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Misc Baclofen W/D

john3434

john3434

Bluelighter
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
92
I'll try to make this as short as possible, but enough information to get some help hopefully.

About a month ago, I was having some terrible stress headaches. My wife has epilepsy and it's accompanied by terrible headaches for which she was, at one point, prescribed Baclofen. She took it once, it didn't work. So back to my stress headache. It was extremely bad and she recommended I try the Baclofen. I had never heard of it, but after very brief reading, I tried it. And it worked.

So, with all of the stress going on in our lives, the headaches were fairly regular, so I would take 10-20mg from time to time over the next few weeks.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, I started upping the dose. For about 10 days was taking 90mg, then about 60mg for the last 4.

Well, now I'm out. And of course, though I'd read everything about the benefits, it seemed very benign. I knew nothing about the withdrawal. I haven't take any since last night around 9:30. I do feel mild withdrawal - feels like a mix between opiate withdrawal and benzo withdrawal. BUT, it could very well be in my head for the most part as I started reading about the withdrawals last night and almost had a fear meltdown. I am started to feel very panicky,

I have no insurance. And we have very little money - none really - to spend on a doctor or ER visit.

I guess my first and foremost question is - after this amount of use for this period of time, will it really be that bad. I've done cold turkey withdrawal from Herion, Dilaudid, Oxycontin, Xanax, and Klonopin. So I'm not one to get easily freaked out by withdrawals. I've been through my "hells" many times a long time ago - including 2 cold turkeys in jail. But the stuff I'm reading about Baclofen is scaring the crap out of me.

I'd love to hear any info anyone has to share.

Also, I know nobody on this board would ever give medical advice - but I do have large amounts of Neurontin at my disposal (which I thought was similar because of acting on GabaB, but from what I'm reading now it's very different). I have not interest in starting on a new medication. I'm just asking if anyone has any experience easing withdrawals with that. I know if worse comes to worse I can take larger doses of Xanax, but that goes against my beliefs (I will however do it if it means avoiding hallucinations, convulsions, etc.).

So, anyway. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pretty damn scared right now.
 
Your dosage at 90 mg was pretty high. My dad is over 300 pounds and his doctor didn't want him taking more than 20 mg twice a day which he was using for back pain. It would have been ideal to taper yourself as mentioned but since you ran out, you can use the Neurontin if you start to feel poorly. Whatever you decide to take, be careful not to overdo it to avoid dependence.
 
muskolo said:
This took some doing but this might be somewhat helpful. I'm not knowledgable on this but it may be a good idea to consult someone in the ER. Just call them and see what they say.

Here is the discussion on Baclofen W/D: http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...esal)-Miracle-Drug-or-Crap?highlight=baclofen
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info! I scanned that the other night. Kinda freaked me out. Some of sounded positive for me. Some sounded not good at all.

Couldn't really find in there if anyone had success with Neurontin.

The most ridiculous thing is this might not even be something I should be worried about. Or it might be huge.
 
T. Calderone said:
Your dosage at 90 mg was pretty high. My dad is over 300 pounds and his doctor didn't want him taking more than 20 mg twice a day which he was using for back pain. It would have been ideal to taper yourself as mentioned but since you ran out, you can use the Neurontin if you start to feel poorly. Whatever you decide to take, be careful not to overdo it to avoid dependence.
Click to expand...

So you feel the Neurontin could be rather helpful?
 
You'll be the first to know if you're in real trouble, in which case, get your ass to the ER whether you can afford it or not.....There's usually things you can apply for and negotiations you can make to either reduce the bill or have it covered completely, at least that's something I've been able to do...

Baclofen withdrawal sounds like it can be pretty serious, and I can fully understand reacting the way you did after reading about all the negative possibilities right after you ran out of pills! Don't worry yourself sick over it, but definitely deal with it if you have to...I wish I had more experience with it, or that I could reassure you, but I'm really not 100% sure with this stuff...but again, if you run into serious trouble, you'll be the first to know!
 
BlueHues said:
You'll be the first to know if you're in real trouble, in which case, get your ass to the ER whether you can afford it or not.....There's usually things you can apply for and negotiations you can make to either reduce the bill or have it covered completely, at least that's something I've been able to do...

Baclofen withdrawal sounds like it can be pretty serious, and I can fully understand reacting the way you did after reading about all the negative possibilities right after you ran out of pills! Don't worry yourself sick over it, but definitely deal with it if you have to...I wish I had more experience with it, or that I could reassure you, but I'm really not 100% sure with this stuff...but again, if you run into serious trouble, you'll be the first to know!
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info. Hoping someone can come along with direct experience, but this is a great start. Thanks!
 
BlueHues said:
You'll be the first to know if you're in real trouble, in which case, get your ass to the ER whether you can afford it or not.....There's usually things you can apply for and negotiations you can make to either reduce the bill or have it covered completely, at least that's something I've been able to do...

