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    Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

    If you go to the Wiki alcoholism page and look at "Research" you will find a new entry on Baclofen.

    If you look at the Talk pages you will see a battle I engaged in with the editor who seems to control this page, Dr. James Heilman, a professor at the University of British Columbia who does not specicalize in alcohol addiction. You will find Dr. Heilman uses Youtube to teach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSAclauWLqQ[/video]]James Heilman on teaching with Wikipedia - YouTube

    I had intially gone onto Wikipedia and been accused of being a commercial supplier of bacloen for the “baclofen company” because of my user name, so I changed it to a name which reflected my weariness over the whole bacloen issue. I made some changes and was helped by another editor and we settled on a very good explanation of what baclofen is and a reference to Olivier Ameisen. You can see all of this unfolding on the Talk page.

    So, once it was there the other editor wished me “luck” saying that the edit might be removed.

    I kept an eye on the page and, as he had said, the entry just plain disappeared into thin air. There was no indication of who had deleted it, which is against Wikipedia rules.

    So I put it back in and wrote to the editor who had helped me. It is tricky reinstating Wikipedia entries. First, the whole way in which the citations of articles and papers is done requires an understanding of the codes they use which is very difficult. Secondly, if you do it wrong you will get into trouble with other editors for messing up the page and if you keep reinstating a deleted passage you can be banned from Wikipedia.

    I again kept an eye on it and it happened again a few months later so I put it back. Again, no indication of who had done it.

    I watched and again after a few months, around Christmas last year, the entry disappeared, and in its place appeared a reference to old studies on Baclofen which said it was not effective in low doses and was no more effective in alcohol withdrawal than benzodiazapines. This is interesting because it showed a particular bias and a knowledge of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

    Again, there was no reference to who had made this change.

    At that point I lost my cool and waded into the Wiki page and just inserted the old paragraph back and wrote to the editor I had been dealing with and told him about it. I got no response but the page was again amended back, deleting my edit.

    I got no response from the original editor but did get a comment from Dr. Heilman to the effect that my original text was incomprehensible but he did not admit to breaching Wikipedia rules at least three times.

    Anyway, I cited provisions of his professional code of conduct which govern publishing to the public by doctors which require that if one is in disagreement with the rest of the profession, then he must say why. I sent him the prescribing guidelines and suggested that he should try to “learn” himself about baclofen. The British Columbia medical ethics guidelines advise doctors to “teach and be taught”.

    After a few hours Dr. Heilman found the reference to the recent developments in baclofen research and agreed to post t. This was all on New Years Eve so I give him credit for doing this when most others were just having a good time.

    I left it for a while and then went back into the site and found no changes had been made so I just cut and pasted the new changes in. I then received a very angry email from Dr. Heilman telling me that he would remove my privileges on Wikipedia if I ever cut and pasted into it again. He then made the change himself, using his editing skills to make the new reference to baclofen appear in as negative a tone as he could make it. I decided not to pursue the matter any further with him or mention that he had violated Wikipedia rules three times, had no experience in alcoholism treatment and his entry in relation to baclofen for alcoholism withdrawal had nothing to do with treatment of alcoholism, only withdrawal from it.

    I will give Dr. Heilman some credit for picking up the ball and running with it and putting something on the page. I asked him, however, when he considered it appropriate for doctors to start using baclofen and he came back to me saying only when it was licensed, which goes against the guidelines issued by other governing bodies such as the UK’s General Medical Council which says doctors must consider off licence drugs and discuss their risks and benefits with patients.

    Wikipedia comes up on every search on the internet so anyone looking for a treatment for alcoholism on the internet is at least going to get the alcoholism page coming up. Initially there was nothing at all about baclofen so it is good there is something. I don’t like the idea that a professor at a lesser ranking university who does not specialize in addictions or practice in alcoholism has control over this page. In addition, it seems he is quite happy not to engage in the required discussions on the Talk page before editing, makes changes without consulting anyone, fails to indicate who he is when he makes changes and is happy to throw his weight around when he feels like it.

    All in all, a rather unpleasant experience which highlights for me that baclofen really hasn’t yet scratched the surface in the media or, more alarmingly, in universities where, in the case of Dr. Heilman, we have someone who one would think would be highly motivated to “teach and be taught”, keep on top of significant developments in health care and keep the public advised when he has important developments brought to his attention. (His CV includes references to his interest in public health).

    Shocking and sad that what could be a good source of information about medical treatments which are now being used legally and effectively is being controlled by this person so that people might not find the medical help they are looking for.

