Baclofen can be dangerous

[Rosanna]

Hi all,
I was on this forum previously..but left, as my experiences with Baclofen and other medical helps for alcoholism didn't help me (Bac, Campral, antabus....)
When I saw this news today, I felt that that I have to send this to the forum: I tried Bac for 15 days, and I can tell you, I've never ever felt more depressed or hopeless. This med is dangerous for some of us. Be careful.

PR manager jumped to her death from bridge over the Thames after getting addicted to drug to help with alcoholism | Mail Online

[emily]

Baclofen can be dangerous

Rosanna

I've just read the article and very disheartened that baclofen is being reported in this way. It has saved my life. I'm sorry that it didn't agree with you.

[Xadrian]

Baclofen can be dangerous

Dear all,

I edited out my original post regarding Anna, because at the moment I'm too frustrated and emotional to determine if all that I posted is ethical and respectful towards the people who loved Anna.

I would thank some of you who attended me of that. I don't want to post certain things in an impulse that I might regret later.
So I saved my post and plan to edit and repost it as soon as I can think normal again.

I just want you to know that the article is misleading.

[Cinders]

Baclofen can be dangerous

I am simply sorry that the world lost a beautiful young woman.

My point that all meds should be taken with a doctor's supervision is highlighted by this. Unfortunately, it appears that doctors did not help her safely withdraw from Baclofen.

Many meds require safe titration down. I take one, myself, that has the same withdrawal issues as Baclofen and know I must be very careful with its use. However, without high dose Gabapentin, my life would be unbearable due to my cluster headaches.

[JDizzle]

Baclofen can be dangerous

I've read some messed up stuff about chantix too. One of the SEs they list on their commercials is suicidal thoughts. I guess u need to know urself. Some people's minds can't handle Tylenol. Sorry I'm not depressed someone committed suicide. She should have sought more medical help. 2999 other people committed suicide that day too. 3000 more will today. Hope no one loses any sleep over it.

[Xadrian]

Baclofen can be dangerous

JDizzle;1530567 wrote: She should have sought more medical help.

She committed suicide due to the so-called medical help she received and that's a complete other story than most of the other suicides.

But I don't blame you, it's easy to misjudge a situation based just on 1 article.
I'm sure it happens to me also.

[JDizzle]

Baclofen can be dangerous

So is this a story of baclofen causing suicide or hospital malpractice?

[Xadrian]

Baclofen can be dangerous

JDizzle;1530575 wrote: So is this a story of baclofen causing suicide or hospital malpractice?

A clinic "helped" her to taper off baclofen from 150 mg to 0 in 6 days.
Three days later she committed suicide.

That's part of the story. As I said in a previous post, I will post more info once my mind calms down. And yes, this article will affect my sleep, because I "knew" her.

That's all I want to say about it for now.

[JDizzle]

Baclofen can be dangerous

I apologize. I didn't know u guys knew her.

[StuckinLA]

Baclofen can be dangerous

I was kind of telling myself that I wasn't going to wade into this thread. I don't want to get into the middle of any of it, and this thread--while raising very valid concerns--is troll-bait. I, like Xadrian, can't really think straight or organize my thoughts very well when it comes to Anna.

So for the record, Anna was on bac around the 150s, as well as taking an AD. She did not "overdose" on bac--Readthread12 has a very good thread on bac overdosing somewhere around here. That's not what happened to Anna, to my knowledge. But between the bac SEs and the AD she was in a very, very dark place. I am sure many of you have experienced similar anxiety, where bac irrationally feels scary and dangerous and you want to get off of it as soon as possible. I know I've felt that.

Anyway, I had insomnia at the time, so I was awake during normal waking-hours in the UK, and because I was online and posting, Anna began PMing me and we wrote back and forth over the course of a few days before she checked into the Priory. She thought going into a rehab was the only option, because she was certain that if she didn't she would commit suicide. She was completely serious, and already knew that it would be by jumping.

I was under the impression, and I believe she was too, that she would be staying for several weeks, and slowly titrating off bac with the aid of valium. She had already been to at least one emergency room and refused to leave without meds for the anxiety attacks--no, she was not drug-seeking. She was not addicted to benzos. She was having crippling anxiety attacks. Well, the Priory "weaned" her off bac, again like Xadrian said, from 150 - 0.

