So my question is this... I know that research has shown that high doses of baclofen can help mitigate alcohol withdrawal. Since benzos (valium in particular) work like alcohol, could you in theory use baclofen to help ease valium withdrawal? (I take 10 - 15 mgs of valium / day and have been getting it online. But now I can't get it anymore). I recently go a legal prescription to baclofen, 50 mg / day. If I have horrible benzo withdrawal, will the baclofen help take some of the pressure off the valium withdrawal?
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
I dont know, I am taking valium at the moment to help with baclofen withdrawal tho, but I was only on a very low dose of bac to begin with 30/40mg a day and after tapering down to 15mg and starting getting awful anxiety am now taking just 2mg valium for that, so I have no clue. The other thing is tho that high doses of baclofen arnt used for alcohol withdrawal as far as I know, high dose baclofen is used to help people stop the need to drink. although it has been used to help with withdrawal you are right with that but I it would not be high doses you have to titrate up from 5/10mg a day. I hope I made some sense to you there. -
bacofen and valium withdrawal
thanks for the reply
I got the balcofen as a source of helping withdrawal symptoms from the wiki site, so I was wondering if it had the same effect on benzo withdrawal:
"It is an agonist for the GABAB receptors.[1][2] Its beneficial effects in spasticity result from actions at spinal and supraspinal sites. Baclofen can also be used to treat hiccups, and has been shown to prevent rises in body temperature induced by the drug MDMA in rats.[3]
In addition, research has shown baclofen to be effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence and withdrawal, by inhibiting both withdrawal symptoms and cravings.[4]"
Baclofen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaComment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
Yes I know what I am saying is high doses are used after titration for alcohol dependence, I didnt want you to misunderstand and think high doses where appropriate for withdrawal and jump in at a high dose.
As I said I have never had to withdraw from benzo's and dont know what effect bac has on that, not sure if anyone on here has either really, we are all here to stop drinking.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
why did you stop the baclofen?
was it not working for your drinking? I am hoping it will help me.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
I could not get to the hight doses needed because I couldnt take the se's, I did stay at a low dose for some time and got some relieve but have now changed to topamax which so far seems to be working well for me.
I hope it helps you as well. I would have thought someoneelse would have come in on this by now who had more knowledge that me to help you, I hope they do soon for you.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
This question has arisen here before, but I now have no idea who said what, or which thread it was on.
From memory, one or two people here have said that benzos and baclofen have differing withdrawals, due to benzos like Valium being GABA-A receptor agonists while baclofen is a GABA-B receptor agonist. It appeared that this difference is enough to make each drug type unable to fully substitute for the other during withdrawal, although I imagine each could at least partly reduce some withdrawal symptoms from the other. Huge doses could work for withdrawal, but that's only a guess.
By far the best way of withdrawing from Valium, according to more official information, is to slowly taper Valium down by 1 mg each week or so. Some people may be able to do it more quickly. Due to having ordered it online, you would have to try and find a doctor willing to prescribe enough for you to do this slow tapering over a few months. Perhaps a doctor specialising in addiction may be able to help. Sorry I can't help more than this but I am not able to know what doctors would be available wherever you live.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
thanks Greg
What about alcohol? If the benzo withdrawal got to be as bad as I hear it can be (and I was only taking 10-15mgs a day), would alcohol in moderation help? I know that is not a popular answer here - I'm looking to quit everything apart from the baclofen, but people say benzo withdrawal can make you go crazy. I'd rather drink 3 glasses of wine than go crazy.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
Alcohol is probably too short-acting to substitute for Valium, even though it works (partly) via GABA-A receptors. If a person drank steadily throughout a 24 hour period and had enough control over alcohol to be able to slowly reduce their amount, then this could possibly work. However, being able to maintain that disciplined control enough to not go overboard with alcohol and to be able to decrease the amount over weeks or a couple of months so the Valium withdrawal is controlled would be difficult or impossible if you have already shown an inability to control your drinking. I know I couldn't do it, but that's just me (after a 24 year history of excessive drinking). 3 glasses of wine a day would wear off too quickly to fill in for Valium over a full 24 hour period I would imagine, since alcohol is metabolized at the rate of 1 standard drink (10 grams/12.6 mL of pure alcohol) per hour on average, whereas Valium has a half-life (time for half of it to leave your system) of many many hours (48 or more) so it is always in your system to a large extent when taken every day.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
thanks for the response Greg
I took 5 mg valium w NO alcohol yesterday and 60mg Bacolfen and have had no DTs all day (I have had 40 mg baclofen today and no alcohol). Maybe I'm overreacting to benzo wd. Time will tell I guess. I have 16 mg of valium left so will try 5mg a day (none yet today) and see if I can taper down to 2 mg a day then see what happens. Just started the new job today which I love and I want to get 100% off everything except the bac which helps a TON.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
Some people get minimal withdrawals from benzos. Those who get bad symptoms are often those who have been daily users for a long time. You will read a lot of horror stories on benzo support forums, but you will almost never hear from those who had a fairly easy time getting off them, so it can give a distorted view.
Since Valium is very long-acting, withdrawals tend to be less severe than with short-acting benzos, although they can also take longer to start appearing. You might be right with tapering down and using baclofen as an additional aid. Good luck with it.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
Greg has a good point, most of the people who havent had a problem getting off the benzo's probably dont bother posting in the forums or saying anything about it because theres nothing to say, they just get on with it. 0 - 60mg of baclofen, bloody hell, be careful.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
cold sweat last night
another 5mg valium, 2 glasses wine but still no DTs. I was prescribed 50mg baclofen by an addiction specialist who knows nothing about the valium, just the alcohol, which was as high as 8 units a night. Is 0-60mg too fast? The scrip is for 50 a day and per the "The End of My Addiction book by O.A. which I read (a while back), he was recommending doing 180 a day.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
Dr Ameisen actually had to go up to 270 mg baclofen per day to find indifference to alcohol, then later went down to 120 mg. That's according to his book, in which he said the 180 mg was not helping. Then again he was drinking around a bottle of spirits a day (21 standard drinks as measured here in Aus) and had been drinking for a long time. Other studies from Italy showed that 30 mg/day helped some people.
You may not get any withdrawals from the Valium, and certainly would be unlucky to get full-on DT's. I'd say just keep an eye on things for a couple of weeks to be aware of any withdrawals that do emerge.Comment
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bacofen and valium withdrawal
thanks Greg
like I said, I woke up around 4 am and I was soaked in sweat, but I'm thinking that's alcohol withdrawal coupled with benzo wd. I can hardly afford to check into rehab as I just started a new job. No shaking or complaining during the day whatsoever. I'm currently living with my mom which helps. Living alone for A year and playing Fifa '12 until 2am after 10 mgs of valium and 8 drinks is not conducive to recovery. Funny how taking valium before drinking makes you drink more. Taking it after a couple of drinks puts you straight to sleep. I also chain smoked when living alone which I understand kills the effects of the valium. Maybe that's why I'm not so "addicted".
"Smoking tobacco can enhance the elimination of diazepam and decrease its action.[67]"
Diazepam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaComment
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