Use of BACLOFEN to assist in Valium tapering

Anyone have experience with the use of Baclofen to help taper from Valium?  Advised, suggested or to be avoided?

 

 

Baclofen is a skeletal muscle relaxant, I don’t see how it would be helpful for tapering. You can reach tolerance with this drug which would require spurt another taper.

I'm not comfortable with using an addictive medication to withdraw from another, especially one that can affect the same receptors in the brain, I'm not sure what the net gain would be.  I was just reading an article about someone who became addicted while trying to quit cigarettes, the researchers then put him on quetiapine to get off of the baclofen, then they added zolpidem and bupropion.  Do you see where this goes, this is one way our members end up polydrugged.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308724925_An_Unusual_Case_of_Baclofen_Abuse

 

I understand taking adjunct medications off label but it seems like they do more harm than good for our members because no one has been able to come to a consensus on what helps and what hurts, it's different for everyone.  Baclofen may work for you but the only way you'll know is to experiment and that can be painful.  Of course, this whole process is one big experiment with you as the subject.

It's interesting that baclofen is used for alcohol addiction.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6328471/

I found this article as well. NIH site covering the use of baclofen to withdraw from Valium, Alcohol, and other z drugs:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4271384/

 

Journal of Neurosciences:

Baclofen in the short-term maintenance treatment of benzodiazepine dependence.

 

Benzodiazepine (BZD) dependence is a significant public health problem. Apart from the long-term tapering doses of BZD, no others drugs are available for the maintenance treatment of BZD dependence. Baclofen has been used in alcohol and other drug dependence as long-term anti-craving agent. Since alcohol and BZD act through the GABA receptor, we attempted to study the effect of Baclofen as maintenance treatment in a series of five cases with BZD dependence.

 

Baclofen, a stereo-selective Gamma-aminobutyric acid B (GABA-B) receptor agonist had been used in preclinical and clinical studies as anti-craving agent in cocaine, heroin, alcohol, volatile solvent and nicotine dependence.[5,6] As both alcohol and BZD are CNS depressants acting through GABA-A receptors[7] and baclofen is effective in alcohol dependence as an anti-craving agent,[8] we hypothesized that Baclofen might be beneficial in BZD dependence and present a case series where baclofen was found to be effective.

 

1: A 50-year male presented with alcohol and BZD dependence and substance-induced depressive disorder (ICD-10) was taking 100 mg per day of diazepam, which he was unable to stop on account of severe withdrawal. Diazepam was tapered and stopped over 3 weeks. Baclofen was started at 20 mg/day and was increased to 40 mg/day over 1 week. He was also treated with Mirtazapine 15 mg/day for alcohol depression. He reported significant reduction in craving and withdrawal symptoms over the next 3 weeks. His depression remitted within a month after starting treatment and he continues to remain abstinent from BZD and alcohol for almost a year.

 

2: A 40-year-old man with BZD dependence for the last 4 years, was taking 100 mg/day of Nitrazepam, which was tapered and stopped over 3 weeks. He was started on baclofen 20 mg/day, increased to 40 mg/day over 1 week. He reported no withdrawal over the next 3 weeks of hospital stay. He has remained abstinent for over 6 months while on the same dose of baclofen.

 

Informed consent was obtained from all patients before starting baclofen. All patients tolerated baclofen well and did not report any side effects on clinical evaluation.

 

There are multiple mechanisms which might explain baclofen's efficacy for BZD dependence.

 

    Pre-synaptic GABA-B heteroceptor activation is shown to decrease excitatory neurotransmitter release. This may explain its efficacy in decreasing withdrawal symptoms[8]

    GABA-B receptors are located pre-synaptically on dopamine (DA) neurons in ventral-tegmental area (VTA) and post-synaptically on glutamate synapses. Activation of these receptors decreases DA discharge at multiple sites like nucleus accumbens and amygdala. This may explain decreased drug-seeking, reinforcing effects and reinstatement effects[6]

    Another mechanism of action involves GABA-B agonist, which blocks alcohol-induced potentiation of GABAA transmission, and therefore may regulate behavioral sensitivity to ethanol and BZDs

 

Our findings provide preliminary support for the use of baclofen in the short-term management of craving and withdrawal in patients with BZD dependence. Larger controlled trials are required before it can be routinely recommended in BZD dependence.

 

Your thoughts on case #1?

 

Stopped the Tramadol.

Stopped the Baclofen

Currently at 20mg Valium

 

The rest of the meds are blood pressure and cholesterol scripts. Even the BP meds require a TAPER if stopped. Beta-Blockers)

I feel trapped in the medical-pharmaceutical revolving world of doctors offices, hospitals, radio-logical scans and blood/urine labs.

 

If the BACLOFEN helps with getting rid of the VALIUM as noted in Case#1, isn't that worthy of discussion?  Yes, BACLOFEN comes with its own set of evil withdrawal and and tapering routine.  Could constitute just  a case of drug substitution. I do not believe BACLOFEN is as addictive as a z drug, but it does have its 1 meter list of primary and secondary Side Effects. 

