Baclofen for Anxiety

[chelsea98]

hi,

I've come to this board after reading the recent article on the bbc website about seasonal anxiety. My background is that I've been an alcoholic for quite some time and frequent another board which has given me a lot of help. I am now sober thanks to a particular medication called Baclofen. For those of you unaware of it, it's a GABA b agonist and has eliminated my mental cravings for alcohol. There is one member on this forum here who it seems has experienced the same thing. The reason I am posting here is because on the other forum I frequent there has been a lot of talk about baclofen and it's benefits when it comes to combating anxiety. I first heard about baclofen by reading a book by Doctor Olivier Amiesen called The End of My Addiction (at amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-End-My-A.../dp/0749942207 ) who first discovered this new route to freedom from alcohol. Throughout the book he also talks about the benefits that baclofen had on his long term anxiety (which in turn led to his alcohol problems). There is a thread in particular on the www.mywayout.org forum that I visit which could prove interesting reading for some of you who are unaware of some of the benefits of this medication. I must stress that I am NOT a doctor or medical professional, just someone who has successfully beaten the vicious cycle of alcohol addiction and has read about others benefiting from baclofen when it comes to their anxiety. I would advise to ALWAYS consult a doctor or medical professional as it is a powerful medication and there are side effects.

the thread is here for those who are interested and I hope I haven't broken any posting guidlines on this occasion, thank you.

http://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...ety-50827.html

[MrMr]

Why did you entitle this thread "baclofen for anxiety" and then go on to say it is actually supposedly for alcoholism? To manipulate the reader, that's why. Personally I hope you have broken posting guidelines because a random person promoting medically prescribed drugs for whatever condition, is iffy at best.

[chelsea98]

hi, if i've titled this topic incorrectly i'll happily change it to something more appropriate. the reason i titled it as such is because of what i've read on the mywayout forum and then to give a background as to why i use it.


baclofen isn't exclusively for alcohol, it can also be used for mental cravings for marijuana, gambling etc.it's actually prescribed for muscle spasticity and it's only in the last decade that these additional effects have been recognised (as far as i know viagra started out with an entirely different use initially). i'm not trying to promote it at all, it doesn't benefit me either way, I have mine prescribed to me by a private doctor for my needs as this is off license use. it's just that i've read a bit over on the mywayout forum regarding baclofen (have you read through the thread I linked to above?) and it's help with people with anxiety so just wanted to give people the additional information if they don't already have it. i can't say that it will work for anyone let alone everyone but i felt that readers could take the information in and decide for themselves and then raise it with a doctor or other medical professional should they wish to.

[chelsea98]

here are some of the first few quotes from the thread I have linked to above:

1. Lady Lush
June 23, 2011
My Way Out

[***8230;] I have/had terrible anxiety before Bac. Ad's, Ativan, Zanax, etc. Nothing helped. From the first day I felt relief with Baclofen...I think maybe in my case it was not the cravings but the relief of anxiety. I no longer "needed" a drink to function, mingle, co-exist, whatever we consider the underlying factor for drinking in excess. A day lead into days, a week, and a full month (almost) not needing a drink to be me! [***8230;]

June 23, 2011

No, I drank, (in the beginning), but the anxiety was/is gone. I don't fret about crap anymore. I don't know really how to put it in perspective.I know now, I do not need alcohol or anything else to calm me down. I had a meeting today; I was on the top of my game. No fear, no nothing. I hope to someone this makes sense! My life has never been better!...

June 24, 2011

Anxiety causes so much depreciation in every aspect of our life. It was the sword I could not fight. Baclofen is the ONLY thing ever that helped me. ... I do not work for the drug companies as someone PM'd me. I am here to say take the damn pill. It is REAL, and it works. My life is MY life again. Words can not express the gratitude I have for Dr. O discovering this. And sticking with it, and writing his book.

June 30, 2011

[chelsea98]

thank you tabitha, i hope it can help someone and if anyone has any questions please feel free to pm me and i may be able to point you in the right direction.

[Between The Bars]

Originally Posted by MrMr

Why did you entitle this thread "baclofen for anxiety" and then go on to say it is actually supposedly for alcoholism? To manipulate the reader, that's why. Personally I hope you have broken posting guidelines because a random person promoting medically prescribed drugs for whatever condition, is iffy at best.

