Addicted to Baclofen

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Addicted to Baclofen

Suicidal thoughts

Hi, D.

The situation you are in is a bit of an emergency. I hope that you'll treat it that way. I've sent you a PM with my phone number, and I hope you'll call today.

While I understand the position of the person who sent you the PM about his own experience with incredible anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, I will point out that he has not yet found a solution. That makes me very sad for him, but I want you to hear this loud and clear:

There is a solution. There is reason to hope. There is no reason to give up at this point.

There is a solution and you will be better soon.

Call me.
Karen

[drb120]

Addicted to Baclofen

Cassandra. That was a lot of time and effort for no real purpose. I am in crisis as Nv Neva Eva said. I will call today.

[Otter]

Addicted to Baclofen

I am waiting for a phone call and passing the time. If any of this applies...if not, ignore it.

Baclofen gets rid of anxiety. The side effect of having no fear is to be fearless. So it is to be expected you feel the way you do.

SSRI's have a lot of bad press particularly for alcoholics. Some people swap over to newer antidepressants like Mirtazapine which have a different mechanism and work well in alcoholism and alongside baclofen. My advice, not as a doctor, having seen mirtapzapine work is to get off the SSRI's. That may be your problem. Do the research and try to get a doctor to supervise you.

Apart from that you just have to take it a day at a time with the dosages.

[Lo0p]

Addicted to Baclofen

I'm sorry I cant even find the time to log on these days.

Email me through the forums. That is attached to my Lo0p@PhoenixResearchLabs.com address, and I'll call you on the phone or skype if you're out of the country.

[StuckinLA]

Addicted to Baclofen

Hey there, D and everyone. Thought I'd throw this out there--

Clinical Experience with Baclofen in the Management of Alcohol-Dependent Patients with Psychiatric Comorbidity: A Selected Case Series

Read through briefly if you like, but particularly look for "Case 2: Mr. B," who also found almost immediate anxiolytic affects, and increased his bac dose on his own. Anyway, just thought it'd be good to know that there are other cases out there...

[onequart]

Addicted to Baclofen

drb:

If you re feeling suicidal, go to a psychiatric ER. Now.

[StuckinLA]

Addicted to Baclofen

If you're feeling suicidal, just don't kill yourself.

[drb120]

Addicted to Baclofen

One klonopin. It lifted. Hasn't come back yet. I thrrough out Trazadone which I had been trying to use for sleep. Suicidal thoughts gone. Now, I am not out of the woods at all. Still need to sleep tonight, and night after. No interest in getting hooked on benzos. I am going to ween off this or at least down to 80mg so normal docs will see me. I know it is going to be a battle. Thanks for pms.

[drb120]

Addicted to Baclofen

Thanks Stuck an OneQuart. OneQuart has gotten a lot of flack I've seen. Called a troll, antagonizer etc. But I haven't seen much wrong with his comments. He is just skeptical. What is wrong with that?

[jbkhy523]

Addicted to Baclofen

thanks for posting what helped you, drb120. good to know!

[drb120]

Addicted to Baclofen

This is a work in Progress. I got help from Dr. Levin. I am extremely skeptical but on advice from all the pms they convinced me to trust. I am going to follow what he says exactly and pray a lot. If I make it through it will be a mission to help others in crisis.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Addicted to Baclofen

Hey, d.

Glad to hear that things have come around a little bit.

I have a couple of thoughts that might help ease your mind a bit more. (I hope!) Baclofen is like any other medication. (Other than the fact that it cures alcoholism. That is unique! ) Antidepressants, anti-seizure meds, anti-anxiety meds, all have in common that they generally need to be titrated off of slowly and conscientiously. And more so if one is taking gobs and gobs of it, the way we take baclofen.

About the "addiction" and "tolerance": Those two words have very specific meanings. I am not trying to begrudge you the experience, or belabor the point. But I take a great deal of comfort in the fact that we can't seem to get addicted to baclofen! The hypomania that a few of us experience, if that were something that baclofen actually did, might lead to addiction. Right? I see it as yet another side effect. It doesn't last long and can't be sustained...Because that's not what baclofen actually does. (Which is a bummer, for those of us who experience it and liked it. And a gift since if I could have found it by trying to take gobs more [or less] then I would have. Oh, wait. I did. ) The rebound of taking baclofen erratically is very, very often increased anxiety. For some few, it's what you experienced. (I'm really sorry for that, too.)

The other thing is about tolerance. There isn't any tolerance in terms of what bac actually does. What I mean is, it works for muscle spasms (apparently) and for treating alcoholism (for some, apparently). The desired effect of not drinking against one's will anymore doesn't go away from what I've seen/experienced. What's more, many of us are able (and eager!) to titrate down in varying degrees and maintain the effect.

I hope that you continue to improve dramatically and can get on with the normal-ish business of being sober in life! (Took me a good long while to get used to the new normal! But I loved it and still do.)

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Addicted to Baclofen

Oh, and one last thought:
It's easy to miss something if one is not actually on MWO frequently. Sometimes (as in this case) posts or entire threads are deleted by a moderator. These tend to be egregious, outrageously confrontational, and/or downright spiteful. General meanness of spirit, regular ol' disagreements and even some of the outrageous stuff are not reason enough for a moderator to get involved.

I guess what I'm suggesting is that sometimes not understanding something is a result of missing information.
Hope it's a good day.

[onequart]

Addicted to Baclofen

Ne/Neva Eva;1473544 wrote: Oh, and one last thought:
It's easy to miss something if one is not actually on MWO frequently. Sometimes (as in this case) posts or entire threads are deleted by a moderator. These tend to be egregious, outrageously confrontational, and/or downright spiteful. General meanness of spirit, regular ol' disagreements and even some of the outrageous stuff are not reason enough for a moderator to get involved.

I guess what I'm suggesting is that sometimes not understanding something is a result of missing information.
Hope it's a good day.

I think more than one of us know about "meanness of spirit".

I have never stated anything that can be scientifically refuted.

I was admonished by the moderator that these forums are for support purposes. I replied that I understood that and will refrain from posts except those directed at me or making outlandish non-backed claims like 80% efficacy for bac.

[drb120]

Addicted to Baclofen

Got it Ne Neva Eva. Ignorant statement on my part. I'm just beginning this battle. I'm off rock bottom I think. It is too early for me to form a definitive opinion on the tolerance/addiction terminology. I think we might disagree and I understand the point is important to you. Sorry. Lets not call each other names and try to prove who is more qualified and site a bunch of rat studies so the moderators have to censor us ok? You really helped me and I may need your help again. thank you.