    The most disturbing thing about this was that the change this Professor made suggested that baclofen was not better than benzodiazapines for alcohol withdrawal. This showed he didn't understand the issue. The paper he cited showed that baclofen was as good as benzodiazapines but he chose to put a negative and discouraging slant on its use. What he failed to understand was that baclofen is eliminated by the kidneys, not the liver, so that for patients with liver failure it is a better option than benzodiazapines and is being used by senior doctors treating liver patients.

    All I can say is that I am glad I don't live in Vancouver and need medical treatment if that is the standard of those who teach doctors and they rely on Wikipedia to teach them.
    BACLOFENISTA

    baclofenuk.com

    http://www.theendofmyaddiction.org





    Olivier Ameisen

    In addiction, suppression of symptoms should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaine, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine"

    #2
    Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

    Good stuff, Otter. I wonder if there's anyone at Wikipedia, or involved with them, that you could report Dr. Heilman's behavior to. That guy sounds like an arrogant asshole who doesn't care about learning new things. And the fact that he leaves no trace or won't engage in discussion just highlights his fear of "being wrong" in his beliefs. Someone with authority at Wikipedia needs to explain to him that he is not above the law, so to speak.
    Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.
    George Santayana

    Comment


      #3
      Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

      Hi Otter

      I have a dream...

      that someday we will know exactly what factors have contributed to the delayed recognition of baclofen treatment for alcoholism and the resistance to it from the "establishment" (if you can call Wikipedia the establishment).

      Among the considerations (from a US-centric point of view) are...

      --the long time it takes in the real world for any new treatment, including legitimate effective treatments to gain acceptance. Ne sent me and may have posted a wonderful and convincing article on this phenomenon a few months ago. If any one is interested I will try to find it.

      --the natural skepticism of many that there could be a medical treatment for what is perceived by many as a failure of will.

      --the entrenched practices of the rehab community and their long standing alliance with AA. It is hard for me to believe that the entire industry would rather stick with a protocol (AA) that only works 5 to 30% of the time because its good for repeat business, but...maybe.

      --the resistance of AA to accept medical treatment and drug intervention as a solution, even though there are FDA approved medications (meaning medications whose safety and efficacy have been established), not to mention the growing evidence of the efficacy of baclofen.

      --the historical disinterest of GPs, family doctors, internists and psychiatrists in dealing with alcoholism. Perhaps because, historically, it has been deemed largely "untreatable". Which has led to an almost total unwillingness to treat alcoholism (and as has been observed here, an inability to treat in any kind of holistic way the comorbidities of alcoholism). And the absolute numerical paucity of "addiction specialists".

      --the occasional "horror" stories about side effects and withdrawal on baclofen (which are complicated by the fact that baclofen is often not taken under a doctor's supervision)

      --the fact that baclofen is off patent and there is no money to be made by a pharmaceutical company in pushing baclofen.

      --the fact that the FDA has taken no apparent steps to include alcoholism on the baclofen "label"

      --the absence of a charismatic, over-the-top spokesman for baclofen. Think Larry Kramer on AIDS. Anybody willing to step up?

      --the gunshyness of the media. As stupid as our mainstream media is, they have published stories on "miracle cures" in the past, only to be embarrassed when the cure doesn't prove out.

      -- notwithstanding ever increasing anecdotal evidence, the absence of a bullet-proof gold standard double blind study establishing HDB as safe and effective.

      Come to think of it, maybe its only this last one which matters. Maybe all the rest will fall in place if we just had the study...

      Cassander
      With profound appreciation to Dr Olivier Ameisen for his brilliant insight and courageous determination

      Comment


        #4
        Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

        From what I have heard, Wikipedia pages are all like that. People who have orthodox views and a bit of credibility treat them like they own them.

        Wikipedia have systems for appealing and mediating these things but I would not be able to persuade them that Heilman was wrong because I am not medically qualified. Wikipedia is a lot like a chat forum. You make a change, someone comes along and comments on it and might get it deleted. What results is that anyone who wants to get something on to a page has to phrase what they are saying that it doesn't upset someone else who has strong views. The result in many cases is just a reflection of a compromise which isn't necessarily the truth. It is more like a Weegee Board than an encyclopedia. I tried to get some doctors interested and they didn't even respond to me.

        I think when there is some change in any country and it is licenced for use, then the page will be changed to show it as a medicine rather than in research. I don't think they have actually approved it in France despite what we have been told here. Or, if one of the ongoing studies ends and there is a Pubmed paper, that might go in.