What the hell are you talking aboot!!

chelsea98, great post, i'm looking into this, thanks.

[chelsea98]

like i said before, i hope its of use to someone. i previously made a thread about this same subject but i did go too far with the detailing and the mods corrected me and took down the thread.

i've currently had all the side effects it can throw at me and have managed well. i never considered that i may have had anxiety but my drinking was related to a lot of issues, primarily working with my parents as they went through a bitter divorce so in retrospect i could well have been anxious which in turn led to alcohol etc etc. one thing i must say though, is that after i started taking baclofen, i was a lot more chilled. my wife made a cock up with a blind for the kitchen and whereas previously i wouldve been stressed by it, i was more like, aah bugger it, its no big deal. i just dont fret over things any more really.

there's a lot to read about baclofen with regards to anxiety, some people have had remarkable success and others haven't, but as before, you take the information and do with it as you will, im just glad that I can introduce some of you to it.

[MrMr]

@Bryter & Tabitha

To be fair to me, my initial comments were in fact logical: posts making claims about drugs with misleading titles are often and obvious hallmarks of manipulative spam. I was simply trying to be protective of other forum members, which in view of the personal lashing out that followed I shall change tact on, and just think **** em instead

@ Chelsea98

To be fair to you, now I have seen subsequent posts it appears more likely that you are genuine than your original post seemed on the face of it, which of course I humbly apologise for

[chelsea98]

MrMr,

no need to apologise at all. i know exactly what you meant and as a first post from a new member(me) it's a fair line to take. my intention is only to spread info about baclofen and the success that some people are having with it for their anxiety (and in some cases, amazing results).

i've also started speaking to people who i know with alcohol problems as as far as i'm concerned, the more people who have the knowledge about this medication and what it can offer them the better. personally, for my use with alcohol, i am on what is called HDB, High Dose Baclofen, and peaked at 240 (24x10mg tablets) per day. the success that some people have had with using it for anxiety has come at much lower doses, some as low as 30mg a day. the drug itself has been used for many decades so is considered safe at these low doses (up to 100mg per day) so i think it would definitely be worthwhile some of you looking in to it. i self medicate over and above what my private doctor has prescribed as it is easy to buy this medication online. I must stress that this is my personal situation and I wouldn't advise anyone to follow suit, you should always consult a medical specialist.

although the thread about it on the mywayout.org forum is 24 pages long, it's definitely worth a read for anyone who has opened this thread.

[wlien]

I have MS and have in the past used Baclofen when I have muscle spasms I had no idea that it could help for anxiety as well. Its been a good 10 years since I took it so I can't remember how I felt at the time, I've only really come to think of myself as having anxiety issues over the past 5 years or so.

[chelsea98]

hi wlien,

as far as I know, doctors will only prescribe up to 150mg per day for MS, whereas doctor amiesen who wrote the book about how he cured his addiction to alcohol and how it also eliminated his anxiety went up as high as approx 370mg per day (i went up to 240mg per day and am titrating down, now at 170mg per day, 5 months to go up and the same to go down). that was primarily to deal with his alcohol and the elimination of his anxiety was a completely unexpected side effect. as ive said before, i've read of people who have had extreme success with their anxiety on doses as low as 30mg per day, completely within safe prescribing guidlines.

[Azi]

Perhaps overcoming alcoholism was the root cause of hos reduced anxiety? Has baclofen been tested as an anxiety medicine specifically?

[chelsea98]

Hi Azi,

here's a snippet from the book by the doctor:

One of the most compelling discoveries Dr Ameisen made in his baclofen self-experiment was that baclofen not only left him indifferent to alcohol, it also relieved his underlying, long term generalized anxiety. Dr Ameisen has said, "In Alcoholics Anonymous I constantly heard people say that they suffered all their lives from physical and/or emotional “dis-ease,” because of anxiety, depression, or a similar disorder, and that drinking was the only thing that helped. From my early childhood I experienced the same kind of underlying dysphoria, to put it in medical jargon, because of chronic anxiety. In my teenage years and adulthood, the anxiety frequently escalated into crippling panic attacks. None of the medications I was prescribed for these problems helped much, and I turned to alcohol as a tranquilizer, especially in stressful social situations. For quite a while I was a moderate social drinker, but eventually I plunged into full-blown alcoholism. Baclofen has been so helpful to me because it has resolved my pre-existing anxiety as well as my alcoholism. Again, it can likely do this because the same neurotransmitters that are involved in addictive and compulsive behaviors are also involved in anxiety and depression.