She PM'ed me when she got out of the Priory--she'd been there for 3 days. She said she was feeling much better, not in any danger anymore, and thanked all of us at MWO for our help. That was the last I heard from her, and her parents created an account a week later to inform us that her body had been found.

Like I said earlier, this thread raises very real, valid concerns about bac. As a drug, its safety is well-documented. It has been shown to be almost impossible to seriously harm oneself by overdosing. At the same time, the psychological effects of changes in dose can be a lot to handle.

I have no idea what combination of things caused Anna to experience so much anxiety, whether it was the antidepressant or being prone to depression/anxiety, nor do I wish to debate the point. What I will say is that stopping bac quickly is not the answer. Even tapering down slowly can lead to serious depression and anxiety that lasts quite a while, and I say this from personal experience (twice). I cannot even imagine what doing so over a weekend would be like.

I hope she found peace, and my thoughts are with her family.

[Cassander]

Baclofen can be dangerous

StuckinLA;1530587 wrote: I was kind of telling myself that I wasn't going to wade into this thread. I don't want to get into the middle of any of it, and this thread--while raising very valid concerns--is troll-bait. I, like Xadrian, can't really think straight or organize my thoughts very well when it comes to Anna.

So for the record, Anna was on bac around the 150s, as well as taking an AD. She did not "overdose" on bac--Readthread12 has a very good thread on bac overdosing somewhere around here. That's not what happened to Anna, to my knowledge. But between the bac SEs and the AD she was in a very, very dark place. I am sure many of you have experienced similar anxiety, where bac irrationally feels scary and dangerous and you want to get off of it as soon as possible. I know I've felt that.

Anyway, I had insomnia at the time, so I was awake during normal waking-hours in the UK, and because I was online and posting, Anna began PMing me and we wrote back and forth over the course of a few days before she checked into the Priory. She thought going into a rehab was the only option, because she was certain that if she didn't she would commit suicide. She was completely serious, and already knew that it would be by jumping.

I was under the impression, and I believe she was too, that she would be staying for several weeks, and slowly titrating off bac with the aid of valium. She had already been to at least one emergency room and refused to leave without meds for the anxiety attacks--no, she was not drug-seeking. She was not addicted to benzos. She was having crippling anxiety attacks. Well, the Priory "weaned" her off bac, again like Xadrian said, from 150 - 0.

She PM'ed me when she got out of the Priory--she'd been there for 3 days. She said she was feeling much better, not in any danger anymore, and thanked all of us at MWO for our help. That was the last I heard from her, and her parents created an account a week later to inform us that her body had been found.

Like I said earlier, this thread raises very real, valid concerns about bac. As a drug, its safety is well-documented. It has been shown to be almost impossible to seriously harm oneself by overdosing. At the same time, the psychological effects of changes in dose can be a lot to handle.

I have no idea what combination of things caused Anna to experience so much anxiety, whether it was the antidepressant or being prone to depression/anxiety, nor do I wish to debate the point. What I will say is that stopping bac quickly is not the answer. Even tapering down slowly can lead to serious depression and anxiety that lasts quite a while, and I say this from personal experience (twice). I cannot even imagine what doing so over a weekend would be like.

I hope she found peace, and my thoughts are with her family.

Thanks very much, Stuck. This is very very helpful to me and hopefully to the rest of us. Cass

[halfway content]

Baclofen can be dangerous

I spent most of the day yesterday debating whether to order Baclofen online. I have been AF for three months, but the cravings have been brutal this week. Because of this thread, I am not doing any self-medicating. Thank you. My resolve to remain AF is back.

[caro]

Baclofen can be dangerous

Dear HalfWay,

If you live in the UK Dr Chick in Edinburgh will prescribe baclofen.

Caro

[halfway content]

Baclofen can be dangerous

Thanks, Caro. I live in the US. I was ready yesterday to try the drug on my own, but today that doesn't seem to be such a good idea. I like reading the success stories, but the side effects scare me. I have made it three months on sheer willpower. Just hope I can keep it up. Keeping it up for life seems like a very daunting task, however.

[Colin]

Baclofen can be dangerous

If/when you start baclofen the side-effects will be much less if you are AF. (This opinion has been expressed by many MWOers).

Long term AF without some kind of anti-craving med is daunting.