        Yeah, the guy came across as incredibly aggressive, arrogant, unfeeling and not as bright as one would expect of a professor.
        BACLOFENISTA

        baclofenuk.com

        http://www.theendofmyaddiction.org





        Olivier Ameisen

        In addiction, suppression of symptoms should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaine, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine"

        Comment


          #5
          Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

          Regarding the "rehab" industry...

          I would like to think that the leadership and ownership in the "industry" believes its standard procedures (detox, withdrawal, 30 days of AA indoctrination, a few pep talks, followed by a halfway house and/or a 90/90 intense AA program) actually work.

          However, there are few or virtually no publicly available statistics. To my common sense way of thinking there is no reason to believe that rehab followed by AA is any more effective than AA alone. AA is also notorious for not publishing reliable "cure" rates, but the estimates I have seen range from as low as 5% to maybe 30%. Maybe a stint in rehab helps some and pushes the rate up, but it still seems abysmally low.

          So back to the leadership and whether they "know" their product doesn't work and still push it. Well, maybe. If you have a product that kinda seems to work (hardly anybody seems to drink while at rehab) and doesn't do overt harm and people keep buying it, and its a 'paycheck', and leads to repeat business (because it doesn't really work), well, maybe you just put your head down and keep selling. Especially if you are an alcoholic yourself and its your job.

          Pretty cynical, no?

          Cassander
          With profound appreciation to Dr Olivier Ameisen for his brilliant insight and courageous determination

          Comment


            #6
            Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

            Otter -- I wonder what the French wikipedia baclof?ne page says...I guess I'll go look... Cass
            With profound appreciation to Dr Olivier Ameisen for his brilliant insight and courageous determination

            Comment


              #7
              Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

              There is an extensive (and not all favorable) discussion of treatment for alcoholism of the French baclof?ne wiki page. I guess there is a different editor over there...

              Baclofène - Wikipédia

              Cass

              PS Do you think the 'truth' depends on what language it is written in?
              With profound appreciation to Dr Olivier Ameisen for his brilliant insight and courageous determination

              Comment


                #8
                Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                Otter;1621039 wrote: From what I have heard, Wikipedia pages are all like that. People who have orthodox views and a bit of credibility treat them like they own them.

                What results is that anyone who wants to get something on to a page has to phrase what they are saying that it doesn't upset someone else who has strong views. The result in many cases is just a reflection of a compromise which isn't necessarily the truth.
                The guy moderates the page. As such, the page is his domain and you're going to have to play by his rules. Obviously that doesn't sit well with you, but that's the reality. In your post, you've questioned his commitment to medicine and competence as a doctor. Is it possible that you just pissed him off?

                Also, his reaction is the norm, not the exception. I go to a family practice clinic at a teaching hospital, so I usually see a resident. When I told her I was taking baclofen and why, she went to get the attending, who furious, demanded I stop, and declared that "no one here will ever prescribe you baclofen." Luckily, I have a more open-minded psychiatrist who gave me a legit prescription. Fact of the matter is, as you and Cassander pointed out, even with the mounting evidence, there are just no gold-standard studies out there that proves baclofen's efficacy. Hopefully the one wrapping up in the Netherlands will change that, and there's one going on in the USA that will end in 2017. But until these studies provide indisputable proof and baclofen is licensed, it's efficacy remains conjecture, and you don't put conjecture into an encyclopedia.

                You're not going to change the guy's mind, so do what Evan did and put up your own site and hire someone to tweak the metrics so it shows up high in a Google search.

                Cassander wrote: AA is also notorious for not publishing reliable "cure" rates,
                Yes, because the second "A" stands for ANONYMOUS and the organization does not want to do anything that might compromise the anonymity of its constituency. And while I don't necessarily agree, the vast majority of AA members will never consider themselves "cured" anyway. I finally found a good meeting. No one tries to ram religion down my throat (there are at least 1-2 other Jews in most meetings as well), no one insists I get a sponsor or buy the Big Book or work the twelve steps. However, the distance from alcohol that baclofen has given me does allow me to put into practice some of the strategies they suggest to keep you from taking a drink when you really feel like you need one. The organization is not all bad.