I'm heading out to work soon so will have a nose around about whether there are studies or if it has been tested etc. i do know that people are experiencing relief using baclofen for anxiety. the thing is, it's a long struggle to get this recognised for these additional uses. Dr Amiesens methods are only now being adopted in france and the goverment have issued prescribing guidlines to doctors for high dose baclofen up to levels way and beyond the 240 a day i was on.

[Azi]

My issue is that this is anecdotal evidence (which may or may not be supportedby the wider literature). People are recommending not just a potentially harmful medicine for use in a non-standard way but also pushing for it to be prescribed in high doses on very scant evidence. It's a dangerous approach.

[chelsea98]

i fully understand what you mean azi.rather than recommend baclofen, i only want to give people information about something which may be of use to them so that they can ask further questions and look in to it.

the high doses which i have mentioned have only been used when it comes to treating addiction as far as I know and from what i've read, effects on anxiety are apparent at much much lower levels and way below the safe prescribing guidelines currently in place of a maximum of 100mg per day. i personally self medicate to higher levels but i would never, i repeat, never advise anyone to do the same.

I shall dig around for some hard evidence for you about the use of baclofen for anxiety but it may take a while as I'm extremely busy, I will get it though. regarding it being potentially harmful, Dr Amiesen did write the following:

I invite physicians to search the medical literature and look for a single dangerous side effect of long term high-dose baclofen. In seven years that I have published my first paper, not one single phyisician has raised an objection or claimed that one single patient has sufferred a severe or irreversible side effect of high-dose baclofen! It does not take a medical literature search to see that the drug alcohol kills every day and massively so. For this, one needs to only open a newspaper any day or watch the evening news. Immediate and long term deadliness of alcohol has been common knowledge for centuries.

of course, you should bear in mind that he is talking about high dose baclofen (ranging from 100mg per day up to 500mg per day) for use with alcohol and other addictions and not the levels where some people have had real benefits for their anxiety at between 30-80mg per day. Baclofen has been in use for decades now so i think in terms of it's harmfulness, it's been pretty well documented that it is a safe drug, albeit with side effects which of course, are greater at the much higher dose levels (trust me, i've had the lot!)

[chelsea98]

hi Azi,

here's some further reading for you that I managed to glean after a quick search.

here's a thread on another anxiety forum about baclofen

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/...nxiety-147757/

here's details of a clinical trial starting soon in america:

http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01751386

there's more out there i'm sure and I'll put some time aside and find more info for you.

[chelsea98]

the first link in my post above was from the social anxiety forum. the person who started that topic (way back in 2011) ended his first post with the following statement.

My GAD is bad enough that it is with me 90% of the time, and my SA is bad enough that I have panic attacks even thinking about social interaction in my personal life and at work. I have severe physical symptoms that are debilitating. I have been on more meds for anxiety in the last few years than you can count on your fingers and toes. This has largely controlled my life for some time now. The only way I could effectively deal with my SA before baclofen is with either alcohol or opiates. Now in a matter of 5 days I feel completely different, I am not really super pro social, but I can hold conversation with ease, and I do not constantly worry about social interaction. Some other drugs have had this effect for me, but only because they were sedating. Baclofen is working without the sedation.

Just for reference my current meds are:

-baclofen 60 mg split into 3- 20 mg doses
-propranolol 80 mg split into 2- 40 mg doses
-amitriptyline 50 mg at night
-sonata 10 mg at night
-xanax .5 mg at night only

[chelsea98]

here's a very interesting patent application from 1977 regarding baclofen and it's use for anxiety:

United States Patent 4,156,013
Bruinvels , et al. May 22, 1979
Method for treating patients suffering from anxiety neurosis and anxietylike neurosis, and alcoholism

Abstract
Patients suffering from anxiety neurosis and anxietylike neurosis often accompanied by alcoholism are treated by administration of medicine containing a .beta.-(p-halogen phenyl)-.GAMMA.-aminobutyric acid as active compound. As a result these patients were totally freed from the above mentioned complaints.

