baclofen hope

[zampa75]

Hi there,
I haven't posted anything in a long, long time, but tomorrow I'll see an addiction specialist - the third - who may hopefully make a difference to me, finally. My point is that I will ask him about Baclofen, as what I have been reading about it here and in scientific articles just blows me away. It sounds like the answer to my prayer, and here's why:I have tried Naltrexone in the past, but besides giving me seriously unbearable dizziness - horrible, really - I also found out pretty quickly, in a few weeks, that I can beat its effect by simply keeping drinking. I have tried Topa but I am pretty sure that the abstinence I managed on it was just out of pure willpower: on week-ends, when I 'allowed' myself to drink, I was the usual me. No difference whatsoever. Now I am on Campral, and the story is exactly the same as with Topamax.
So tomorrow I am seeing this guy, but I visited his website and saw he prescribes Vivitrol, that is Nal by injection, to cure alcoholism. So my very high hopes - he was strongly recommended to me - suffered a huge plunge already. I will ask him about Bac, but what if he behaves like most doctors - great posts about it here - who won't just prescribe something b/c they do not know it and/or don't want to admit they don't? My very first psychiatrist prescribed Nal and would not even let me finish when I brought up the Topa option, of which I had read here. The second did exactly the opposite. So...from what I have read Bac is definitely worth a try - at least a try. Hell I'd take cyanide now if it was proven to work!! So since I have seen you can get Bac without a prescription, I'd like to hear from the guys who have done the whole thing w/o medical supervision... It sounds scary b/c I have read many people suffer horrible side effects... But then again so do many on Topa, while it just gave me heavy sleepiness in the afternoons, which disappeared after two weeks. And my first doc swore Nal would have no SEs, but it made me so dizzy I almost crashed twice... If this doc waves the Bac option away, should I just take it myself out of desperation...? Any feedback very welcome :thanks:

[Lo0p]

baclofen hope

Desperation? No.

There are other doctors and there is always a way.

:welcome:

[zampa75]

baclofen hope

Yes there are other doctors, but it took me years to find someone who'd prescribe Topa... And Bac is so relatively new for alcoholism treatment that it sounds like sci-fi... How do I find them, like, yesterday?

[Xadrian]

baclofen hope

zampa75;1535808 wrote: Hell I'd take cyanide now if it was proven to work!!

An experiment on rats demonstrated that they became extremely smart from a tiny bit of cyanide.

Unfortunately they died from a tiny bit more, so eventhough that would solve your alcohol problem, I would strongly advice against the cyanide.

About the baclofen: Make sure you come prepared and take enough information with you to convince him.
If he is not convinced right away, give him some time to read the stuff and make an additional appointment within a week or so.

[bleep]

baclofen hope

Just about everyone here is doing it without the supervision of a doctor. There are very few people here fortunate enough to find one willing to go the extra mile. Hell it's not even an extra mile, it's quite a routine distance.

Just order some pills and get cracking. If the doctor gets on board, great, if not, you haven't wasted any time.

[skullbabyland]

baclofen hope

Zampa, I've copied and pasted Cassander's wonderful post about doctors who may be able to help.

Here are some doctors...
Notwithstanding the more than five years that members here have been exploring Baclofen treatment, both with and without the knowledge and/or support of a physician, the accumulated knowledge on this board regarding professional support for Baclofen treatment is fairly sparse.

Some of the resources below may, in fact, not currently be treating patients with Baclofen. And reaching some of the indicated resources may require you to PM (private message) an mwo member, who may or may not still be looking at his/her mwo messages or otherwise be in a position to help.

If you are an mwo member and I have referred to you incorrectly in this post or you would like me to remove the reference to you, please let me know and I will do so.

Here is what I have been able to find by combing through the pages of mwo. A lot of the information comes from this thread: Doctors that prescribe baclofen for addiction, which Ne/Neva Eva started and led and which many long time members, including RedThread12, Lo0p, bleep, Cinders, Sunnyvalenting, Otter and others have contributed to. A big thank you to them.

Please let me know if I have missed relevant information. I am sure newbies and lurkers, and in fact all of us, would be grateful for more information.

Please post here on this thread and I will update.

Thanks,

Cassander

USA

Many members on mwo have contacted Dr. Fred Levin in the Chicago area for help. He is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University in Chicago and a practicing psychiatrist. He has prescribed Baclofen to patients for alcoholism throughout the US. His home telephone number is 312-642-5803. He can be reached between 7 and 9pm Central USA time at his home number, which is his preference. He is not much of an email user.

Georgia, USA

An mwo member, Spiritwolf333, was an inpatient resident at Assisted Recovery Center in Savannah, Ga, where he underwent a Baclofen course of treatment under a doctor’s supervision.

Here is the contact info: Owner: Terry Bruce; Phone: (912) 352-2425; Web: Contact | Assisted Recovery Centers of Georgia, Inc.