                Cassander wrote:
                hardly anybody seems to drink while at rehab
                Hmmm…maybe I just went to the wrong (right?) rehab…

                Anyway, long story short, this is going to be a protracted (I predict decades long) battle that is going to be won one patient to doctor at a time.
                In the middle of my life's journey, I found myself in a dark wood, as I had lost the straight path. It is a difficult thing to speak about, how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood is. Just thinking about it recreates the fear. It is scarcely less bitter than death, but in order to tell of the good that I found there, I must tell of the other things I saw there. --Dante, paraphrased

                Comment


                  #9
                  Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                  I am not a conspiracy nut, but the "truth", as you call it Cassander, is hidden behind many layers. Most of these layers are not deliberately put there, I would like to think, but are simply the result of being a young species. We have only been at this sort of thing for a couple of 100 years really.

                  I would hope that in the next few 100 years we are able to sort our shit out. Sadly, that's not much help for those of us around now, but you could have been around a hundred years ago. Try complaining then and see how far you get.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                    The French wikipedia entry has a lot of great info, perhaps it could be translated and much of the content incorporated into the English one? Given that its acceptable for the French, surely it should be ok to transfer that knowledge into the English one. That would be a good start.
                    01-01-2014 - Indifference reached, success with high dose Baclofen 295mg.

                    Baclofen prescribing guide

                    Baclofen for alcoholism - Consolidated Information - Studies, prescribing guides, links

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                      Cass,

                      I think in the US, the legal position is that alcoholism is not an illness although the American Bar Associaton says it is. It's not a great starting point.

                      The problem in my opinion is that everyone drinks so most people, who are not alcoholics, use their own experience to judge the situation and feel that if they can stop then so can anyone.

                      The spread of information about this treatment is key because a double blind trial is not necessary before doctors prescribe but concern by insurers that doctors could be exposed to liability could make then require doctors to consider prescribing if they got the sense that people could start asking why their doctors had not prescribed baclofen years ago.

                      Is there any other area where doctors have been held liable for not picking up on a treatment and their patients have suffered needlessly?

                      I keep going on about litigating this because that is how changes come about in the US in many situations.
                      BACLOFENISTA

                      baclofenuk.com

                      http://www.theendofmyaddiction.org





                      Olivier Ameisen

                      In addiction, suppression of symptoms should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaine, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine"

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                        Alky;1621057 wrote: ...

                        You're not going to change the guy's mind, so do what Evan did and put up your own site and hire someone to tweak the metrics so it shows up high in a Google search.

                        ...
                        Alky, you should be aware that Otter has, in fact, put up his own site, and was a partner of Evan's in putting up the new site. And done a few dozen other constructive and positive things to promote awareness. Only a very few people have done as much as Otter to try to promote awareness of baclofen. He is one of the good guys.

                        Cassander
                        With profound appreciation to Dr Olivier Ameisen for his brilliant insight and courageous determination

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                          Alky;1621057 wrote:

                          Yes, because the second "A" stands for ANONYMOUS and the organization does not want to do anything that might compromise the anonymity of its constituency. And while I don't necessarily agree, the vast majority of AA members will never consider themselves "cured" anyway. I finally found a good meeting. No one tries to ram religion down my throat (there are at least 1-2 other Jews in most meetings as well), no one insists I get a sponsor or buy the Big Book or work the twelve steps. However, the distance from alcohol that baclofen has given me does allow me to put into practice some of the strategies they suggest to keep you from taking a drink when you really feel like you need one. The organization is not all bad.

                          Hello Alky

                          I don't want to refight the AA wars. There are many threads on that subject.

                          I would say that the fact that members are anonymous is a poor excuse for not having statistics. In no way would statistics compromise anonymity. I don't buy that.

                          I agree totally that the organization is not all bad. It could be even better.

                          I knew I was stepping out on a limb here when I used the word "cured". There are also many threads on this subject. So, use another word: "effective", "in remission", "abstinent", "indifferent", "on the wagon", "not drinking", "sober". Use whatever word you want, many estimates suggest that AA "doesn't work" for many.

                          As you say, that doesn't mean its not all bad.

                          Cassander
                          With profound appreciation to Dr Olivier Ameisen for his brilliant insight and courageous determination

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                            Alky;1621057 wrote: The guy moderates the page. As such, the page is his domain and you're going to have to play by his rules. Obviously that doesn't sit well with you, but that's the reality. In your post, you've questioned his commitment to medicine and competence as a doctor. Is it possible that you just pissed him off?

                            Also, his reaction is the norm, not the exception. I go to a family practice clinic at a teaching hospital, so I usually see a resident. When I told her I was taking baclofen and why, she went to get the attending, who furious, demanded I stop, and declared that "no one here will ever prescribe you baclofen." Luckily, I have a more open-minded psychiatrist who gave me a legit prescription. Fact of the matter is, as you and Cassander pointed out, even with the mounting evidence, there are just no gold-standard studies out there that proves baclofen's efficacy. Hopefully the one wrapping up in the Netherlands will change that, and there's one going on in the USA that will end in 2017. But until these studies provide indisputable proof and baclofen is licensed, it's efficacy remains conjecture, and you don't put conjecture into an encyclopedia.

