Anyone here try baclofen?

Stryker_Echo

I'm moving to Dublin in a few weeks from the states and found this board well a few minutes ago while searching for a gym (and maybe where to live and where to get a job lol).

Anyways, I was a huge drunkard. Drink til I puked green, then when I puked yellow I felt better and start drinking again. Other days I'd wake up swearing to myself never to touch my liquid kryponite again only to have the devil on my shoulder start whispering in my ear around 2 pm and by the time I got off at 5 I was in full on "miller time" mode. Couldn't get out the door fast enough to pour that first pound down.

Got to the point I might as well take a long walk off a short pier b/c I couldn't stop (did the whole drunk in my underwear thing trying to hang a rope before giving up thinking there's got to be a better way).
The next morning I got to do some research and found topamax and naltrexone as medications but didnt quite appeal to me.

But then I found baclofen and within a week I was swinging from the chandelier but only this time I was sober. First time I can remember that I didnt want to drink so naturally I was quite astounded.
It works on turning off the "craving" center of the brain.
I got bunches of people to stop drinking with it in the states.

Anyways, just wondering if people in Ireland were using baclofen like in US, Australia and France.
I made a chatboard a year ago but never got around to launching it so no members there, not trying to pimp my board either as Ill probably not renewed the hosting on it in a month.
But there's a couple links about Dr. Ameisen a cardiologist who took rat studies and applied it to himself and wrote the book "End of My Addiction"
And "Heal Thyself"
By the way, it's non-addictive, non-euphoric and been used safely for decades for muscle spasticity so it's not trading one addiction for another. You dont even know you are on it. Just you become indifferent to alcohol
Here's a link to the articles on about it
http://baclofenanonymous.com/content.php?2-Dr-Olivier-Ameisen

Here's a video from HBO show ADDICTIon with brain scans of the research on addiction, the initial image below in the video shows a pet scan of the brain of a patient shown a half second cue of their choice of addiction (just so happens in that shot it was of a cocaine addict but its identical to scans of alcoholics). RED represents CRAVING. So it lights up RED after a quick flash (0.5 second) of the addiction cue and the brain seen in red responds: "get some get some you need some, just one drink". The image to the right is of the same patient one week later after being on baclofen. You'll note that the area of RED is much much diminished. I.e no huge hotspots of craving in the brain, in fact, that's what a brain scan of a "normal" person shown a cue to something they arent addicted to. Basically: We have met the enemy and he is US (well the craving centers of our brain).

Here's Dr. Ameisen on an American Morning show

As you can see from the video. It's not a failing of moral character, it is an abnormal excitation of craving center of the brain that leads one back to drinking and feelings of despair when one cannot control. In reality, this craving center is what causes us to survive, eat food, drink water, procreate. But in our cases, it has malfunctioned, it now thinks alcohol is necessary for survival and thus the craving can be just as powerful as thirsty man wanting water. Baclofen is a medication that corrects this brain dysfunction.

In May 2011 a Scottish team from Glasgow presented: "Baclofen at a Tailored Dose Reduces Alcohol Use, Craving and Consequences of Drinking in Alcoholics with Medical Disease due to Alcohol Dependence" at the "Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Addictions Psychiatry Annual Meeting". They used doses between 15 and 360 mg of baclofen per day and winning the conference prize for the best poster raised the profile and increased interest in baclofen as anti-craving drug.

AND baclofen has been shown to be "as effective" as the gold standard treatment of valium for alcohol withdrawal, here's the study (that's right gentleman, say goodbye to withdrawal symptoms)
http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2805%2900786-2/abstract
Purpose

Benzodiazepines are the drugs of choice in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Recent data have shown that baclofen may reduce AWS symptoms. At present, no comparative studies between baclofen and any benzodiazepine used in AWS treatment are available. Accordingly, the present study was designed to compare efficacy, tolerability and safety of baclofen versus diazepam in the treatment of AWS.
Subjects and methods

Results

Both baclofen and diazepam significantly decreased CIWA-Ar score, without significant differences between the 2 treatments. When CIWA-Ar subscales for sweating, tremors, anxiety and agitation were evaluated singly, treatment with baclofen and diazepam resulted in a significant decrease in sweating, tremors and anxiety score, without significant differences between the 2 drug treatments. Both treatments decreased the agitation score, although diazepam was slightly more rapid than baclofen.
Conclusion

