Benzos Medication combination to cure social anxiety

[adamc108]

I suffered from social anxiety for many years. I found diazepam controlled it but i only took it a weekends to try and not become dependent.
I eventually did become dependent and took it every day. The dose needs to be upped however to keep it working.
This runs out of control so I was just taking 10mg a day and was anxious as ever.
I drank to control anxiety and became an alcoholic. I researched and found the drug baclofen to treat alcoholism.
It really worked, i've been taking it years now and I can still have a social drink with friends but never have the urge to drink.
When I first took the baclofen I noticed it calmed social anxiety also.
The best thing about Baclofen though is that tolerance doesn't build to it.
And even better it somehow acts to prevent diazepam tolerance building.
I moved to 20mg diazepam and settled on a dose of 140mg baclofen daily (split between morning and nightime dose) after hitting the high threashold that you need to stop alcoholism (abouve 300mg daily).
So for the last two years I have been on that same dose of 20mg diazepam daily and 140mg baclofen daily and my social anxiety is completely cured.
And I rarely drink except to socialise with friends, and I used to be a full blown alcoholic.
This combination should be made available to anyone with bad enough social anxiety to need medication.
Thanks.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Oliver Ameisen, an associate professor of medicine and cardiologist at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, reported in Alcohol and Alcoholism that he successfully used high-dose baclofen as an alcohol treatment and achieved complete and prolonged suppression of symptoms of his own alcohol dependence (2005).

Ameisen had been diagnosed with alcohol dependence and comorbid anxiety disorder. He reports that his anxiety disorder preceded his addiction to alcohol. He had tried other medications for alcohol dependence with no success. Ameisen decided to try baclofen, a gamma-amino butyric acid receptor agonist that is used to control spasticity. Previous research showed that baclofen had reduced alcohol craving in alcohol dependent patients and suppressed cocaine self-administration in rats; baclofen has also been used to treat anxiety disorders. Previous animal research showed that the motivation-suppressing effect of baclofen was dose-dependent. Ameisen postulated that at high doses, baclofen might suppress alcohol craving.

Ameisen self-prescribed baclofen starting at 30 mg/day and increased by 20 mg increments every third day (with an additional 20 to 40 mg/day to combat craving). He notes that neurologists safely use up to 300 mg/day for controlling spasticity. After 5 weeks, he reached a dose of 270 mg/day and experienced suppression of alcohol craving. Ameisen reports that his symptoms of alcohol dependence were suppressed (for a total of nine months at the time of the report), and his anxiety was well controlled.

?At the end of my ninth month of complete liberation from symptoms of alcohol dependence, I remain indifferent to alcohol, ?Ameisen wrote. Abstinence has become natural to me. I no longer plan my life around alcohol. Alcohol thoughts no longer occur. I undertook personal and professional projects, which I was unable to do so before as I had to anticipate consequences of unpredictable drinking episodes (canceling appointments when possible and blackouts). As taught in [cognitive-behavioral therapy], I avoided places, situations, social settings, and vacations where alcohol might have been present. I no longer notice liquor sections in supermarkets. Some of these changes have been pointed out to me by relatives and friends. I no longer suffer anticipatory anxiety of relapse, of embarrassing or dangerous alcohol-related situations. I am no longer depressed about having an incurable stigmatizing disease. Liberation from symptoms of alcohol dependence substantially improved my self-esteem.?

?High-dose baclofen induced complete and prolonged suppression of symptoms and consequences of alcohol dependence, and relieved anxiety,? he continued. ?This model, integrating cure and well-being, should be tested in randomized trials, under medical surveillance. It offers a new concept: medication-induced, dose-dependent, complete and prolonged suppression of substance-dependence symptoms with alleviation of comorbid anxiety.?

Ameisen, O. Complete and prolonged suppression of symptoms and consequences of alcohol-dependence using high-dose baclofen: a self-case report of a physician. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2005; 40(2): 147-150.