Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

[Otter]

I found anther Baclofen site with details of the two French trials, Alpadir and Bacloville. Don't ask me about the names. Seems, though, that the French have no communication at all with anyone outside of France.

Baclofène & alcoolisme - Traitement de la dépendance à l'alcool - Baclofene - Alcool

[Colin]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

Gluten

From the French site:-
Contre-indications

→ Hypersensibilit? au produit ou ? l’un des excipients
→ Hypersensibilit? ou intol?rance au gluten
→ Enfant de moins de 6 ans.
→ Le baclof?ne est ?galement d?conseill? pendant les trois premiers mois de grossesse.

If this means what my schoolboy French thinks it means then anyone with a gluten problem had better watch out. Is this part of an explanation for some people having to give up baclofen?

And if I've got the last indication then the first three months of pregnancy are a possible problem.

[Otter]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

The reason people give up is that baclofen has heavy side effects, like somnolence. The countraindications listed above have to do with situations where it shouldn't be prescribed at all, such as in pregnancy, children under 6, gluten intolerance or intolerance to the "excipients" which I think are bulking agents.

I think all these side effects are largely overblown. They all involved unpleasant sensations which can be dealt with, as opposed to, say, damage to organs or growing hair on your palms.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

Otter;1443316 wrote:
I think all these side effects are largely overblown.

What makes you say that, Otter?

[redhead77]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

Hello,

Any ideas of how I can get more information on the gluten intolerance issue? I don't speak or read any French so the website I was guided to is useless for me. I did do a search in English and found a study (maybe one of the same?) stating that gluten intolerance was an exclusion to being in the study. I want to find out why and what they mean by intolerant. Do they mean a celiac? Does gluten have to make you violently ill or just cause issues. I would think there must be a good reason for it to be an exclusion to participating.

I'd appreciate any ideas on the matter. Otter, I'm not sure what you mean by bulking agent. Do you mean it can cause constipation in some?

[StuckinLA]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

I'm not around much these days, and don't have much time to follow the links on my own, but if you point me to the sites I can translate for you, RedH.

[EDIT: So I glanced around the site, but didn't see the contraindication section quoted above. Can you post the link to the page where you found that, Colin? Edit again: nevermind. All it says is that gluten intolerance or hypersensitivity is a contraindication, but it doesn't say why. And the bulking agent Colin is talking about just means a filler for the actual pills, like the stuff that makes it a pill.]

[redhead77]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

I'm hypersensitive to gluten, so I need to know why it's an exclusion to be in the study.

[redhead77]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

Ok, the only way to test true gluten insensitivity is via biopsy. I haven't wanted that or thought it necessary: When I eat gluten containing foods, I stop digesting my food all the way. I have looser stools with food that's not all the way digested. I have many other problems too. Sore joints and cystic acne to name a couple. Not typical, but signs of gluten intolerance aren't always typical.

I'm just mentioning that's important I understand why it's an exclusion. I can't and don't eat it. To the point of avoiding soy sauce or anything containing wheat.

[YouKayBee]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

redhead77;1447100 wrote: Ok, the only way to test true gluten insensitivity is via biopsy. I haven't wanted that or thought it necessary: When I eat gluten containing foods, I stop digesting my food all the way. I have looser stools with food that's not all the way digested. I have many other problems too. Sore joints and cystic acne to name a couple. Not typical, but signs of gluten intolerance aren't always typical.

I'm just mentioning that's important I understand why it's an exclusion. I can't and don't eat it. To the point of avoiding soy sauce or anything containing wheat.

I myself notice less water retention, improved body comp etc when I remove bread from my diet and I rarely eat cakes things containing flour.

I like you are a lifelong acne sufferer, and do find an unprocessed diet without bread, dairy really helps and once extraneous infection has been cleared with anti-bs I find Retin A gel a godsend.

Back to topic!

[Diver]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

I wonder if the gluten reference is due to the fillers in the pills that might be gluten based??? Not sure about that but seems logical. If that is the case I am thinking that the liquid baclofen might be a way around this issue.

[redhead77]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

Thanks for your responses. Diver, I agree with you. That seems the most logical explanation, but it's kind of weird. Doing a search of some of the brands of baclofen (there are a ton of manufacterers here in the States), I found one brand that contains wheat starch. That would be Lioresal. The brands I'm currently taking, which are Teva and Northstar do not. I'm not sure what options are available in France, but I would assume they have a number of brands they can take as well (but I admit, I have no idea what goes on there). I would think the patient could just be counseled to avoid certain brands, but maybe that's too much work and effort on the researchers' part. Who knows?

Liquid bac is an option, I suppose. I tried it about a year ago for a couple of months. I might have noticed a reduction in SEs, but it probably wasn't enough to warrant the extra money I'd have to pay to take it. I pay a very small copay for a large amount of bac through my insurance.

UKB, interestingly, I never had acne until I went of gluten and then tried to introduce it again. I experimented over the last few years and found I'm most symptomatic now that I'm completely off it, when I try to eat it again. I get cystic acne on my chin and around my mouth and it was bad enough in the late spring/summer last year, that I went and saw the dermatologist. I explained that I couldn't understand what was going on, because usually I only have problems with my skin when I eat gluten. He said that wouldn't be the first time that he's seen a food allergy cause acne (especially cystic), but maybe mine was hormonal now. I was 36 at the time. He suggested maybe I should try Aldactone. I didn't want to add another drug in (especially a diuretic), so I started to explore what in the world could be going on. I was also having symptoms elsewhere, which made me wonder if I was ingesting gluten when I didn't know it. It turns out that the chili I was eating at work contained flour (all the soups do). That the gyro salad I was getting down the road contained bread crumbs. I stopped eating anything that I didn't have a list of ingredients for. I now always ask before I put anything in my mouth. My skin completely cleared up and I haven't suffered a blemish since.

Again, I really appreciate the responses. :l

[redhead77]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

And thanks to you too, Mr Stuck. Thanks for looking around and you were right about the fillers being the bulking agent. A friend of mine read my post and was teasing me about it. That I should know the bulking agent would be the fillers and not something that caused constipation. :H Sorry if that was an idiotic question. I guess I'm used to them being called fillers, but fillers are bulking agents!

See what I mean? These would be my continued issues with baclofen. I don't think as clearly as if I were off it. I also don't think as clearly when I drink 2 plus bottles of wine a night, so who knows what the answer is for me.

Take care all.

[Colin]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

redhead77;1449077 wrote: And thanks to you too, Mr Stuck. Thanks for looking around and you were right about the fillers being the bulking agent.

Wow! That deserves my first and last use of an emoticon. https://www.mywayout.org/community/im...ilies/haha.gif

I could never have imagined the truth.

[ifulovelife2]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

redhead77;1449048 wrote: I now always ask before I put anything in my mouth.

:egad:

[Colin]

Two French Trials of Baclofen and another site!

ifulovelife2;1449275 wrote: :egad:

This thread is running a serious risk of being derailed. I hate to think of an appropriate emoticon for a hell of a mouthful.
Oh sorry, that was cunnilingus and we are talking about something else aren't we?