 

Lucky are those who can go through their entire life without resorting to taking any medication to stay alive or maintain a medical condition.

 

The Ashton manual infers that a certain unlucky few people can never stop taking these benzo drugs for underlying medical reasons. 

 

 

I would not recommend taking it.  I was prescribed Baclofen prior to adding valium for muscle issues.  The baclofen worked like a charm for a few weeks for my muscle issues.  I and doctors thought we had found my "cure all".  Well fast forward 2-3 months and it stopped working, which in hindsight was due to tolerance, and my doctors then added Valium to the mix which again helped me for awhile alongside the Baclofen.  I then developed tolerance to the valium (albeit over longer time frame than baclofen).  I now have been tapering valium (after failed rapid taper and re-instatement) and the baclofen does not seem to be helping me in anyway that I can notice.

Appreciate the response. I am on day 5 from stopping the baclofen, and just started reducing the valium by 1mg from 20 to 19 give or take some powder and crumbs from the pill cutter. 

 

From my observations and readings here and other sites, the precision of the tapers and reductions aren't as crucial at the large doses of say 40 or 60mg as they are under the 1mg area.

 

That is why I am busy over in the titration area trying to prepare myself.  I need to align the stars so that the MD will change my 5mg size pill for a 2mg size, then have the pharmacy AND insurance process it. (Medicare HMO).

 

I already sent the MD a message - no response.  That would entail changing my script of 120 pills of 5's for 300 pills of 2's. 

 

I can just imagine the looks on the faces and the thoughts racing through the minds of those pharmacists getting a script to fill an order for THREE HUNDRED VALIUM PILLS!!!  (recall - this is Florida)  I would be on someone's list for sure.

 

 

I would also not recommend using baclofen in addition to the benzos. It's best to stay away from as many drugs working on the CNS as possible.

It is interesting to note that the standard treatment for oral tablet baclofen withdrawal is the intake of large doses of benzo's to calm the shakes and jerks and seizures.

 

Just thought perhaps this might work - in reverse.  Large doses of baclofen used to help taper from valium.

 

Was wondering if anyone had experience in trying it.

 

 

I actually asked a neuroscientist this with experience in benzos and he advised against it. He says many neurologists might try to put you on things like baclofen but it's best to avoid if you can and give your system a chance to properly rebalance.

There should be a sun-topic forum started solely devoted to the ill advice which people here have obtained from their medical practitioners - without actually using real names for legal ramifications.

 

I had a neurorologist tell me that he could take me off valium entirely by switching over to clonizepam for a few weeks of taper doses and be done with it.  I almost took his advise....  This is a board certified doctor with 20 years of experience - but I checked his online complaints: what the other patients had to say about him was enough to open my eyes. 

 

Just think - 3 weeks of clonizapam then zero, go home and have a good life..... 

 

I don't think that would have ended well for me.

 

Another doctor for another situation wanted me to stop ALL of my medications for 2 weeks so he would 'have a clean slate to work with'.  Abruptly just stop everything completely.  Obviously I left in a hurry. 

 

 

 

 

First time I met with psychiatrist to help me de-prescribe, he recommended the exact same. Transition from Valium to Klonopin, add depakote, off in a month, all gravy, and I need to get off the internet.  I almost bit too.  Sounded really good, and I would have been able to save thousands of suffering souls dying for an answer.  I finally asked him if he had switched these people over from Xanax and he said yes.  One can only imagine how they are doing. Maybe good, I don’t know and don’t plan on trying his route at this time. Thankfully he is allowing me to experiment and de-prescribing me still, but he thinks I’m crazy and have general anxiety disorder.  He does seem to believe me a little bit more months later now it seems.  I have to remind him I tried getting off Valium in 3 weeks prior to discovering BB, and I was wide eyed, no sleep, stiff muscles and in a panic and didn’t know why. 

FAITH HOPE LOVE:

 

I see you are taking vitamin D3.  I do too, as well as B12, B6, Magnesium, Zinc, Lutrien, Vitamin A, Folic Acid, and Krill oil for the Omega-3 effect.  Need to take with food - hard on the stomach.

 

Valium and Baclofen:  welcome aboard the good ship DESPERATE.

 

Wonderful advice and experiences with 'trained medical professionals'.....I think the list of names may grow in number.

 

I almost died of malignant adenocarcinoma of the prostate in 2002. Pathology report suggested 'rare fingers of the tumor extending to within .1cm of the edge of the lab slide'.  I'll do a MAXWELL SMART number: Missed me by THAT much....

 

Stress and Cortisol is my middle name.  I also have an upper ascending aortic aneurysm expanded to 4.1cm in size (google JACK RITTER).  5cm is when they starting talking about surgical remedies.