Baclofen

[Ampsabelle]

Hi there everybody - Ill try and keep this brief.
Im 43, been drinking since 18, once socially, now purely wine at home.
Have been trying to stop for about 4 years now. Tried hypnotherapy, homeopathy, apps, books, AA, other meetings....... you name it, Ive tried it.
Went to my new doc last week who is quite young so thought she'd have a modern approach and maybe prescribe me something new just come on the market perhaps but she wouldnt give me anything and told me to go back to the AA (Ive returned to the AA before and was made to feel very unwelcome - like I was the tarnished "re-drinker")
This dated attitude also doesnt help in the fact that I live in Catholic Ireland.
Have been reading up about Baclofen and feel this might work. I used to take Syndol for a knotted muscle and found I relaxed alot on it and didnt feel the need to drink (Syndol has now been taken off the market)
Any ideas / suggestions / feedback on good websites to use? Or any input would be welcomed really. Some UK suppliers wont send here and Im worried the ones in Kenya etc might be duds
Thanks guys

[Alky]

Hi Ampsabelle, I am in the USA, and it took me nearly a year to find a competent addiction psychiatrist, but it can be done. I tried self-medicating with baclofen (I don't recommend it) and just continued to drink alcoholically. I eventually landed myself both a psych ward and a detox unit (two separate occasions) while taking large doses of this supposed miracle pill.

The doctor who I credit with saving me from this addiction finally took care of the underlying issues driving my drinking: severe anxiety and panic attacks, ADD and insomnia. Rather than putting all my eggs in one basket, he prescribed an aggressive cocktail of medication:

Gabapentin 300mg 3x daily (anxiety/mood-stabilization/craving)
Clonidine .1mg daily (ADD/anxiety)
Baclofen 20mg 4x daily (craving)
Naltrexone 50mg as needed (craving)
Vistaril 50mg as needed (panic attacks)
Ativan 1mg as needed (severe panic attacks)

A word of warning about the medication forum here. There are very loud and vocal people, who are in my opinion dangerous, who will tell you to keep aggressively increasing your dosage of baclofen until you hit this elusive "indifference." Like I said, I tried their way, and it got me locked up once in a psych ward and once in a detox unit. I've found indifference (I've been sober a little under 4 months), but it was not by taking ginormous amounts of baclofen while still continuing to drink.

And a quick word about AA, I don't care for it either, but I do understand it's value. In early sobriety, it is very important to be around sober people, especially those with lots of sober time behind them. You can find that AA. Every time I relapsed, it's because I failed to understand the key concept that you can't think your way out of this addiction alone. That is why they constantly tell you to call someone when you're thinking about drinking. The meds forum is chock full of people who think they can medicate and think their own way out of alcoholism and continue to drink alcoholically. For someone who was nearly an end-stage alcoholic like myself, I don't think it's possible. But maybe you're fortunate to not be as far down the road as I was. Have you tried going to a NA meeting? I find the people there more interesting and less objectionable. And FAR less judgmental.

I would just keep, keep and keep trying to find an ADDICTION psychiatrist (emphasis on the ADDICTION), but if you can't, Dr. Jonathan Chick in England will prescribe. He has a website you can google.

Welcome and best of luck to you.

[spiritwolf333]

Hi Ampsabelle -wow, great to see you make it here and really great to see that you are still trying to put the plug in the jug.

Here is the real story: You-we-me are dealing with a brain disorder. There is no one single-simple answer for any of us. What I do is this; some form of medication or mixture thereof is quite necessary in order to change the brain. What Alky reports is true -for him. From what I have read, Alky has attempted many different ways but has now finally found a real solution. Many times, it ends up being more than just one medication. The great news is the fact that none of the newer -alcoholism related treatment drugs are addictive.

My report to you is this; I, like you tried everything known to stop drinking. It was only until I found Baclofen and Gabapentin did I start find real relief from the deadly Firewater disease.

You are courageous to continue to face this horrific disease and I know that you will now find some answers.
SW

[spiritwolf333]

Hi Ampsabelle - Baclofen cured my alcoholism - I've been sober and indifferent for over 4 years now. While Baclofen *does* have some anxiolytic (relaxing) effects, its anti-craving mechanism most likely lies in the way it modulates dopamine in the brain's mesolimbic reward system, so it might not work for you in the same way that the Syndol did - but, nevertheless, it still very well might work for you.

I don't give advice on how to take Baclofen. While the medication is very safe, it can have strong side effects and carries a near certainly of withdrawal syndrome upon abrupt or too-fast discontinuation - so it's always best to enlist the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional to see to your prescribing needs and to monitor your titration.

That said (and I've said it a million times here) qualified, informed doctors are often hard to find (outside of mainland Europe) in a time when the search for medications to treat addiction is still in its infancy - desperate times may call for desperate measures and everyone has the right to educate themselves and make their own decisions concerning their bodies and their healthcare. I started started self-prescribing myself, and even when I found 2 psychiatrists who were willing to write me scripts for high dose baclofen (up to 300mg/day), I was largely on my own in uncharted territory. Luckily for me things turned out okay - self-prescribing can be pretty risky business - but I felt that in my case the alternative (going without) would have led to a grim certainty.

I'm not sure if Dr. Chick (who is in Edinburgh) can/will prescribed to someone outside of the UK, but it's certainly worth contacting him. Goldpharma (in Germany) is a reputable online pharmacy (that I've used) that carries many brands (of high quality) Baclofen, and (I believe) still ships to Ireland in 6-10 days turnaround time. I believe that Baclofen is sold over the counter without a prescription in Spain. Lastly, MWO members (who unfortunately haven't been active in some time) Allyb and Longshot are in Ireland and have experience with (high-dose) baclofen - it might be worth a shot sending them a PM or email through the forum.

Welcome to MWO and good luck!
-tk

An informative read.