Baclofen binge drinking

[jokerman]

Hi Guys just a quick note I have just joined and was wondering about baclofen. I will try to be short for now. I dont get cravings I used to but not any more I stay off the drink for a while and then I think I can drink again so I go out and usually spend 2 or three days drinking followed by blackouts followed by a week of paranoid !!!!!! I moved home a few years ago and it helped alot being with family etc but then my mom died of cancer (i was her carer) six months ago and I started binge drinking again ended up in hospital for 4 nights. Its effects me terribly I wont go on a holiday for example for fear of binge drinking abroad and ending up dead! I understand a bit how baclofen works if you are drinking every night and you suddenly start to stop bit by bit so you no you are going in the right direction but if you are a person who does not drink everynight but when i start its curtains how does baclofen work how do I know what the right amount is etc. Hope I explained it ok its my first post i hope to get better at it.

Thanks folks Jokerman
Ps anyone no of an irish doctor interested in baclofen

[Hippyman]

Baclofen binge drinking

I used Dr. Levin's bac schedule and it has taken my desire to drink away at 50 mgs per day. You can find it in the meds threads. I'll bump it so you can find it easily.

[YouKayBee]

Baclofen binge drinking

jokerman;1437126 wrote: Hi Guys just a quick note I have just joined and was wondering about baclofen. I will try to be short for now. I dont get cravings I used to but not any more I stay off the drink for a while and then I think I can drink again so I go out and usually spend 2 or three days drinking followed by blackouts followed by a week of paranoid !!!!!! I moved home a few years ago and it helped alot being with family etc but then my mom died of cancer (i was her carer) six months ago and I started binge drinking again ended up in hospital for 4 nights. Its effects me terribly I wont go on a holiday for example for fear of binge drinking abroad and ending up dead! I understand a bit how baclofen works if you are drinking every night and you suddenly start to stop bit by bit so you no you are going in the right direction but if you are a person who does not drink everynight but when i start its curtains how does baclofen work how do I know what the right amount is etc. Hope I explained it ok its my first post i hope to get better at it.

Thanks folks Jokerman
Ps anyone no of an irish doctor interested in baclofen

This so was me.

Dr Chick in Edinburgh used to have an interest but don't know what he's up to these days.

[Colin]

Baclofen binge drinking

Here is someone who had a similar background:-
https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...nce-68420.html

[Otter]

Baclofen binge drinking

Dr. Chick is still active in Edinburgh.

Here is my take on binge drinking although I am not a doctor. It is not the fact that you drink episodically, ie., from time to time, and not regularly which is the issue. The issue is that baclofen treats an underlying anxiety problem which is always there. So, for instance, you go for a while being able to cope with normal anxiety levels but it builds up or something stressful happens, or maybe you just get worn down and feel like a drink. You think that this is just a way of chilling but it is your body not having enough GHB to keep you calm. It is a sign of this "anxiety" problem. So you drink which give temporary relief but then causes "brain agitation" which then requires more alcohol.

Baclofen works to stop this underlying anxiety so that it doesn't get to the point that you need to drink. If the drinking over time has caused some organic changes in your brain, baclofen gives your brain a rest so it can recover and not become so easily "agitated" by drinking and the binges, if they don't stop straight away, become fewer, less severe and easier to recover from, lasting a night, not days.

There is a prescribing guide on the Baclofenuk web site which set out levels but you can get information here from baclofen users. It is just a case of starting slowly and going up and seeing how it goes. It may take some time to get the full effect and for your brain to recover. You may need to take more baclofen when you feel more under stress and feeling like a drink.

It does work for binge drinking but it is a trickier thing. You should also consider other meds like mirtazapine because you may have serotonin issues.

[Otter]

Baclofen binge drinking

Dr. Chick will write to your GP and tell him to prescribe BTW.

[Hippyman]

Baclofen binge drinking

Otter;1437319 wrote: Dr. Chick is still active in Edinburgh.

Here is my take on binge drinking although I am not a doctor. It is not the fact that you drink episodically, ie., from time to time, and not regularly which is the issue. The issue is that baclofen treats an underlying anxiety problem which is always there. So, for instance, you go for a while being able to cope with normal anxiety levels but it builds up or something stressful happens, or maybe you just get worn down and feel like a drink. You think that this is just a way of chilling but it is your body not having enough GHB to keep you calm. It is a sign of this "anxiety" problem. So you drink which give temporary relief but then causes "brain agitation" which then requires more alcohol.

Baclofen works to stop this underlying anxiety so that it doesn't get to the point that you need to drink. If the drinking over time has caused some organic changes in your brain, baclofen gives your brain a rest so it can recover and not become so easily "agitated" by drinking and the binges, if they don't stop straight away, become fewer, less severe and easier to recover from, lasting a night, not days.

There is a prescribing guide on the Baclofenuk web site which set out levels but you can get information here from baclofen users. It is just a case of starting slowly and going up and seeing how it goes. It may take some time to get the full effect and for your brain to recover. You may need to take more baclofen when you feel more under stress and feeling like a drink.

It does work for binge drinking but it is a trickier thing. You should also consider other meds like mirtazapine because you may have serotonin issues.

