What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

[terryk]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

KittyKatLost;1302618 wrote: Wow sounds like the sides are worser than the hangovers ... no way!

I am willing to give it a chance, then just go for the antabuse. these cravings are just way too much

In my experience, the side effects get better (and go away). On the other hand, when I was drinking, the hangovers *always* got worse.(r). -tk

[Cinders]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Hi,

I, too, want to extend hopes for you that Baclofen is your way out. It has worked well for so many.

My worst side effect was kidney issues. My doctor made me quit because my kidney function numbers came in very bad.

My ankles were swollen like grapefruits at the same time.

So, for me, Baclofen is a no. It may very well be because I take another drug, Gabapentin, at high doses for cluster headaches. Gabapentin is also removed through the kidneys and not the liver. Unfortunately, I am allergic to the other drugs that manage my cluster headaches that are removed through the liver. Topamax being the preferred drug for cluster headaches.

Best of luck!! Only a few of us had to stop due to physical issues. However, it is a good idea to go to a doctor before and during HDB therapy for check ups to insure your body is handling HDB safely.

Again, many have succeeded with Baclofen and I do recommend the therapy to others.

Cindi

[Allthestars]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

I get baclofen prescribed by my GP at 60 mg per day for a spinal injury and buy the rest online to top up my dose to help alcohol dependency. The scary thing I notice is that hen I take the medication that is dispensed from uk pharmacys I get very little side effects but when I use the baclofen I buy online I get terrible muscle cramps in my stomach, legs, hands and feet. It does worry me as to the potency of the online baclofen and what exactly it is 'cut' with. What am I putting into my body? But at the end of the day I think it is worth the risk and hopefully I will be titrated down to 60 mg soon and only need to rely on baclofen that I know is 100% baclofen and at the potency it says on the label

[tomahawkkid]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

I'm getting tinnitus and wondering if it passes as you go up. Didnt really get it until I got up to 80mg, where I've remained on (got to 80mg by day 12, wondering if that's too fast and if I titrate down and go up slower will the tinnitus be avoided?

Oh, the bloating and constipation are pretty horrible too, again I wonder if my titration was too quick for my body.

[COSGringo]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

I had it around 110/120 I believe. It was bad. The it stopped for a while. I have it again but I am 240. It's not horrendous but sadly I think part of it is I am used to it. I am thinking it may go away again. The SE's are bad at times but I am trying to work through them. I have a good situation as I work from home. Not sure I could do this if I had to go into the office though.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Allthestars;1304491 wrote: The scary thing I notice is that hen I take the medication that is dispensed from uk pharmacys I get very little side effects but when I use the baclofen I buy online I get terrible muscle cramps in my stomach, legs, hands and feet. It does worry me as to the potency of the online baclofen and what exactly it is 'cut' with. What am I putting into my body? But at the end of the day I think it is worth the risk and hopefully I will be titrated down to 60 mg soon and only need to rely on baclofen that I know is 100% baclofen and at the potency it says on the label
Hiya, stars. I missed you guys on this thread. (I tend to stay away from the ones that are looking for worst-case-scenarios. That's never a good sign. No offense Kat. My worst case scenario was to continue on from where I was.)
Anyway. are you sure it isn't the fact that you are taking twice as much baclofen when you take the overseas stuff? I mean, have you taken that much of just the prescribed baclofen? (I don't have any idea. I've only taken a little of the overseas stuff myself.)
Isn't it weird that it can treat muscle spasms and cause muscle cramps? I had those too. I wonder if it's too much? (Again, I don't know. At all.) I am pretty sure it will go away. Mine did!
I, too, thought the baclofen was probably the lesser of two evils. I was definitely right.

tomahawkkid;1305816 wrote: I'm getting tinnitus and wondering if it passes as you go up. Didnt really get it until I got up to 80mg, where I've remained on (got to 80mg by day 12, wondering if that's too fast and if I titrate down and go up slower will the tinnitus be avoided?

Oh, the bloating and constipation are pretty horrible too, again I wonder if my titration was too quick for my body.

