Misc Is baclofen compulsive at all or easy to just take once in a while?

[niwkkie]

I've read alot about its 'anti addictive' properties and how it is given even to recovering heroin addicts in favour of anything else like benzoes so I presume that they are some of the worse abusers in the world then it can't have much abusability potential?

I ask because I want to try it but have always been so terrified of the horror stories of gabaergics.

Nearly all of the stuff I read online says it is almost totally anti addictive in that it doesn't produce any euphoria or anything.

I am looking for a sedative with low abuse potential (I've tried all the 'herbal remedies' under the sun before you go there) for occasional anxiolytic and hypnotic effect- I dont want to discuss whether baclofen produces these effects as Ive read enough reports that I think it would be suitable- but I just want to know how easy it is to not want to redose.

The half life of 2-4 hours seems ideal to me as it would wear off quickly without being in your system too long and causing too much down regulation.

 

[aihfl]

Baclofen is a GABA-B receptor agonist, unlike other gabaergics such as ethanol and benzos which have their effect on GABA-A receptors. I was on it as an anti-alcohol craving med for several years. You are correct, it does not induce euphoria or any other reinforcing effects. It really didn't have much of an effect on me at all, and I tapered off of it after the price went up to <snip>. Other addicts I've known who were scripted it have reported sedative and anxiolytic effects, but I didn't notice them. The only word of caution I would offer is start at a low dose (15mg; 5mg 3x daily) and titrate upward (10mg/day) every 3-5 days from there. The most I ever titrated up to was 90mg/day. If you decide to go off it, taper off with the same increments you went up. Do not take too much at once. I can assure you the effects are profoundly unpleasant: dizziness, disorientation, nausea, you name it, and titrating downward too fast may cause seizures.

 

[Methacodone]

I know of 2 sedatives that have 0 addictive potential properties..

Promethazine (Phenergan)
Hydroxyzine (Atarax)

They're both anti-hestamines that produce decent sedation.. esp in people with low drug tolerance.

Baclofen isn't addictive either, btw (I'm sure you know this)

Though, they don't produce euphoria.. just sedation.

 

[niwkkie]

I despise anthistamines with a passion.

Absolutely abbhorrent dirty toxic malevolent things. Makes me angry to even hear them mentioned. They produce delerium and hallucinations at the highest recomended dose and any lower they don't have any noticeable effect except the usual toxic feeling they bring. Gonna have to punch a wall a few times to purge myself of this rage now.

 

[Methacodone]

Well, I mean most other sedative drugs are addictive and are controlled substances..

I think what you're looking for is LYRICA (Pregabalin)... It's a CV (Schedule 5 controlled substance) in the U.S
Which means it has a LOW abuse potential.. Lyrica is quite euphoric actually, and does produce sedation.. Ever heard of Lyrica?

 

[niwkkie]

Yes I read up on all the close relatives of baclofen including that and gabapentin. Bac seemed like the best bet to me in terms of low abuse potential though the others do interest me.

The other options are sedating anti depressants however there only seems to be trazodone and mirtazipine in this class and neither sound very nice. They sound similar to the first gen antihistamines from what I read in terms of just being hammer blows to the head and having a very dirty toxic feel.

I like baclofen in theory since it seems close to ghb/gaba and seems to be a simple molecule and also long history of use which is always nice. Also other gabaergics I tried have felt easy on the body - the odd benzo I had in the past and kava.

Agomelatine seems very intersting but kind of not too comfortable about it being such a new chemical- not only a new drug but first of its kind to hit the melatonin receptor. Reports do seem very positive though as an antidepressant and anxiolytic which also improves sleep and non addictive.

 

[aihfl]

The other options are sedating anti depressants however there only seems to be trazodone and mirtazipine in this class and neither sound very nice. They sound similar to the first gen antihistamines from what I read in terms of just being hammer blows to the head and having a very dirty toxic feel.

I take 15mg of mirtazapine and 900mg gabapentin at night for sleep. This combo helps me fall asleep fast and stay asleep. Mirtazapine paradoxically has less of a hangover in the morning at higher doses IME. Trazodone is like a sledgehammer. I had to stop taking it.

What are you looking for? None of these drugs except for gabapentin/Lyrica at higher doses (I personally find gabapentin buzzes unpleasant) are going to induce any sort of buzz.

 

[niwkkie]

I am looking for a sedative with low abuse potential (I've tried all the 'herbal remedies' under the sun before you go there) for occasional anxiolytic and hypnotic effect

What are you looking for? None of these drugs except for gabapentin/Lyrica at higher doses (I personally find gabapentin buzzes unpleasant) are going to induce any sort of buzz.

Not sure how much clearer I could be

Anyhow I've been studying my options for a couple of years on this subject so I doubt anyone can come up with anything I haven't read of in my trawling the internet all that time. I just wanted to know the relative risk of getting into trouble trying baclofen which it seems is low.

As I said I actually want the opposite of a buzz, or, rather, the absense is better, just a straight anxiolytic/sedative effect; an effective tool for the job without any frills of which baclofen seems to fit the bill.

 

[Methacodone]

What about SOMA (Carisoprodol)? Soma is baclofens older brother.. it's like comparing Gabapentin to Lyrica.

Soma is pretty euphoric.

 

[trolling123]

I'm currently tampering down on my oxy. Eventually i'll be using baclofen too help when i start too really feel physical symptoms. I tried too use it recreationally and only ended up falling asleep. When i use it for its intended purposes it works wonders at just 10MG. Slightly relaxes me and takes away muscle pain. I feel it helps with my nerve pain as well.