Inventors: Bruinvels; Jacques (DE Bilt, NL), Pepplinkhuizen; Lolke (Rotterdam, NL)
Assignee: Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (Rotterdam, NL)
Family ID: 19828697
Appl. No.: 05/914,087
Filed: June 9, 1978
Foreign Application Priority Data
Jun 10, 1977 [NL] 7706429
Current U.S. Class: 514/567
Current CPC Class: A61K 31/195 (20130101)
Current International Class: A61K 31/185 (20060101); A61K 31/195 (20060101); A61K 031/195 ()
Field of Search: ;424/319
References Cited [Referenced By]

Other References

chem. Abst. 59-8646G (1963)..

Primary Examiner: Friedman; Stanley J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Mason, Fenwick & Lawrence
Claims


We claim:

1. A method for treating patients suffering from anxiety neurosis, which comprises administering to said patients a compound having the formula ##STR1## wherein X is a halogen atom such as Fl, Cl or Br, in a dose sufficient to relieve the symptoms of said neurosis.

2. The method of claim 1 including said dose being in an amount of about 5-60 mg per day per patient.

3. The method of claim 1 including, said dose being initially 15-60 mg per day per patient and thereafter 5-15 mg per day per patient.

4. The method of claim 2 including, said dose being in the form of suppositoria or coated tablets.

5. The method of claim 1 where the anxiety neurosis is accompanied by alcoholism.
Description


The invention relates to a process for the preparation of a medicine having anti-anxiety neurosis and anti-anxietylike neurosis activity and to a medicine having such activity.

From clinical trials it appeared that patients having anxiety neurosis, as defined by Woodruff, R. A., Goodwin, D. W. and Guze, S. B. and Wheeler, E. O., White, P. D., Reed, E. W. and Cohen, M. E., did not show any amelioration upon administration of known anxiolytics.

The symptoms of anxiety neurosis, as defined by Woodruff and Wheeler, are in decreasing significancy: palpitation, tires easily, breathlessness, nervousness, chest pain, sighing, dizziness, faintness, apprehensiveness, headache, paresthesias, weakness, trembling, breath unsatisfactory, insomnia, unhappiness, shakiness, fatigued all the time, sweating, fear of death, smothering, syncope, urinary frequency, vomiting and diarrhea and anorexia.

Such patients, who very often suffer from serious sleep disorders, do not react at all or hardly react on the administration of well known anxiolytics or sleep inducing medicines, such as benzodiazepines or barbiturates, among others valium, seresta, temesta, vesparax etc. Also an intensive psycho-therapy did not provide the desired results.

If one realizes that 2-4% of the population suffers from such anxiety neurosis, it should be clear that there exists a pressing need in providing a medicine having anti-anxiety neurosis and anti-anxietylike neurosis activity.

The object of the invention is to meet such a need.

In this connection the invention relates to a process for the preparation of a medicine possessing anxiety neurosis, characterized in that a compound having the formula of the formula sheet, wherein X is a halogen atom, such as Fl, Cl or Br, is put in an administration form which is suited for medical purposes.

As active compound a .beta.-(p-halogen phenyl)-.gamma.-amino/butyric acid is used. In the event that in the compound having the formula of the formula sheet X is Cl, this compound is a known substance, to wit .beta.-(p-chloro phenyl)-.gamma.-aminobutyric acid having the generical name of baclofen. It is well known that this compound possesses muscle relaxing activity and is used as such.

Surprisingly it has been found that upon administration of baclofen to a certain group of patients suffering from the above anxiety neurosis drastical amelioration of their situation occurred, which means that the patients were completely or practically completely freed from the symptoms belonging to the anxiety neurosis. They could again normally functionate in society.

This amelioration occurred with all treated patients suffering from anxiety neurosis, of which the anxiety neurosis seemed to be of family nature. These patients, having a positive reaction on the administration of baclofen, had a hypoplastical-leptosomical-build.

Patients, who did not fulfil the above mentioned conditions, appeared not to react on the administration of baclofen.