I don't know the answer to that either, tomahawk. There are several people who had tinnitus. (Isolde comes to mind) It went away eventually. I can't remember what she did and whether or not it was effective. I know there have been a couple of threads about it. You could certainly try going up or down a bit.
I solved the constipation with spinach. I still maintain that it is the best and only way Seriously (sort of). Having tried just about everything else, I just started eating dark leafy greens--a TON of them--and started having really lovely private moments. I reminded myself of 5 year old boys that proudly ask you to look at the toilet when they are done. (Gross, I know. But I was a long time drunk. Proper bowel movements are exciting! Even my husband says so... :H)

Welcome to you both. Let us know how it all works out...

[COSGringo]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

I don't think there's a lot you can supplement yourself with in getting rid of the tinnitus. For me, quiet time was the worst. I like having sound around me. Even now when I sit in my office it is much more annoying.
Muscle cramps, I get those too. It is odd. Just expect odd things especially as you move up. When I got really ill I moved down and that helped and I moved back up no problems for a while. I have them again but not ER level stuff. You have to listen to your body and see what's worth it for you to deal with. Give it time and I think you can move up but slowly.
20mg per week does not work for everyone. I am close to it now but I am used to the miserable SE's. I took a nap today for 1 hour and man I felt like superman for about 3 hours (till my next bac dose).
Constipation, there are all kinds of cures for that. My wife is a better source but there are some teas that work great. Me, if anything I went in a better direction and I will leave those details out.

[Allthestars]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Hi Ne, I take 110mg of baclofen a day and normally use my prescription from my doctor that is dispensed from a uk pharmacy first. As I said I get very few side effects from the uk baclofen but the day after I switch to the baclofen I buy over the Internet the cramps/ muscle spasms in my side, fingers, legs and feet start. It's not an excruciating pain just very uncomfortable at times. It's always the same place in my abdomen that cramps up. I take 110mg of the online baclofen too obviously, but my worry is that if It was to be pharmacology tested what would its try potency be and why does my body feel like it is almost being 'poisoned'?! When I take the prescribed baclofen my body never knows I am on the medication......well apart from it breathing a sigh of relief for another day alcohol free.....but my body def reminds me hourly that I am taking a medication that my body doesn't quite agree with the baclofen I buy online. I spoke to my doctor today and he is willing to put my baclofen up to 80 mg.......as I have quite a bad spinal injury and he doesn't realise I am using baclofen for alcohol dependency reasons ......so that means I will not have to rely as heavily on the overseas baclofen.
It's easy to panic as I was a paramedic for 15 years and had many an emergency call for patients that bought medication via the Internet and had side effects that resulted in them dialling an ambulance. I would give them a big lecture about the dangers of buying medication via the Internet and yet here I am doing it. Again this week in the uk 12 people have been hospitalised due to a batch of diazepam that was bought via an Internet pharmaceutical company. But for me I am willing to take the risk as I was killing myself with alcohol, and alcohol itself is a poison as we all know.
I think in general what I am trying to say is that if u r lucky enough to live in America where Dr L or similar can prescribe you Baclofen, or you have an understanding general practitioner who is willing to prescribe you baclofen then these are much safer roads to go down than the roulette wheel of online pharmacies, where the medication is being made in china/ hong kong with unknown cutting agents and unknown true potency. I realise some of us, especially uk residents, don't really have much of a choice but to put our faith in these oversea and mostly unregulated pharmaceutical companies.

If you are ordering baclofen for the first time via the Internet please ask on this forum what pharmacies people r using to require their , as at least u known then that the baclofen they dispense is working for others on here.

Please don't be put off baclofen by my story as I genuinely believe it is a wonder / miraclendrug that will continue to save many alcoholics lives/ families/ relationships/ jobs etc it just needs gps to recognise its potential then we wouldn't have to rely on overseas drug companies

[Ne/Neva Eva]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Allthestars;1306251 wrote: ...
It's easy to panic as I was a paramedic for 15 years and had many an emergency call for patients that bought medication via the Internet and had side effects that resulted in them dialling an ambulance. I would give them a big lecture about the dangers of buying medication via the Internet and yet here I am doing it.
...