An mwo member, Sunnyvalenting, has reported that a doctor in Atlanta, Dr Tommy Richardson, is familiar with Baclofen.

Another member here, Cinders, lives in the Atlanta area and may have a recommendation if you PM her.

Texas, USA

An mwo member, PbarE, may have information regarding doctors who treat with Baclofen in Austin and Dallas

Arizona, USA

An mwo member, JustJill, may have information regarding doctors who treat with Baclofen in Arizona.

SF/Bay Area, USA

An mwo member, Suneeleca, has information regarding a doctor in the Bay Area who is familiar with Baclofen.

Dr. Lawrence Doyle of the Plymouth branch of Family Practice at Sutter Amador Hospital -- Laurence L. Doyle, NP - Phone & Address Info ?€“ Jackson, CA - Nursing (NP) was at one time responding to questions about Baclofen.

Boston, USA

Otter has posted that the McLean Hospital (affiliated with Harvard) is familiar with Baclofen treatment. Here is a link to McLean’s website: McLean Hospital | Patient Care : Adult. For further information, call 1.800.333.0338, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For outpatient services, call Intake at 617.855.2300, Monday through Friday.

Twin Cities, MN USA

Dr. Mark Willenbring, a former NIH official who practices in St. Paul, MN with Allina Health Care, is familiar with Baclofen, although some of his public comments have been skeptical. It is not clear if he is currently prescribing. He can be reached at 651-241-5959.

Oklahoma, USA

An mwo member, redthread12, may have information regarding availability of Baclofen treatment in Oklahoma. You may be able to PM her for more current information.

Los Angeles/SoCal USA

Stuckinla has reported a lead for a doctor in Los Angeles who has prescribed up to 80mg Baclofen. You may be able to PM him for more current information.

Colorado, USA

An mwo member, skullbabyland, has information regarding availability of Baclofen and naltrexone treatment in the Denver and Boulder areas.

United Kingdom and Ireland

Professor Jonathan Chick in Edinburgh has prescribed Baclofen and works with general practitioners in the UK and, apparently, Ireland. Here is his Internet contact information:
Professor Jonathan Chick Psychiatry Consultant, Edinburgh, private hospital specialist.

It has also been reported in this forum that Dr. Susan Cooper of Fenwick Road Surgery, Giffnock, Glasgow, prescribes Baclofen for alcoholism and that The Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Dykebar Hospital in Paisley treat alcoholism with Baclofen.

In Liverpool, an mwo member, Robbiel, reported that he was prescribed Baclofen through the Alcohol team (LCAS) at the Liverpool Royal Hospital.

An mwo member, Longshot, may have information regarding Baclofen treatment in Ireland.

Canada

The Addiction Medicine Clinic of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto has prescribed Baclofen for alcoholism.

Western Australia

Dr George O’Neil of the Fresh Start Recovery Programme has been recommended as someone familiar with baclofen. His ABN is: 84 106 876 019 and his contact information is 65 Townshend Road, Subiaco, Western Australia 6008. Telephone: (08) 9381 1333 and fax: (08) 9388 7073. Email: info@freshstart.org.au

Aruba

For information regarding possible assistance in Aruba, PM mwo member, Xadrian.

Zimbabwe

Should you find yourself at the ends of the universe in Zimbabwe, and in need of a doctor to prescribe Baclofen, or need help for practically any other reason, PM mwo member, bleep.
__________________

[skullbabyland]

baclofen hope

Good luck. Whatever you decide, please do LOTS of reading on the various threads here, be very smart about your own dosing, and post your own thread and many of us will chime in and help.

[Mandiekinz]

baclofen hope

Zampa, I also took Nal and did not like the side effects as well. More so that it made me dislike -everything-. I didn't even enjoy my morning cup of java nor people talking to me. I was zombiefied. I called Dr. Levin last night for hopes to try this new found "miracle". He says of all his patients, he has a 100% success rate and swears by it. Too good to be true? Perhaps...but for myself, even with the possible SE's that it'd be worth a try and probably safer than being black out wasted. He does phone consults and will help you every step of the way along with prescribing it for you. I have my first appointment with him this afternoon to go over the "program", which he claims is simple.

I'll post more details after our appointment.

There ARE options! I'm hoping for the best for you, for myself, and everyone else struggling.

[bleep]

baclofen hope

These good doctors do themselves a disservice when they say things like that. Although the success rate is high, Levin's is definitely not 100%. There are people on this forum who have tried and failed through him. There is no need to sugarcoat this - it is a very effective remedy.

Best of luck Mandie and Zampa, please let us know how you get. The best thing you can do at this point is to read as many threads as you can bear to get an idea of what is coming.

[zampa75]

baclofen hope

Thank you all!! :thanks::l