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Baclofen is a Benzo!? FREAKING OUT.


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WHAT!?

 

Please be very careful that it is not related to Baclofen...a skeletal muscle relaxer that also affects your GABA receptors!!!! it is a benzo in disguise and is the reason i am on this site, and weaning off of Ativan. i'd be very leery of anything with the word 'relaxant' in it. Please check it out VERY carefully. Sounds like you already have your doubts, and rightfully so.

 

jeanie

 

I've been taking that for my jaw for a year.  My doctor specifically told me it was NON HABIT FORMING AND IT WAS AN ARTHRITIS MEDICATION.  I've taken two tablets three times a day!  OMG are you sure about this?  WTH!?  Alright, now I'm in a full blown panic.  

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Well this is just wonderful.  :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff:  I take 60mg of baclofen a DAY for my jaw.  I don't take it every day because it knocks me flat, but I take it often enough to keep the jaw pain within a tolerable range.  Holy crap.  This was the only doctor I trusted and he put me on this and told me it was for my osteo arthritis.  He specifically said it was non habit forming and had NO negative side effects. 

This is too much.  :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff:

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It is not a benzo, per se, but affects gaba receptors.  From what I'm reading it does have a withdrawal associated with it that can resemble benzo w/d, and it must be tapered off.  Hopefully Jeanie will come by and offer more information, or someone else with experience with this drug.

 

I know you are in panic mode right now, but everything WILL be okay.  Deep breaths...you can handle this.  As you get more information, you can decide when/whether you want to start a slow taper off of it.  There are many surprises and bumps and "setbacks" along this difficult journey, but you will make it.  It's going to be okay, and we'll be here to support you!

 

It is difficult when doctors are telling us certain information that is not accurate...it's unfortunate it has to be this way.  This entire situation has been a real eye-opener for me, and I hate to be this way, but I will forever have a hard time trusting medical professionals again.  I was told that as long as I was under 1 mg of Xanax, that it was safe and not habit forming....9 months later..I'm still suffering.  Makes me really mad, but we have to just move forward and know that eventually we will break free and have health again.  

 

Thinking of you, BT.

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Thank you Bitter  :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(  I really didn't need anything else on my plate right now (who does?)

My jaw gets so bad I've had to take delaudid for the pain.  I've gone 4.5 months without chewing because it hurt so bad.  Baclofen was the only thing that kept the pain to a tolerable level. 

If I taper off of it, I'm likely back on narcotics, which make me sick.  Actually, they make me so sick they aren't really an option.  Right now I feel like saying screw all of this.  I'm going back on the benzos and taking my baclofen and making the best of it.  My options appear to be that I can live in excruciating pain, or I can be on drugs. 

I'm so done with all of this.  I'm so scared, angry and shocked I can't even think straight.  This just beats all. 

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My heart breaks for you!  I am so sorry you are in such a dilemma.  Maybe for now just continue forward benzo free...you have worked hard to get to this point...and going back could cause more problems for you and more problems down the road.  Others may have different thoughts on this, but maybe continue on the Baclofen for now and deal with it later as you start to feel better from coming off the benzo.  One thing at a time!  It sounds like there are some other less addictive muscle relaxers that maybe you could switch to down the road ?? Although I know sometimes when dealing with severe pain, only certain things seem to work.  You'll get answers and find a solution...I just know it.  For now, one day at a time and no rash decisions!  I know...easier said than done.  I'm just so sorry for what you're going through. 
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This just put me right over the edge.  You are right- going back to the benzos isn't going to help.  I just feel like it doesn't matter if I still have to take baclofen anyway. 

I need to go to bed and cry for a while.  I need to put in my nightguard because if I cry myself to sleep, I'll grind so hard I'll break teeth (I've done it plenty of times before). 

I'll be back when I'm partially over this bombshell. 