In order to achieve the desired results it appeared necessary to administrate the active compound first in a dosage of 15-60 mg per day, dependent on the nature and the age of the patient and the seriousness of the neurosis. After certain time a supporting dosage of 5-15 mg per day was sufficient. The preferred dosage is determined individually.

Preferably the active compounds are administrated as suppositoria or coated tablets, since in oral administration in the form of uncoated tablets these patients often suffer from stomach-complaints, which may be such that the administration should be discontinued.

It is known, that several patients, suffering from anxiety neurosis of the above mentioned type have recoursed to an excessive use of alcohol, often followed by chronical alcohol misuse. Apparently the alcohol was the only drug that helped up to now.

Surprisingly it has been found too that patients of the above mentioned special group, who furthermore have a tendency to alcohol misuse, were not only freed from the anxiety neurosis symptoms, but also from their craving for alcohol.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...&RS=PN/4156013

[Azi]

I'm sorry but I simply do not believe the complete 180 in anxiety symptoms in 5 days story. I could just as easily claim that my cat's purring cured my lifelong and debilitating tinnitus over night. If I back it up with 'evidence' from the people selling cats' purr-therapy, it must work, right? I'm sorry to sound so dismissive and cynical but I'm very wary of so-called miracle cures, particularly when they're pushed towards potentially vulnerable people, desperate for a panacea. The bigger the claim, the stronger the evidence should be.

[chelsea98]

i haven't put the words into the mouths of the people who've said they've had success with it. if you don't believe it, thats fair enough, others who have tried it and have it work for them evidently do believe it. talk to your doctor about it and see what he/she says. a lot more doctors are aware of it's use for mental cravings so i would imagine there will be some who are aware of it for anxiety. if they're not aware, then MAKE them aware. why not try it? if it's giving some people success whats to say it wont give others the same? as I've said before, i have no ulterior motive for posting this topic, i have it prescribed for me for my uses and am entirely happy with that.

its taken a very long time for it's benefits with cravings to be recognised so maybe using it for anxiety is further behind that still. trials may come back with positive results, who knows, but if it's another weapon to use in the battle against anxiety then surely investigating it is worth while.

I'd be overjoyed if only one person who has read this thread gets benefit from it. doctors don't know everything.

[Palladium]

People with social anxiety disorder often self-medicate with alcohol.

A little ‘Dutch Courage’ now and again can be just the tonic. Of course, for people with chronic anxiety problems, that should never be considered a long-term remedy.

However, alcohol is still the most widely used anxiolytic drug that can be purchased over the counter. Chronic alcohol dependency often has its origins in an undiagnosed and therefore untreated anxiety disorder.

Baclofen works by lowering levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain. There are licensed drugs that act in a similar fashion: benzodiazepines (Valium, Librium, Xanax, etc.); pregabalin (Lyrica); gabapentin.

Many of us have been prescribed these drugs for an anxiety disorder, but they are also used to treat the comorbid anxiety that presents in a great deal of chronic alcoholics.

Baclofen need not be seen simply as a drug to treat alcoholism. Its efficacy in treating that disease is largely due to its proven usefulness as an anxiolytic.

I have used the drug for some time (prescribed by an NHS doctor off-licence), and I’ve found that it has had a greater effect on ameliorating my anxiety than anything I have tried in the past.

It’s a shame that more doctors aren’t aware of it, or willing to try it with patients for whom the more conventional treatments have failed.

[moretolife]

Hmm, yes, I'm definitely in the category of someone who is vulnerable in the sense that I am suffering and I would love to find a miracle cure, but I'm also quite smart and sceptical about such claims. A few things I'm wondering are...
- Why is it only prescribed 'off licence' as both Chelsea and Palladium (another new member) say?
- How much does it cost?
- Why is Chelsea going to so much trouble to 'prove' its credentials? (I'm not convinced s/he isn't genuinely just trying to help, but protesting too much, perhaps?)

[Palladium]

As yet, baclofen is not licensed for the treatment for anxiety, but it is being looked at by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence). There has already been a large clinical trial by the NHS in Glasgow; admittedly it was part of a study into promoting abstinence in post-detox alcoholics. However, one of the main criteria for being selected to be placed on the drug was that there had to be a concurrent diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.

