us just analyze it until it snowballs into something exponential like a panic attack and we either pop a pill or resort to boozing it up. We all need a wakeup call. I just woke up and I want OFF all of this crap. God Bless everyone here.

Hi, Venom. I agree with you on the surface of it. There's a big difference between treating a disease and treating (or numbing) the symptoms of a disease. I was absolutely looking for treatment for the actual disease--not numbing it with yet another round of medications that do nothing for me long term. Or, in many cases, make it worse.

The original poster was not necessarily looking for solutions or for treatment.