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Early success with baclofen


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I want to report some early results with baclofen. I have been suffering with near intolerable mental symptoms for over 7 months. I am tough and have been through a lot in my life, but this was getting to be too much. I just didn't know how to keep going on.

 

I read an article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2045125317753340 and then read the references to look for possible safe approaches.

 

I found this article as well: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4271384/

 

There are also numerous reports using baclofen for alcoholism.

 

It isn't a sure thing. There are risks in every approach, and this case series is small. When scanning various forums, the number of people who have tried this is small still. When looking for help, I also looked for withdrawal, post-acute withdrawal, and other problems. Baclofen can cause problems when discontinued quickly, and more so at high doses, after extended periods and when given directly into the brain. That said, the withdrawal appears to be mild and a few weeks at most for most, with many experiencing no withdrawal. It is, however, under studied.

 

I also looked at gabapentin, pregabalin and various other neuroleptics. All seemed to have a worse withdrawal, side-effects or risk profile.

 

So, knowing that I wasn't going to last much longer, I started baclofen. Within the first day, I felt better. Not 100%, but life was bearable. After 4 days, I got scared and tapered off. After the 3 day taper, I was actually better than before, but worse than while I was on. Life was not great again. So, I started it again yesterday, and already feel much better today.

 

For me, starting a helper drug, so far, is a life-saver. For anyone considering reinstating, starting a potentially more risky medicine (SSRI for example), or even gapapentin or lyrica, baclofen may be something to consider. Lyrica gave me rebound anxiety at low doses after just 3 days, but for some, it could be their life-saver. Everyone is different.

 

For those who are concerned that this is GABA and may harm recovery, I suspect this fear is unfounded. GABA is needed for brain repair. Interestingly, Ambien has been used to help stroke patients heal (NOT recommending this, but it is interesting nonetheless). Although we may have enough GABA technically, it likely isn't enough for the amount of glutamate / number of coupled GABA receptors that we have currently. Adding more GABA may be just what the brain needs to heal in some cases.

 

There are going to be those for whom it doesn't help, those who have adverse reactions, and those who prefer not to add anything. This is all expected. But there may be those, like me, for whom short-term use of this medication could be helpful.

 

I will keep you posted on how this works over time, as I've only used it for one 4 day cycle and now am on the second day of the second cycle. It is early still.

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HI, Oceandude, why did you taper off? It wasn't helpful?

Due to memory issues I can't describe to you exactly what happened but I think it didn't help me. I also think I experienced a week or two-long withdrawal from it. Not a great experience.

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Ocean, am curious about the baclofen.  How much helped you?

 

I took it a few times.  First time it helped:  I slept.  Wow.

 

Second time... nothing!  Nada.

 

Tried 20 mg...  also nothing.

 

?

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