Thank you for this post. It helps me understand so much better!

[jokerman]

Baclofen binge drinking

Hi there thanks very much for the feedback , Uk blonde I was wondering how you are doing now , do you still have a drink ! Otter I am on lexapro the doc had me on 10 mg after comming out from hospital he put me on 15 as that was the dose for my body weight (dont know why he did not increase it to 15 alot earlier. ) He of course told me not to drink which I did not for 6 weeks then the binge drinking started again before christmas , I know you are not a doctor but I was wondering if the problem is that I actually should be on a much higher dose say 20 , 25 then I could take or leave a drink ! I am meeting him in a couple of weeks and will discuss baclofen with him . Is it easy to get an appointment with Dr Chick in Edinburgh. Thanks again for all your replies its great to be able to talk with others.

[Otter]

Baclofen binge drinking

It shouldn't be hard to get an appointment with Dr. Chick. He has an office on Melville St. in Edinburgh with Insight Psychiatric. He is easy to get in touch with. Just google him and send him an email.

Lexapro is an SSRI and there are some very disturbing reports about it, particularly in relation to use with people with alcohol problems. There are reports suggesting it makes alcoholism worse and that is my experience with it. Dr. Chick will prescribe baclofen for anxiety related depression and will tell your GP that it works much better in many cases for depression which does not respond to SSRI's. He also knows about mirtazapine which is a newer type of antidepressant and has a different mechanism than SSRI's.

Mirtazapine improves alcohol detoxification. [J Psychopharmacol. 2004] - PubMed - NCBI

[scot98]

Baclofen binge drinking

Otter;1437320 wrote: Dr. Chick will write to your GP and tell him to prescribe BTW.

Many GP's will not prescribe Baclofen, despite recommendation from a consultant....fact

Mirtazapine is not that new a drug. I was prescribed it 12 years ago, works brilliantly for anxiety and I loved it other than gaining a significant amount of weight.

[COSGringo]

Baclofen binge drinking

I like Otter's take on it.

[YouKayBee]

Baclofen binge drinking

jokerman;1437676 wrote: Hi there thanks very much for the feedback , Uk blonde I was wondering how you are doing now , do you still have a drink ! Otter I am on lexapro the doc had me on 10 mg after comming out from hospital he put me on 15 as that was the dose for my body weight (dont know why he did not increase it to 15 alot earlier. ) He of course told me not to drink which I did not for 6 weeks then the binge drinking started again before christmas , I know you are not a doctor but I was wondering if the problem is that I actually should be on a much higher dose say 20 , 25 then I could take or leave a drink ! I am meeting him in a couple of weeks and will discuss baclofen with him . Is it easy to get an appointment with Dr Chick in Edinburgh. Thanks again for all your replies its great to be able to talk with others.

Jokerman

Dr Chick actually told me Baclofen wasn't the med for me. I then asked him about Naltrexone and TSM, he agreed to prescribe Naltrexone privately for me. My GP then took over once she saw the massive difference it made to me, and once she'd checked it out with a local psychiatrist attached to the Drug and Alcohol team.

Yes I do drink but I no longer have the strong cravings, most days I opt not to drink alcohol, when I do do it's often just 1 or two units, occasionally 5 and once in a blue moon 8-10. To put this into perspective I had a daily battle with cravings prior to TSM, and would drink 20-30 units each time I drank. I also always got into some sort of trouble, would become obnoxious or aggressive and this has disappeared with TSM

I simply no longer struggle with alcohol, abstenance always made me worse and drove me up the wall so for me it's not the ultimate measure of success - instead it's removal of the drive to drink. I'm also continuing with private counselling so I am able to work on learning to live and change the way I deal with things.

[Hippyman]

Baclofen binge drinking

I guess we are all different. For me Neltrexone wasn't the answer. I plan on staying sober. Baclofen makes the uncontrollable desire to drink go away for me. There are many paths that lead to our common destination. A joyful future where we make our own decisions.

[Rusty]

Baclofen binge drinking

My experience is the same as Hippyman's. Baclofen absolutely removed that "it's happy hour" bell that went off in my head on the weekdays, and took that compelling "it's the weekend....why not start drinking at noon..." desire in my head. I hit the switch at 90 mgs. but I have been at between 30-40 mgs. for a year and a half. It was the answer for me...because it addressed the underlying cause of why I drank....a severe anxiety disorder that I've had since I was 4 but was only really confirmed when I had my first appt. with Dr. Levin a year and a half ago. I owe my sobriety to Dr. L and Baclofen. BTW, many people PM me and ask if I am a man. No, I'm female and 51.

Hippyman-love your avatar, and your posts, too. Keep posting and congratulations on your AF time.:goodjob:

[YouKayBee]

Baclofen binge drinking

Hippyman;1438519 wrote: I guess we are all different. For me Neltrexone wasn't the answer. I plan on staying sober. Baclofen makes the uncontrollable desire to drink go away for me. There are many paths that lead to our common destination. A joyful future where we make our own decisions.

This is what TSM with Nal did for me, baclofen simply made me want to end my life(which is what alcohol did at one point but when I got to the point of trying baclofen I truly wanted to live(which is why I took it). Different things for different people.