Thank you Bitter

:hug:

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I hope you feel better soon, BT.  Remember, everything will be okay, even if it doesn't feel like it right now, and things have a way of working themselves out.  I know it's a little different, but there are a lot of folks who are on other medications, such as antidepressants, who have to get rid of one medication at a time.  First coming off the benzo, and not until time passes and they are feeling much better do they start considering their options and tapering the a/d.  For you I know it's a case of needing something to deal with the pain, but once more time passes and you are feeling better, you can maybe find an alternative to switch to and slowly taper off that the Baclofen and replace it with something less addictive.  I know it's not any fun when you already feel like you're dealing with so much...but I think you are doing great and I can tell you're a fighter.  For now I think you just need to move forward and keep doing what you're doing, gather information, and you'll figure out a plan of attack for this down the line.

 

Also, has the jaw pain always been an issue?  TMJ?  An injury?  Is that what led you to benzo use? 

 

You're in my thoughts.  *Big Hugs*

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Benzo Torture - I'm so sorry that you are suffering so much and now to find that your doctor was wrong with what he told you.  But do some research on Baclofen yourself and then take it to him.  Maybe he can explain why it is the right drug for you......and yes as Bittersweet said,

don't do anything rash.....if you are tapering off the Benzo, keep going and do it - you will be better off for it.  I too understand how you feel about having a life in pain or a life on drugs.  I feel that way many times - my life was so much easier when I was taking the very small piece of Klonopin that I took.  It was only when they updosed me to higher doses for only six weeks and when I tried to go back onto my small dose,

was tolerant to it and so I had to get off.  The quality of my life right now is horrible.But as Bittersweet says, you will find a way....and being just on Baclofen and not also on another Benzo could be all you need and so what, if that is what helps you.  I am sorry that my question led to all this upsetment for you.  Just think about it when you can think more clearly.  Hoping2BFree

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Hearing any bad news, even news that may not turn out as bad as it seems tends to hit very hard during benzo withdrawal.  Your situation may be better than you suspect in the long run.  Hope it goes well.

 

Draftsman

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I feel a little better now.  I had my little panic attack and I'm over it. 

The reason this is so upsetting to me is that the baclofen is the only thing that's ever worked for my jaw pain at all.  Narcotics work but I get addicted to them within days and then I have to go through withdrawals (plus they make me so sick I want to die). 

I've got really bad tmj.  I started grinding my teeth when I was a little kid and I've done everything possible to stop this and nothing has worked.  My jaw joint is misshapen so when I chew or yawn I get searing pain.  At its worst, it feels like you have ear infections in both ears, nerve pain in your ears, root canals needed in every tooth in your mouth, and neck and shoulder pain.  It only flares up a few times a year but when it does it's totally incapacitating.  Even when it isn't bad I often wake up with headaches, sometimes migraines. 

Baclofen was my 'safe' solution- now that's gone. 

 

Onward.  There's no sense dwelling on it.  Me--->  :pokey:  <--- Me 

 

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The way you described the pain...I've had a lot of extremely intense nerve pain in w/d, including in the jaw/mouth/ears, so I've had a taste of that pain, and it is maddening and can bring you to your knees.  If I hang on long enough, it always passes and intensities ease, but I cannot imagine having to deal with that level of pain for long periods of time.  When that is the case, something must be done for one's own sanity, and it sounds like the Baclofen is all that has really worked for you.  I think working on coming off the benzo is a huge accomplishment.  HUGE.  And this other med should not take away from that.  Continue moving forward with the benzo tapering, and you will have won a great battle...you already have much to be proud of. 

 

I am, for the most part, pretty anti-meds these days.  I feel so many of prescription meds are wayy over-prescribed and people who could overcome the problem in other manners, would rather rely on a med or are made to believe they must rely on the med.  However, I'm not so blind to realize some people's situations are such that they have no choice but to take a medication/prescription.  I definitely think high levels of relentless pain can be one of these situations.  If you have to stay on the Baclofen, so be it.  Sometimes we are forced into choosing a lesser of two evils...as in, none of the choices are ones we want to make, but we are forced into choosing something so we can carry on and function in life without ending up in the loony bin.

 

You will do what you have to do to survive, and I think just getting rid of the benzo is a huge step in the right direction.  You will figure the rest of this out in time for sure.