I had it prescribed by a consultant psychiatrist, because he aware of that study and was impressed with the results. He decided to prescribe baclofen to patients of his who could not take advantage of CBT and one-to-one counselling sessions because they had a severe, debilitating social anxiety disorder, which had proved refractory to other psychopharmacological interventions***8212;such as SSRIs/ buspirone, etc., and where the use of benzodiazepines was contraindicated because of the risk of addiction.

It is a very cheap drug, compared with Lyrica, for instance. Just like pregabalin, it does require dose titration, but the anxiolytic effect of the drug is felt immediately.

I understand people having reservations (suspicions?) about Chelsea98***8217;s motivation to post, but I think that he is simply trying to relate the positive experience he has had from his use of baclofen, and the change it has engendered in his life.

I think he's just trying to spread the word***8230; that***8217;s all!

I'll add this -- for the more scientifically-minded amongst you:

Effects of GABAB receptor ligands in animal tests of depression and anxiety

[Palladium]

What happen to your post, Lone Dog?

'with out alcoholics from My Way Out coming here pushing their drugs on us.'

Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?

Speak up!

[Azi]

I don't think Lone Dog meant anything negative about alcoholics, and I'm sure there's a fair few people who self-medicate their anxiety with alcohol (which can obviously cause issues. But, he had a fair point; why are you guys so keen to share this with us? There are lots of ways and means of tackling anxiety, and ways that have been tested and can be prescribed not off license. Maybe baclofen is useful for some, but it's also dangerous. What's the agenda?

[Palladium]

There is no agenda; Chelsea98 and I were simply trying to help, and share some good news.

This would have been my response to Lone Dog's post-- before he back-pedalled and deleted it:

Nobody is pushing a drug on anybody. We***8217;re merely making you aware of another treatment option***8212;e pluribus unum.

Alcoholism is an anxiety-driven disease, and social anxiety figures largely in its inception and progression. Personally, I have suffered from severe social anxiety all of my life, and it led me to self-medicate with alcohol, and that led, ultimately, to an addiction.

We should have solidarity, so why are you so riled, Lone Dog? Is it just (and please be honest) plain, old common-or-garden prejudice?: 'without alcoholics from My Way Out coming here pushing their drugs on us.***8217; You make it sound like a couple of tramps have wandered into your house and taken a piss all over your living-room floor. What***8217;s wrong with you?

Baclofen has no potential for addiction. Indeed, it possesses anti-addictive properties. Most people find that they reach a ***8216;switch***8217; dose which rids them of their addiction to***8212;not just alcohol, but many different addictive substances***8212;and then they start to decrease the dose of baclofen until they reach a maintenance dose. This use of a drug is not characteristic of addiction: it suggests therapeutic use.

As for overdose: suicidal ideation is a common feature of social anxiety disorder. This is an illness which can lead to social isolation. Human beings are gregarious by nature. Any psychiatric disorder which interferes with the normal pack-forming behaviour will cause untold psychological damage. Every day there are countless attempted suicides that are caused by loneliness that has been brought about by social anxiety disorder, and the exclusion from the pack it engenders. There is only one recorded case of a successful suicide from baclofen taken in overdose: there are numerous accounts of people dying from an overdose of other ***8216;acceptable***8217; prescription medications.

Clearly, Lone Dog, you have visited the My Way Out website (good detective work***8212;well done!) and it is just a crying shame that you didn***8217;t read without prejudice. You do yourself a disservice.

Anxiety disorders and alcoholism have commonality. Baclofen is a viable and potentially life-saving treatment option. It not only reduces anxiety, it also encourages sociability and establishes social inclusion***8212;and the potential to end a lot of unnecessary suffering, and a lot of unnecessary deaths.

[Lone Dog]

Azi's last post essentially sums up what I was saying. I thought better of my post, however, as I thought it might cause people to get worked up. I was also hoping this thread would sink away and die. Palladium, you were on the ball and read it before I could delete it.

No, I didn't mean anything negative about alcoholics. If Baclofen helps with your alcohol-related issues then I am delighted to hear it, that's good news. Yes, I did read a bit about it on My Way Out, where I saw Chelsea mention SAUK.