 

[trolling123]

What about SOMA (Carisoprodol)? Soma is baclofens older brother.. it's like comparing Gabapentin to Lyrica.

Soma is pretty euphoric.

Soma is SUPER strong. Its honestly my favorite thing next too opiates. I'd take soma over benzos any day. Soma tolerance builds pretty quickly though. I've taken both soma and baclofen, they might be related , but i haven't noticed them too have similar effects at all. Soma will destroy me , giving me euphoria , slurred speech , and make my body feel like its in a drunk/benzo induced state. Baclofen provides some anxiety relief, helps with sleep, and is great for nerve pain though its not near as recreational. Soma is hands down my favorite thing to use to "potentiate" opiates.

 

[niwkkie]

Why do you guys keep talking about recreational and euphoria when I categorically stated that is not what im looking for.

Comfirmation bias or what.

So, back to the original topic. A couple times a week -never on consecutive days- taking baclofen should offer no withdrawal issues correct?

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Eh I typed out a very long post and lost it all so I'll retype the short version.

Kava root powder is good if you haven't tried that one. Know you've tried all the herbs, but alot of people get bad kava root, don't give it enough time, or screw up the prep.

Amitriptyline, cyclobenzaprine, trazadone, and doxylamine are all good, but all of them besides trazadone may last too long. You just need to keep trying things until you find what works for you. Don't know much about baclofen, but it's certainly worth a try doxylamine is an antihistamine btw. You're going to be hard pressed for anything non-recreational that isn't also a dirty drug. Of course, you can experiment with melatonin. It's quite safe to take in higher doses than what most packages reccomend


And c'mon guys. OP has clearly said multiple times now that they're not interested in rec value. Any more threadjacking with discussions on rec value will be infracted :/

EDIT: If you're looking for a short acting hypnotic to use only a couple times a week, z-drugs fit the bill perfectly. They do have some potential for abuse/dependency, but dependence is highly unlikely if you're sticking to recommended doses only a couple times a week.

Also, I forgot to mention suvorexant! That's a next-gen sleeping med that may be very good option for you. Not a dirty drug by any means.

 

[aihfl]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Buspar. Didn't do jack squat for me, but it was described as a "clean" drug by the doctor who scripted it for me.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Buspar. Didn't do jack squat for me, but it was described as a "clean" drug by the doctor who scripted it for me.

I've actually never heard of that being prescribed for insomnia. Was that what your doctor gave it to you for?

 

[niwkkie]

Interesting survexant is one I hadn't heard of Again, as a hypochondriac I do still feel more comfortable with older more well studied drugs but if something sounded perfect and was new then I certainly wouldnt write it off. But these new obscure drugs are kind of moot unless you can easily acquire them on the net because I am not gonna go to a doctor about such things.

It isn't that I have a moral problem with a dirty 'intoxicating' drug, but if it makes me feel like total shit then that is the main issue.

Anyhow I don't know how the thread went on a (second) 'what should I take' tangent since my OP was quite specifically asking about issues related to baclofen.

 

[aihfl]

I've actually never heard of that being prescribed for insomnia. Was that what your doctor gave it to you for?

Anxiety. Like I said, it did nothing for me, but drowsiness is a common side effect.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Interesting survexant is one I hadn't heard of Again, as a hypochondriac I do still feel more comfortable with older more well studied drugs but if something sounded perfect and was new then I certainly wouldnt write it off. But these new obscure drugs are kind of moot unless you can easily acquire them on the net because I am not gonna go to a doctor about such things.

It isn't that I have a moral problem with a dirty 'intoxicating' drug, but if it makes me feel like total shit then that is the main issue.

Anyhow I don't know how the thread went on a (second) 'what should I take' tangent since my OP was quite specifically asking about issues related to baclofen.

Well I think your questions from your OP have been answered. We really can't tell you how much you'll like baclofen. You're just going to have to try it. Relatively speaking, it has a low abuse potential and it will not cause physical dependence from using it a couple times a week.

Any reason why you're against seeing a doctor? And drugs that are referred to as "dirty" are usually ones that affect a lot of different and unnecessary signaling pathways. Suvorexant is new, but it's a very clean drug in the sense that it was designed to target a specific receptor associated with wakefulness.

 

[GirlWithBlueHair]

What about SOMA (Carisoprodol)? Soma is baclofens older brother.. it's like comparing Gabapentin to Lyrica.

Soma is pretty euphoric.

Soma is NOT at all like comparing gabapentin to lyrica - which have a similar method of action and are in the same class of medications known as gabapentinoids.

Soma is barbituratelike and carries all the risk - something baclofen DOES not. Baclofen is actually in the same class as gabapentin and Lyrica too, ie gabapentinoids.

And to answer the OPs question, I have been taking baclofen for three years now, and I did mess around with it when it was first prescribed and it is not at all compulsive. But a word of warning about the withdrawals. They can be just as bad, if not worse, than phenibut. So I would use caution.

 

[trolling123]

Why do you guys keep talking about recreational and euphoria when I categorically stated that is not what im looking for.

Comfirmation bias or what.

So, back to the original topic. A couple times a week -never on consecutive days- taking baclofen should offer no withdrawal issues correct?

Why are you getting upset for no reason? I stated how it affected me when i use it for its intended purposes as well as recreational. Which i think is valuable information even if you weren't going to plan on taking it recreationally ever. You shouldn't feel any physical withdrawal symptoms if you use it only a few times a week and not consecutively.