The efficacy of baclofen in treatment of uncomplicated AWS is comparable to that of the “gold standard” diazepam. These results suggest that baclofen may be considered as a new drug for treatment of uncomplicated AWS.
It's a generic, cheap and so no drug companies make money and thus it's not promoted except by the grassroots like me.
I never thought that "I" would ever not want to drink.
You have to start with a smaller dose and then increase up to a high enough dose to "turn the switch off". in the brain

AA is fine and all but it's the cravings that usually catch us again at some piont. Actually I lied, AA isnt fine. I Fooking hate AA meetings, been to hundreds of them.
Truth is, it doesnt work in studies looking at success rate.
Given that alcoholics have about a 5% spontaneous remission of alcohol abuse on their own, no treatment or anything. The succeess rate of long term abstinence of AA is once again 5%. It's a wash! Same identical outcomes regardless of going to AA meetings...So I wasted all that time listening to dumbarses telling me "the program works if you work it", "keep coming back it works". These turds were in denial about AA's failure rate, which makes sense b/c theyre probably pretty good at denial. Not to mention, at least in the state, people using AA mantras in conversation: "no more stinking thinking", I forget the rest of the stupid little phrases like that. It's all bullpuckey.
Treat the brain that's overreacting in the craving center. Bingo, its done, ,move on with life and no more stinky meetings.

If I want to spend an hour for my health, I think it's healthier to go to the gym and workout rather than sit around talking about alcohol.
But hell, I digress, I got to pack, Im swimming ashore boys.
.
Cheers

P.S. It's been nearly 4 years since I became indifferent to alcohol but I have drank on occasion and I drink like a normal person. I don't recommend using it for moderation although people have done it and in interests of full disclosure I have had to "test it out". I just figure if you get to the point you need to take baclofen to stop drinking then you probably should just not drink.

derealbadger

That's some post does it have the side effect of keeping you up all night writing very long posts lol
It reminds of a story a very long time sober elderly gentleman I know told about some Swedish scientists coming up with a cure for alcoholism all you have to do is take one tablet a day then you drink like a normal person to which the alcoholic thinks what happens if I take two

Stryker_Echo

derealbadger wrote: »

That's some post does it have the side effect of keeping you up all night writing very long posts lol
It reminds of a story a very long time sober elderly gentleman I know told about some Swedish scientists coming up with a cure for alcoholism all you have to do is take one tablet a day then you drink like a normal person to which the alcoholic thinks what happens if I take two

lol, naw, its freaking election day here. This is like the superbowl, worldcup, world series all rolled into one this go round.
The US is about to break into a civil war. Obama supporters threatening to riot when Romney inevitably wins and also assasinae him. Republicans are saying they are locked and loaded ready for it to happen. Unfortunately for the liberals, they are also are the pro guncontrol lot.
And the republicans are the ones with bumper stickers on the trucks that say "you can have my gun, after you pry it from my cold dead fingers". No joke, if i had a nickel for every time Ive seen that bumper sticker.

So Ive been up all night waiting for **** to hit the fan, if it does, I might fly over a little earlier than Dec 3rd.

As for side effects, the side effect is fatigue and sleepiness but people adjust after a week. Thats why you titrate the dose slowly. But baclofen didnt make me right the long post. I actually edited it like every hour adding in an extra paragraph to make a more incitely informational thread.
Plus, I have about 150 pages of a book I was writing last year on the subject so that there is just like the back cover.

Heard that joke before, how true it is.
Like taking pain pills from the doctor, was that 2 every 4 hours or 4 every 2 hours.
I can never get that right

derealbadger

Stryker_Echo wrote: »

lol, naw, its freaking election day here. This is like the superbowl, worldcup, world series all rolled into one this go round.
The US is about to break into a civil war. Obama supporters threatening to riot when Romney inevitably wins and also assasinae him. Republicans are saying they are locked and loaded ready for it to happen. Unfortunately for the liberals, they are also are the pro guncontrol lot.
And the republicans are the ones with bumper stickers on the trucks that say "you can have my gun, after you pry it from my cold dead fingers". No joke, if i had a nickel for every time Ive seen that bumper sticker.

So Ive been up all night waiting for **** to hit the fan, if it does, I might fly over a little earlier than Dec 3rd.

As for side effects, the side effect is fatigue and sleepiness but people adjust after a week. Thats why you titrate the dose slowly. But baclofen didnt make me right the long post. I actually edited it like every hour adding in an extra paragraph to make a more incitely informational thread.
Plus, I have about 150 pages of a book I was writing last year on the subject so that there is just like the back cover.