It is amazing the lengths to which we must and do go, isn't it? Let me tell you, I was NOT the woman to order, much less take, anything from overseas before this. It makes me grin now to think of what I was like back then...:H (I'm looking to get my dog's very expensive hormones online now! Sadly, they don't make them for humans and I haven't found a connection. Not to mention the fact that it may actually be super illegal...I'm not going to jail for dog meds! :H)
But your point is well taken. The risk was worth it for me, too. And I don't regret it. Though the panic and anxiety that accompanied taking the overseas stuff was extremely debilitating. Much more so than the baclofen, I think. I don't mean to make light of it...

I am glad that you know how to care for yourself and that you can share that here, too. Thanks for that.

That is a bummer and disturbing about the differences between the two. I know that there are a couple of doctors in the UK now who are prescribing. (In addition to Dr. Chick.) And there is definitely some improvement going on here stateside, too. It will be very interesting to see if I can find a local shrink to prescribe. (When I get off my backside and actually make an appointment. I do really hate pdocs. ) We are very lucky to have a doc that can legally prescribe, for all the foibles and idiosyncrasies he has, he is still a saint in my book.

The vast majority of us still get it from overseas...And are still kicking and ticking. Much better, in most cases, than before bac...
Hang in there.

[spacebebe01]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Hi Ne, any chance you share with us the docs you know of in UK who prescribe bac

[Ne/Neva Eva]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Space, I don't even know where I saw it. Here? A study or an article or something? It's going to take me a couple of days to untangle my brain to even think about it...one more exam! But it is definitely planted in the front-ish space so if I come across something, I'll be sure to post it here, pronto. (I'm thinking it's here...A guy? ...crikey. Sorry.

[tomahawkkid]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Regarding the constipation, today I've been through several sachets of movicol and measures of lactulose, and one litre of prune juice and still nothing's shifiting. I know that sounds glamourous doesn't it, haha. By the time I get to the switch I guess I 'll resemble Mr Creosote from Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

S.P.I.N.A.C.H.

Though there's a different route. The last time I swore to someone that if she ate enough spinach she'd go, she opted for a coffee enema instead. Organic coffee, too. What a waste of a good cuppa jo. But whatever it takes.
(btw, mine didn't last long, and it was intermittent--very much hand in hand with dehydration, I think.)
Good luck going! :H

[StuckinLA]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

My worst SE is definitely the sleepiness. But I have a lot of trouble sleeping and panic associated with that. The best I've been able to describe it is it feels like my body starts going to sleep before my brain does, it feels like I have to work to breathe. Not trouble breathing, just that I have to consciously breathe and if I fall asleep I'll forget or something. Then it feels like I'm dying and snapping wide awake at the same time.

My bac SE is sort of like that--but it might just be me. Skin sensitivity is annoying but something I deal with, just in my legs.

Also, the packaging for my bac is in freaking German. I also was a paramedic in my younger days, and calling an ambulance for alcohol withdrawal was much, much worse than anything I can imagine on bac so far.

[Sprat]

What were your worst side effects while being on Baclofen

Allthestars;1306251 wrote: my body doesn't quite agree with the baclofen I buy online....

Hi everyone, i'm still here! I just passed 1 year on bac. I'm taking around 240mg and am fairly sober. I have been mostly, thankfully SE free... until now. From a few weeks ago I feel a constant pressure in my head and a light headedness, a dizziness... expanding to a feeling like i'm about to pass out, especially when I am the focus of something like teaching a class and all eyes are on me. I feel my blood pressure start to drop and the color drain from my face. It is VERY worrisome. I don't remember seeing this before. :upset:

I included the quote above because my bac source is:
1. 40mg/ day from a doctor
2. 4rx from India, at the end of 2011 i got one of their 'last batches' before going out of business so I worry about the quality ( i think 4rx is bac in business?)
3. Inhouse brand
4. VL liquid (I bought some at the 'going out of business' sale, worried about the quality)

I worry about that 4rx batch but don't want to toss it so i generally take 50 mgs of that with 190 of Inhouse. But on the weekends I take some liquid VL (because its hard to dose out of a brown bottle at work). So I'm mixing and matching with who knows what! I'm stockpiling the only real meds, but obviously I take 6X the daily prescription so it wouldn't last long.

I guess it'd be best to settle on one source to figure out what's working.

Yawn, 10:15pm time for bed. My sleep continues to be great. My anxiety is still thru the roof though.

Best, Jack