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Baclofen for Benzodiazepine withdrawal

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Robomarley1

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Joined
Jul 25, 2011
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Is baclofen helpful for benzodiazepine withdrawal? And will it become an issue getting off of it itself once tapered off of clonazepam? Currently at a quarter of a milligram of clonazepam a day. Thank you.
 
If I'm not mistaken baclofen hits the same receptors as alcohol and benzos. Not sure if it's GABA A or B that it hits though. I know i have read threads on here where people say that baclofen does indeed help WD's from alcohol and benzos.

Someone else will come along with more experience than I have and will help you more.

I have this weird habit of responding to someone that hasn't gotten any responses yet. I always picture them at their keyboard anxiously waiting for someone to come help.
 
Robomarley1 said:
@Pumpkin2021 Thanks, I was checking back on the site a lot. I am trying not to obsess too much.
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My pleasure. So you have some baclofen right? The 10 mg ones? have you taken any yet?

Try 20 mgs. and just sit and relax for a bit. They will calm you down and might make you a little drowsy.

About 6 months ago I fell on the ice and broke a rib. The ER Dr. gave me some to help with the pain I was having by breathing and moving around in my sleep.

Took 10 mg ( one pill ) the first time but didn't see much improvement. I took 2 the next time and that's when I felt the relaxation.

If you are only on .25 mgs of benzo a day you are doing great. good for you.
 
It's a GABAb agonist, whereas benzos are GABAa.

It definitely helps with some of the anxiety from benzo withdrawal although I doubt it will stop it completely like an actual benzo would. But it definitely helps with the physical effects. At least it really helped me when I was getting off benzos. It was the only thing that settled my shaking hands, and it helps with the restless legs and such.
 
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deficiT said:
It's a GABAb agonist, whereas benzos are more GABAa.

It definitely helps help with some of the anxiety from benzo withdrawal although I doubt it will stop it completely like an actual benzo would. But it definitely helps with the physical effects. At least it really helped me when I was getting off benzos. It was the only thing that settled my shaking hands, and it helps with the restless legs and such.
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Gotcha, that is what I wanted to know, thank you.
 
Robomarley1 said:
@Pumpkin2021 Yes the 10 mg ones, I have not taken any yet. I was concerned about messing up my taper that I started in February of this year.
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I understand. You don't want to go through all that hard work ( and agony ) to just go backwards in your taper. Try and just take the baclofen when you are really struggling with some peace of mind. The will help you relax and they will help you sleep. Take them sparingly and continue your great work with your taper.
 
It is not effective, at least not especially. The gabapentinoid most effective for this purpose is pregabalin.
 
Be careful. I was on 30mg day prescribed for a for a short period and ended up hooked for over a year.

WD'S were not that bad but still unpleasant.

Like a mild benzo WD
 
The Wizard of the Creek said:
You can definitely get addicted to baclofen, it’s a full GABA B agonist. It is very similar to phenibut, and looks almost identical molecularly to phenibut with very similar effects and actions. There is a debate here on whether baclofen is a gabapentinoid like phenibut or not? I assert that it absolutely is a gabapentinoid, while others say it absolutely is not. It acts amount exactly like phenibut and has an almost identical high, but it does not act as a gabapentinoid in the doses they prescribe therapeuticly. Where it differs from phenibut is that it’s onset of action is really quick compared to phenibut that takes 90 min to 2 hours before you feel the effects. Tolerance also develops much slower than phenibut, where tolerance happens very quickly.

The thing is with baclofen is to not stop it abruptly. Baclofen withdrawal is usually only seen with abrupt discontinuation of the intrathecal form. Withdrawal from baclofen can have clinical manifestations that include agitation, insomnia, confusion, delusions, hallucinations, seizures, visual changes, psychosis, dyskinesia, hyperthermia, and increased spasticity.

Baclofen can be easily tapered off of too. If the baclofen is to be ceased for any reason, the dose should be weaned down over 1-2 weeks. A ballpark figure would be 10mg/day decrease for doses over 100mg/day and 5-10mg/day for doses under 100mg/day.
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Ahhh, interesting. Thanks mate! :)
 
The Wizard of the Creek said:
There is a debate here on whether baclofen is a gabapentinoid like phenibut or not? I assert that it absolutely is a gabapentinoid, while others say it absolutely is not.
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Yeah there isn't any basis for a debate in that regard, gabapentinoids are simply beta substituted GABA analogs, and baclofen certainly fits that profile.
 
yep, i get addicted to anything ;-)

for me it was mainly hallucinations and not sleeping and feeling like hammered shit , but only lasted a couple of days
 
so I had 2 episodes of stopping Baclofen

the first I just stopped, hence the withdrawal experience

the second i dropped 10mg every 3 days and when I got to 10 i went to 5 for 3 days, much much better

its no way near the opiate or pregabalin WD's i have been through but still unpleasant

wish I had some baclofen now to take the edge of this bupe reduction! still got it on my repeats so may order some.....
 
I can second what you say about it stopping your alcohol intake, I also found I didn't want a drink whilst on it, it also helped me to quit smoking I think...

Alcohol is a massive trigger for me, a couple of pints sets me off big time and ALL my cravings come back

cant even enjoy a couple of nice glasses of red with a steak anymore.... :-(
 
FatBellyWhipSlay said:
I can second what you say about it stopping your alcohol intake, I also found I didn't want a drink whilst on it, it also helped me to quit smoking I think...

Alcohol is a massive trigger for me, a couple of pints sets me off big time and ALL my cravings come back

cant even enjoy a couple of nice glasses of red with a steak anymore.... :-(
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Baclofen is prescribed for alcohol cessation so that makes sense.
 
The Wizard of the Creek said:
Do you know if that is becoming more common now? I haven’t heard of doctors using baclofen for alcohol here in the US, at least not at the moment where I am? How about in Australia @n3ophy7e? I’m doing it on my own here in Ohio. I would like to know if others have succeeded in using baclofen, and if they were under a doctors orders?

🧙‍♂️
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Yep, baclofen has been suggested to me several times while I was in hospital detoxes. Naltrexone, Antabuse, acamprosate and baclofen are the ones that have been suggested to me. I've tried them all except for baclofen. Antabuse works best for me, to help me stay sober. If I ever get a strong alcohol craving I take some Antabuse so then I absolutely cannot drink for a good 4-5 days, which by then the craving is long gone.
 
The Wizard of the Creek said:
Do you know if that is becoming more common now? I haven’t heard of doctors using baclofen for alcohol here in the US, at least not at the moment where I am? How about in Australia @n3ophy7e? I’m doing it on my own here in Ohio. I would like to know if others have succeeded in using baclofen, and if they were under a doctors orders?

🧙‍♂️
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May have already said before, I haven't recovered from alcohol withdrawal using Baclofen, but it has helped me recover from benzo withdrawal. Not on its own but mixed with some other things as well.
 
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