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Use of medications in the treatment of spasticity requires careful titration of drugs to achieve the correct balance of tone and side effects. Baclofen is a first line agent for spasticity of spinal origin. It works as a GAHA (gamma-amino-butyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter) agonist and binds prcsynaptically at the GABA^sub b^ receptor.30 Baclofen has been found to decrease flexor spasms, increase range of motion, and decrease tone. Potential side effects of Baclofen that may be problematic during physical therapy are sedation, fatigue, weakness, nausea, dizziness, paresthesias, and hallucinations. One must be careful when discontinuing baclofen as it needs be weaned slowly. If this medication is stopped abruptly, patients have been reported to have seizures, visual disturbances, and hallucinations.31

 

http://the-medical-dictionary.com/methocarbamol_article_2.htm

 

Pleas don't worry about this drug now as you can taper from it later.

 

Mike

 

 

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Thanks you guys  ;)

I decreased the dose when I c/t'd the ativan because I was trying to get off of everything and because the baclofen makes me so tired I can't function.  I've still been taking it but my dosing of it has been so irregular I'm not sure how I would even taper it at this point.  My jaw started to get better once the ativan was out of my system and I stabilized on klonopin (I think ativan must exacerbate jaw problems) so I just took it less often.  I've still been taking it (usually at night if my jaw hurt that day) but not as often. 

At this point I think I'm just going to stop taking the baclofen.  I was taking 60mg a day for close to a year- I'm surprised I didn't have serious problems from cutting it so drastically.  The doctor said NOTHING about having to ween off of it.  I'm displeased.  >:(

When the pain gets bad, I'll take delaudid and just suffer until it's over- then go through opiate wd each time.  :'(  Opiate wd is a piece of cake compared to benzo wds. I just got over a 4.5 month bout where I couldn't chew anything and I've been eating for a few weeks.  I'm thinking that without the baclofen as a safety net- my chewing days are over again for a while because my jaw has been hurting a little and I don't want it to get worse. 

 

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Use of medications in the treatment of spasticity requires careful titration of drugs to achieve the correct balance of tone and side effects. Baclofen is a first line agent for spasticity of spinal origin. It works as a GAHA (gamma-amino-butyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter) agonist and binds prcsynaptically at the GABA^sub b^ receptor.30 Baclofen has been found to decrease flexor spasms, increase range of motion, and decrease tone. Potential side effects of Baclofen that may be problematic during physical therapy are sedation, fatigue, weakness, nausea, dizziness, paresthesias, and hallucinations. One must be careful when discontinuing baclofen as it needs be weaned slowly. If this medication is stopped abruptly, patients have been reported to have seizures, visual disturbances, and hallucinations.31

 

http://the-medical-dictionary.com/methocarbamol_article_2.htm

 

Pleas don't worry about this drug now as you can taper from it later.

 

Mike

 

 

 

Great advice from Mike  :thumbsup:

 

This drug is not a benzo so as your other buddies have already told, please try not to worry about it at this juncture.

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I'd rather not eat  :'(

 

That's not very wise, and can lead to many serious health implications.  Have you tried using it yet?  And is there anything else that your doctor can prescribe to help alleviate your symptoms?

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Baclofen does not act on the same Gaba receptor as benzos do.  Benzos act/bind to the Gaba A receptor and Baclofen acts/binds on the Gaba B receptor.  They are two very different drugs with different mechanisms of action.  Baclofen can have a serious withdrawal associated with it but that typically is for persons who do not take it orally.  As long as you taper when the time is right you should be fine.  I would not cold turkey it.  Again, the severe withdrawal syndromes are usually associated with the non-oral administration.  Take care...
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I'd rather not eat  :'(

 

That's not very wise, and can lead to many serious health implications.  Have you tried using it yet?  And is there anything else that your doctor can prescribe to help alleviate your symptoms?

I've been fighting this for years.  I've literally and I do mean literally tried everything.  I'm going to do a ton of research on baclofen and see what I can find out. 

:hug:  thanks you guys, you calmed me way down.  :smitten:

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