Heard that joke before, how true it is.
Like taking pain pills from the doctor, was that 2 every 4 hours or 4 every 2 hours.
I can never get that right

I think B.O.B will win the election will be tight but I think he will get there hope he does anyway I spent a lot of time in Texas so ye I know about the bumper stickers and the mentality that goes with them

Stryker_Echo

I got some sleep whew
Election over

Sunnyisland

I have never used baclofen myself but know quite a few people who have, As far as I know and this can be corrected you have to keep increasing the dose until you get to what some people refer to as 'the switch', where you become indifferent to alcohol. The switch point could be any number. There are some who hit it at fairly low doses, close to what you are already on, while others need to take several hundreds of mg/day. Trying to stop or reduce while you're titrating up is a good idea, it can help in 2 ways: reduce the effects of any side effects you might be having and also to stop you drinking through the switch i.e. allowing yourself to recognise when you've hit it, which can be overlooked if you continue to drink heavily. That said, many people find themselves actually increasing their alcohol consumption during their titration but manage to switch anyway.The medical jury is still out on Baclofen but imo I believe it works.

Stryker_Echo

realies wrote: »

I have never used baclofen myself but know quite a few people who have, As far as I know and this can be corrected you have to keep increasing the dose until you get to what some people refer to as 'the switch', where you become indifferent to alcohol. The switch point could be any number. There are some who hit it at fairly low doses, close to what you are already on, while others need to take several hundreds of mg/day. Trying to stop or reduce while you're titrating up is a good idea, it can help in 2 ways: reduce the effects of any side effects you might be having and also to stop you drinking through the switch i.e. allowing yourself to recognise when you've hit it, which can be overlooked if you continue to drink heavily. That said, many people find themselves actually increasing their alcohol consumption during their titration but manage to switch anyway.The medical jury is still out on Baclofen but imo I believe it works.

Yup, you are correct, I coined the term "switch" 4 years ago explaining it in terms on how we dose heart failure medication using coreg. Dose until effect.

It's mainly effected by weight, also on the variations of enzymatic reaction, typically medications are metabolized in the liver, so liver enzymes and how many each individual has determines the dose. The amount of enzymese is as unique as fingerprints. ACE inhibitors for blood pressure metabolized in lungs and 10-15% of them developed a serious cough. With baclofen it's actually metabolized in the kidneys. The main reason why it's half-life in the body is 2-4 hours. The kidneys pee it out.

So a dosing of 3-4 times is good. And I dont want to run afoul of Dave on this and medical advice.
But in my experience there are two groups of people
The first: Women. they tend to be more hypochondriac about symptoms and feeling every little feeling and it being or maybe a major problem. They overwhelmingly report symptoms that are not at all related to baclofen. It's a mental issue. But that's about 15% of women. The rest are as normal as Bucks. If someone tells you the "horrible" side effects of baclofen that dont comport to the thousands of baclofen studies on side effects~ it's an odds on bet it's coming from that 15% of women. I started a chatboard on baclofen in the USA and a small minority of them clogged up the discussion to the point I left it a couple years ago and Dr. Ameisen the father of baclofen alcohol therapy sent an FU message to them.

The second group which is 85% male responds with a bit of initial tiredness but resolves per scientific studies in about 3 days. Thats when the dose is doubled, then after 3 days of adjustment, it's increased. Until you hit the "switch" as I called it.

Now it may look like a male vs female response. That's not actually my experience though. About 15% of females are VERY vocal about nonsense symptoms and MALES: about 10% are VERY vocal about nothing in particular, just whatever they deem to want to complain about.

SO if we filter out 15% of the whingers (regardless of the topic) both male and female to be fair and not sexist.

Baclofen is superbly tolerated moreso than aspirin ibuprofen or well better than ANY blood pressure or cardiac medication. It is nearly benign unless you have a terminal whinging problem about any medication. When put under the microscope of side effects which it has been since the 1960s it has been shown supremely safe and recognized at the highest level as a quality of life medication. A quality of life medication status, thats a big deal! Not many medications meet that status.

The scientific jury is not out, it has not yet convened due to lengthy trials and funding. But I can introduce you to thousands of people who simply LOST the desire to drink. Without AA, without anything else. Just woke up after increasing the dosage and said. I have ZERO desire to drink. And when they are in the social situation where they drink, they drink alcohol but with the "OFF SWITCH" engaged. Meaning they actually have an "OFF SWITCH". I never had one.