I am interested in alternative health, supplements and treatments for various things, it's kind of a hobby of mine, so I'd heard of Baclofen. From memory, and from googling, it appears questionable in some respects. I just had the feeling that SA people have other treatments, without going for a substance doctors won't even prescribe.

Palladium, I've read about Baclofen becoming addictive (with people having withdrawal symptoms) and also about people who have accidentally overdosed on it. So to me, it's questionable.

I could be right, I could be wrong, but it probably needs to be said. I think that probably covers it.

[Palladium]

Fair enough, Lone Dog. Thank you for responding to my personal message.

But I have to reiterate: baclofen is not addictive. However, you are quite right; there are withdrawal symptoms should you stop using the drug abruptly, or decrease your dose too rapidly.

But I think you may be confusing withdrawal symptoms with craving.

Some drugs are inherently addictive: alcohol; nicotine (another favourite of the socially anxious***8212;and the biggest killer); cocaine, opiates, etc. The use of each of these drugs involves a neurochemical reward mechanism: nicotine has its own receptor, as do opiates; alcohol acts on the dopamine receptor and, to a lesser extent, an opioid receptor. Because each of these chemicals produces feelings of pleasure, the use of them is repeated, time and again, often in increasing amounts. Stopping using those substances can produce withdrawal symptoms, but it can also bring about a craving for the drug, even when the withdrawal symptoms have ended. That is a definition of addiction.

People using baclofen do not display any of the symptoms of addiction. They don***8217;t become agitated in anticipation of their next dose, nor do they seek to increase the dose beyond its therapeutic parameters in order to get a ***8216;high***8217; off the drug. It simply doesn***8217;t work like that. In fact, it mediates the release of those ***8216;feel-good***8217; chemicals; hence its use in treating a wide spectrum of compulsive disorders, of which substance misuse is one.

Baclofen works by lowering glutamate levels in the brain. Pregabalin (Lyrica) does this also, although via a different mechanism. Many of you reading this will have been prescribed pregabalin. Would you say you were addicted to that drug? I dare say that you will have been made aware of the hazards of discontinuing the drug suddenly. Is that addiction, or merely a chemical dependency? I would argue that it is the latter. There is a greater number of people dependant on prescription medicines in the UK than there is dependant on illicit drugs.

I have baclofen prescribed for a Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It is prescribed ***8216;off-licence***8217;, simply because it***8217;s not yet been formally approved. It is not a private prescription; it is a NHS prescription, and the doctor writes it with the consent of the Mental Health Trust to which he is contracted.

If you can manage to dissociate baclofen from alcoholism and other addictions, you may then infer that it has some potential in treating a host of anxiety-driven psychiatric illnesses: GAD/SAD/OCD, etc.

It has worked for me more successfully, and with fewer side-effects, than any other neuroleptic drug I have been prescribed in the last fifteen years. Sadly, this unconventional use of a very cheap muscle relaxant drug is still very much in the shadows.

Chelsea98 and I were simply trying to shed some light. We are not drug pushers, and we don***8217;t have a sinister agenda.

Pax

[chelsea98]

palladium, thank you for joining in on this thread. I still only have the intention of giving people the information so that they may check it out for themselves. Lone dog, I'm glad you saw my post on my way out, the intention there, without starting a specific thread about my post here (on my way out), was to hopefully have some of the members there come to this board and contribute to my baclofen thread on here (if that all makes sense!). first and foremost because they can put details across much much better than I can and secondly so that they could let you know about their experiences (which palladium is doing a very good job at i must say). I'm just another experimenter with baclofen who's had remarkable success but other members over there really know they're stuff about it

i've said before, i get no benefit from telling people about this medication, if people aren't interested in it then thats absolutely fine.

but if it is working for people then it would be foolish to ignore it wouldnt it?

[chelsea98]

Lone Dog, palladium was spot on when he said baclofen is not addictive. it is a strong medication for sure and to drop down large amounts is not advisable at all.i'm titrating down from 240mg per day and am currently at 150mg per day after about almost two months. it has to be done slowly. its also true when titrating up. i've read stories of people starting at 15mg per day and within a week are up to 80mg per day!! absolutely nuts, you need to acclimatise to it on the way up and the way down and it's perfectly manageable.