Baclofen

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What is the consensus here on baclofen?  I know Birdman used it to get off 1mg Ativan as a straight switch.  Are there any other experiences with it relieving symptoms?  Seems to be quite helpful in alcohol withdrawal recently and it would seem that might make sense with benzo wd.  It doesn't have tolerance issues though the withdrawal can be like a benzo.  Some report it helps with sleep and anxiety though it is primarily a muscle relaxant.  I couldn't find too many people using baclofen to combat benzo withdrawal and I don't know why.

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Baclofen didn't help me but I've had several cold turkeys, so you might need to try and see how your body responds to it. 

[Guest [Ti...]]

Hits GabaB was given to me in detox for muscle spasms.....HAAAAAAAAAAA.

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Hi Goonie,

I've taken it a couple of times. I could not tolerate the side effects, but it did help with anxiety and sleep at low doses. It is physically addictive so you'd have to wean yourself off of it as well. It works on a GABA receptors, but different ones than benzos.

 

Mary ann

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Hi Goonie.  In reply I would say from my personal  experience Baclofen works, it's an anti-craving and crossover med and can get you off whatever might have caused you trouble previously - e.g benzos, alcohol. It also reduces anxiety and improves sleep big time.  In my own case since I started taking it even in small doses I have experienced very little anxiety,  and no cravings whatsover for caffienated drinks, ice cream, beer or even pizza 

 

I was prescribed it to get off a benzo (Librium) which in turn had been prescribed to eliminate another - more dangerous - benzo - Xanax.  These two drugs reduced the quality of  several months of my life! However Baclofen is non-addictive and all the docs I have consulted say the tapering is easy or even unnecessary in many cases.  You have to start on a small dose, then ramp up until you achieve the desired or optimal result,  hold it for a period of time, then do your taper if that's what you feel will work for you best.

 

I have not yet done my complete taper but I have experimented with varying doses ranging from the infantile (30mg pd) to a little bit more (currently 45mg pd).  I have gone up and down and my experience has been that the worse ill-effects have come from increasing the dose rather than reducing it, which gives me  optimism for the future final taper and eventual complete escape from any meds.

 

We all react differently and I would encourage you to seek out opinions and experiences from other members of this forum before embarking on the Baclofen voyage.  Best of luck and please let me know you received this and whether you would like to continue to correspond and exchange moral support and experience.

 

Best regards,

 

Jazzitup 

 

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Thanks Jazzitup, that is all very helpful information.

 

How long did it take for you to notice improvement on baclofen and what was that process like (titrating up) until you found relief?