Baclofen and liver damage

[nicnak68]

Anyone ever heard of Baclofen causing liver damage.
I had a blood test in sept that showed my liver was in the normal range but I have what I think noticeably yellow skin around my eyes and the whites of my eyes.Went back to the docs and he said that I didn't have liver damage then and didn't look yellow to him and they only thing that would cause my liver damage at the mo was Baclofen and was quite angry I was still taking it.He said there was no need to have further tests and that I should just stop taking the Baclofen and go back to signpost.He made me feel quite awful!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

I'm sorry your doctor made you feel awful. Sounds like a twit.



Baclofen is processed through the kidneys. Baclofen is so safe for the liver that it is actually used to treat alcoholics with late stage cirrhosis. It's one of the reasons that baclofen is safe for alcoholics to begin with.

Baclofen is effective at promoting alcohol abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients with liver cirrhosis. The drug is well tolerated and could have an important role in treatment of these individuals.

Effectiveness and safety of baclofen for maintenance of alcohol abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients with liver cirrhosis: randomised, double-b... - PubMed - NCBI



I'm not sure what to tell you about the fact that you feel that your skin is yellow around your eyes, and that your eyes are yellow. Those symptoms happen at a pretty late stage in liver disease. It's very, very unlikely that if you had normal liver function a couple of months ago that your liver would be shutting down to the point that your skin is yellow.



Is something else going on, in general, that has you concerned about your health? For me it was (and is) always my heart. I'm not sure why. (Actually, that's not true. I know why. I had a friend who had a heart attack at age 38 and dropped dead. On Valentine's Day. And he was married to a cardiologist. You can't make this sh*t up! Anyway, ever since then, whenever my anxiety gets the best of me, I start to think I'm having heart problems. I've had more EKGs and stress tests than a 75 year old with heart problems. And I'm 46, and in perfect health.)



So what's going on that makes you think your liver is in trouble even though the test came back normal? I can assure you, once again, that baclofen will not give you liver disease. It doesn't work that way!



Hang in there, Nic. How much bac are you taking, now?

[nicnak68]

Hi ne
I currently on 270 and although not indifferent I find it hard to drink more than a glass of wine which is strange ,in the last week I've not drunk more than a bottle of wine the whole week!
This visit to the doc has really thrown me though

[Mentium]

I'm still a newbie compared to most of you guys, but one thing I really do know is that that the majority GPs really don't know a thing about baclofen. Your doctor was almost certainly talking from a position of ignorance about baclofen and was maybe a bit pissed off with you for not 'following orders'. They can be thoughtless and arrogant like anyone else.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Happy to hear about the fact that you're having a hard time drinking, Nic. And I fully agree with Mentium. If your doctor is not a psychiatrist s/he's not going to know anything at all about baclofen or treating addiction. If s/he IS a psychiatrist, it's still not very likely s/he'll know about baclofen. But all you need to do is bring in some info. It's really pretty convincing.

But if it's just your general doctor...pfffft. S/he just doesn't know.

[Spiritfree]

Anyone ever heard of Baclofen causing liver damage.
I had a blood test in sept that showed my liver was in the normal range but I have what I think noticeably yellow skin around my eyes and the whites of my eyes.Went back to the docs and he said that I didn't have liver damage then and didn't look yellow to him and they only thing that would cause my liver damage at the mo was Baclofen and was quite angry I was still taking it.He said there was no need to have further tests and that I should just stop taking the Baclofen and go back to signpost.He made me feel quite awful!

Baclofen has been promoted as one of those 'off-label' medications for alcoholism that is actually safer than any other med for people who are experiencing liver problems. There are many research articles stating this. Here is one:

Effectiveness and safety of baclofen for maintenance of alcohol abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients with liver cirrhosis: randomised, double-b... - PubMed - NCBI

[Ne/Neva Eva]

PS. If you're only drinking a glass of wine a night, and your liver enzymes were normal, then you really need to pick a different part of the body to worry about.