Olivier Ameisen has discovered the treatment of addiction.”
—Jean Dausset, md
Winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Medicine

“
Ameisen has made what could be the medical breakthrough of the century.”
—guardian / observer

“
A masterpiece.”
—Eliot Gardner, phd
Chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Neuropsychopharmacology Section
national institute on drug abuse (national institutes of health)

“
I have prescribed Baclofen to more than 135 alcoholics who were at the end of their rope, and the results are quite frankly miraculous.”
—Renaud de Beaurepaire, md
Chief of Psychiatry and Director of the Psychopharmacology Laboratory
Paul Guiraud Hospital, Villejuif, France

“
The riveting story … of the dazzling discovery of a cure that could soon be within reach of all. If you or someone close to you suffers from alcoholism or drug dependence, you must read this book.”
—David Servan-Schreiber, md, PhD
author of The Instinct to Heal and Anticancer

“
[The End of My Addiction] has had an earthshaking effect on the medical treatment of addiction and has given renewed hope to many alcoholics.”
—le monde

“
A wonderful book … [about] a signal discovery.”
—Jerome B. Posner, md
George C. Cotzias Chair of Neuro-Oncology and Evelyn Frew American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, Department of Neurology
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

“
Truly fascinating … I was very moved.… It’s extraordinary.”
—Diane Sawyer
Good Morning America
Watch the interview!

“
Brave, insightful, and sure to be significant.”
—Publishers Weekly

derealbadger

Stryker_Echo wrote: »

I got some sleep whew
Election over

I like the way you edited your post to get rid of the fact that you called the election a mile off lol I suppose the medication route doesn't support the right to be wrong

Stryker_Echo

derealbadger wrote: »

I like the way you edited your post to get rid of the fact that you called the election a mile off lol I suppose the medication route doesn't support the right to be wrong

A mile off? you sold me short a few hundred miles lol. Aww thank fred in heaven that this is over. I thought for certain Romney would win and Id wake up to riots. Well alls well that ends well. Status quo. Im still bugging out of here I was up for two days unable to sleep when I made a political posts here lol. I tried to avoid the **** but cmon, who couldn't snap with all of the political ads, banners, signs on every stoop, I dont even turn on the tv, and it's all over the internet. Done deal, romney lost, no riots, works out ok. Still coming over. I didnt decide to leave the USA b/c I thought Romney was going t win

derealbadger

have you been here before if not you are in for a shock re the drinking culture but other than that the place is great

Stryker_Echo

Ive visted but never lived.
Was there last year, I think it was the OConnel bridge as my mom says was named after an uncle, I guess an older uncle. And a good side and a bad side, and of course I had to take a walk on the bad side. Seems to me that you f

---

r is the most popular surname. .. ...................................................................................... Im used to drinking culture. My family immigrated to Detroit from Ireland and they set up the O'Connell clan and reuinnion there where they all got each others jobs and each other drunk.
.............................................................................................................................................................. I grew up with relatives that was actually amazing that they said any ailment could be solved by drinking. I am sure theyve all died off since I was a kid in detroit and michigan.
.............................................................................................................................................. I dont exactly know if they were serious or just that fuggin dumb.
............................................ But the drink culture -part of most of my life since I took my first sip at 15.
Doesnt matter where I was, ......................................................................................................................................I could make drinking culturally significant in terms of of anywhere's I doubt its much different in Dublin than Tasmania or Sydney Australia. Or even my old university
......................................................................................................................................................... What if I came to Ireland to change the culture with my knowledge of baclofen? A population no longer craving alcohol. Move over St. Patrick--- St. James will arrive Dec 3rd Let's get ready to rumbbbllleeee !!!! ON decembbberrr 3rd. St James come to rid our island of -OH moleculesssssssssssssssssssssss!!

Sunnyisland

It will need a lot more than Baclofen to change Ireland's culture and attitude to alcohol.

Stryker_Echo

realies wrote: »

It will need a lot more than Baclofen to change Ireland's culture and attitude to alcohol.

I have a cunning plan, I sneak into the water department and replace the buckets of fluoride with buckets of baclofen. After 2 weeks, Ireland stops wanting to drink. Problem solved. You know WHY fluoride was put into the water? An obscure study showed that given fluoride, a person dramatically became less communist. So at the heights of the Cold War Ok, I just made that up But the plan could work, you in? I need a driver

MistyCheese

My sister takes Baclofen but not because of anything to do with alcohol. She's 11. She was prescribed it to help control muscle spasms.