                            You're not going to change the guy's mind, so do what Evan did and put up your own site and hire someone to tweak the metrics so it shows up high in a Google search.



                            Yes, because the second "A" stands for ANONYMOUS and the organization does not want to do anything that might compromise the anonymity of its constituency. And while I don't necessarily agree, the vast majority of AA members will never consider themselves "cured" anyway. I finally found a good meeting. No one tries to ram religion down my throat (there are at least 1-2 other Jews in most meetings as well), no one insists I get a sponsor or buy the Big Book or work the twelve steps. However, the distance from alcohol that baclofen has given me does allow me to put into practice some of the strategies they suggest to keep you from taking a drink when you really feel like you need one. The organization is not all bad.



                            Hmmm?maybe I just went to the wrong (right?) rehab?

                            Anyway, long story short, this is going to be a protracted (I predict decades long) battle that is going to be won one patient to doctor at a time.
                            I wasn't aware of there being a "moderator" of wikipages so I thought that some troll was removing the information. I actually thought it was one of our members or trolls on this forum so I was quite upset. I had spend several days getting the entry correctly worded with the help of a Wiki editor on that page. He said nothing about the page being moderated by anyone and Heilman has never said it is his domain. He says he keeps an eye on the page.


                            I did upset him. I made it very clear to him that I was upset and I considered his conduct unprofessional because he was publishing incorrect information on a public web site about a very serious, life threatening illness, and he made the changes.

                            The lack of a double blind trial is not the test of whether something is speculation in the medical world. Ameisen made a very good point that most cancer medications are used off licence. It would be silly to expect a person who had a rare condition which others found responded to an off licence use of an old drug to have to plead with his doctor to use it and for the doctor to refuse to look at the drug because it hadn't been trialed. That simply isn't how it works.

                            As an experiment I changed doctors and told my new doctor who didn't know me that I had a nervous twitch and that I had previously been prescribed with baclofen. She checked it out on her database of medications and wrote me out a prescription without even discussing the side effects. Because it is a safe medication. This whole debate and the experience you had has nothing to do with trials or side effects.

                            Alky, I am the moderator of Lo0p's site and I operate and pay for the other English language baclofen sites, since 2010. I translated the prescribing guide into English and have been lobbying the UK government to do something about this situation for years and they are now going to look at it for the first time...next November.

                            The French wiki site is much better and there is no reason the English site is not the same. The only thing holding it back is lack of information outside of France. I just don't think Heilman should have so much influence on that page. Trouble is he comes across as very aggressive and as someone who has a high opinion of himself.

                            I put him in his place in the end because I studied medical ethics and jurisprudence under the leading professor in Canada and when I told him he completely changed his tone.
                            BACLOFENISTA

                            baclofenuk.com

                            http://www.theendofmyaddiction.org





                            Olivier Ameisen

                            In addiction, suppression of symptoms should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaine, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine"

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Baclofen Wikipedia wars!

                              I just went back to the beginning of the medications threads. There was no mention of baclofen at all for a long time and the drugs which were being mentioned have pretty much dropped out of site. Baclofen has emerged as the clear winner in terms of use and success. I looked at my own early posts. They don't convey a fraction of the terror I was going through at the time. I was desperate to find a treatment, a doctor and help in prescribing.

                              Now I have a completely different life. We live a booze free life. Instead of me trying to work while being a full time nurse and alcohol counselor to a woman on deaths door, my wife now does our financial dealings, looks after the house and is enjoying her sobriety.

                              Five years ago I never imagined a way out of it. Baclofen isn't just a treatment, it is a wonder drug. Alcoholism is, in my opinion, worse than heroin addiction and harder to break so to find such a powerful and effective treatment that is so cheap and so easy to administer is one of the most significant medical discoveries...ever!

                              That is probably why it is not taking off, because people are so jaded these days that if you say there is a modern miracle taking place in medicine, they just don't believe that is possible.

                              Anyway, that's just me rambling.
                              BACLOFENISTA

                              baclofenuk.com

                              http://www.theendofmyaddiction.org





                              Olivier Ameisen

                              In addiction, suppression of symptoms should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaine, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine"

                              Comment

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