Benzos Baclofen for benzos withdrawal pains?

I have been prescribed Baclofen to help ease anxiety and terrible muscle pains since my Clonazepam taper finished.......But, is Baclofen addictive, really dont want to have to taper another drug ever again!

What do you mean by addictive? If you use it as prescribed and don't suddenly discontinue it, there is no reason it should be.

That said, if your using baclofen become associated with the kind of overwhelming involvement that characterizes addiction or its use becomes associated with harm to yourself or those around you, it might be worth reconsidering just how appropriate or sustainable that treatment is long term.

Long term and high dose baclofen use does lead to tolerance and dependency eventually, similarly to gabapentin. It's not as severe generally speaking as benzos, but it isn't without dependency either (IME the baclofen tolerance and dependency take far longer to develop than with benzodiazepines).

Tolerance and dependency isn't necessarily a bad thing though, and it doesn't necessarily mean addiction (addiction often doesn't involved tolerance or dependency).

Dependency on something like this means it's in your system at stable levels and is doing what it should be doing. It's super important to understand the mechanisms of gabaergic dependency for when/if you plan to transition off that class of medication, but if it's really help you IRL it isn't something to be too concerned about.

It sounds like you had a rough time coming off clonazepam. Would you mind sharing a bit about your history taking that medication, how you eventually came off it and what coming off it was like for you?

tl;dr long term and high dose baclofen use will lead to dependency. Low-moderate daily dose won't be as much an issue, though you should still taper coming off it (a properly managed taper doesn't have to include a lot of discomfort though).

Tzcatlipoca said:

Immediate cessation(cold turkey) or overdose of Baclofen is reported to cause convulsive(seizure) episodes,
psychological crashing and uncontrollable muscle spasms.
In some patients diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, hallucination, anxiety, nausea and immediate confusion have been reported after administration of l-dopamine and baclofen.
In terms of safety profile, I would suggest that there is always the possibility of addiction, however potential benefits outweigh the risk of adverse side effects in most patients.
Yours,
Tez

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+1

Why does that look familiar

I think stopping baclofen is a lot easier for people than stopping benzos. Baclofen doesn't target the same receptors benzos do. It works primarily outside your brain, and a lot of the anti-anxiety effects come from the same receptor that gabapentin uses.

So a sudden break from even really high baclofen levels shouldn't cause too much trouble, and none of the screaming anxiety horror that comes with benzos. But anything that relieves anxiety can be addictive, even thumb sucking.

It?s a little different but phenibut was a godsend while almost cold turkey-ing off of clonazolam. I did tough it out for a week or so to make sure I was done seizing since phenibut is somewhat stimulating. It was literally the only way I could sleep. I have had balcofen during opiate withdrawal and it definitely helped.

Thanks for the helpful replies

Can Baclofen make you dizzy, strange question to ask I know!

Saying Gabapentin, I have tried that, made me sleepy to start with but then very talkative, kind of strange!

Regarding Baclofen:

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:
More common

• Confusion
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• drowsiness
• nausea
• unusual weakness, especially muscle weakness

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https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/baclofen-oral-route/side-effects/DRG-20067995

Gabaergics can make one energetic and talkative similar to how just a couple of drinks can. Of course it can also zombie you out usually depending on dose but everyone responds a little bit differently so I wouldn't call your reaction paradoxical, if anything typical. Tolerance does build very fast though.