Baclofen withdrawal sounds like it can be pretty serious, and I can fully understand reacting the way you did after reading about all the negative possibilities right after you ran out of pills! Don't worry yourself sick over it, but definitely deal with it if you have to...I wish I had more experience with it, or that I could reassure you, but I'm really not 100% sure with this stuff...but again, if you run into serious trouble, you'll be the first to know!
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what should I look for that could mean get to the ER? I understand what you're saying about knowing if it's that bad, but can you give me some specifics. Don't know if that's redundant or not. Just trying to get as much info as possible at this point.

Also, I'm wondering (though not a great idea) if small amounts of alcohol could stem of mild or moderate withdrawals if taken in small amounts and stopped after 2-3 days.
 
john3434 said:
Just out of curiosity, what should I look for that could mean get to the ER? I understand what you're saying about knowing if it's that bad, but can you give me some specifics. Don't know if that's redundant or not. Just trying to get as much info as possible at this point.

Also, I'm wondering (though not a great idea) if small amounts of alcohol could stem of mild or moderate withdrawals if taken in small amounts and stopped after 2-3 days.
Click to expand...

It's ridiculous how little information there is out there about this medication. So many people are having success using it short term for opiate and alcohol withdrawal, but even 10 pages deep into Google all I can find is info about intathecal use in MS patients. And the MyWayOut forum, which has been little help as they're all scared to give any advice at all really.
 
The signs that you might be in trouble could be increased blood pressure, confusion, gastrointestinal distress or even seizures. But I think that would be more likely to occur from abrupt withdrawal from long term usage. It's hard to predict who might be more susceptible.

In theory alcohol might help with withdrawals but since it's half life is so short it might be counterproductive. It would be safer to use the gabapentin or Xanax in the event you start to feel unwell. That's what I would do anyway.
 
T. Calderone said:
The signs that you might be in trouble could be increased blood pressure, confusion, gastrointestinal distress or even seizures. But I think that would be more likely to occur from abrupt withdrawal from long term usage. It's hard to predict who might be more susceptible.

In theory alcohol might help with withdrawals but since it's half life is so short it might be counterproductive. It would be safer to use the gabapentin or Xanax in the event you start to feel unwell. That's what I would do anyway.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That helps a lot!
 
^ agree T, something like a benzo, or anything that acts on those receptors should keep you out of any serious trouble temporarily...and maybe something like gabapentin you could even do a short taper with...This is assuming that you're even going to have dangerous withdrawal symptoms, which we have no way of discerning by internet messages..

Generally, we don't give out emergency medical advice, but I don't want to tell you to immediately run to the ER if you don't have to either...

TBH, it does sound like you used long enough and consistently enough that some withdrawal from discontinuing the drug is very likely...whether or not it will be dangerous is hard to say, and not something anyone should be giving you a yes or no answer to on Bluelight..

You seem very preoccupied with this whole thing, and that's understandable...I'll leave this open a while longer, but maybe you should just go and get seen, just for the piece of mind...Of course, the withdrawal could take a few days to kick in...I really don't know
 
Thanks BlueHues. You've been a huge help. If you could keep this open through tomorrow that would be very helpful. Pretty much everything I've read says you'll know for sure without a doubt by day 2. Going to try and sleep. Tried an extra Xanax and only about 200mg of Gabapentin. Will report back tomorrow if the thread can stay open. Guessing in going to wake up not long from now feeling pretty awful, or maybe pleasantly surprised and relieved. I'll let you know.Thanks again!
 
Yeah, it's nerve wracking I'm sure! I'll leave it open for you for now...but now that you took that other stuff, it might prolong how long it will take for the withdrawal to set in...
 
I guess that's true. But the Xanax is fairly new. Only a few months. And I take it every day, 3 times a day. Normally, in my younger days, I would just irresponsibly manage the withdrawal or head immediately to the ER. But I'm now a father, married, with a 2yo just diagnosed with Autism. My home is in a tough place now, and I don't want to add to it. That's the only reason I'm trying to make sure drastic measures are necessary before I take them. Hope that makes sense. Just have that feeling I'll known pretty soon. Also was hoping to keep this open so that anyone who ends up in the same situation can know how it turned out form me.
 
^Okay, well if you're prescribed daily xanax anyway, there's a much better chance it will keep the withdrawals away...but keep us updated for sure!
 
john3434 said:
I'll try to make this as short as possible, but enough information to get some help hopefully.

About a month ago, I was having some terrible stress headaches. My wife has epilepsy and it's accompanied by terrible headaches for which she was, at one point, prescribed Baclofen. She took it once, it didn't work. So back to my stress headache. It was extremely bad and she recommended I try the Baclofen. I had never heard of it, but after very brief reading, I tried it. And it worked.

So, with all of the stress going on in our lives, the headaches were fairly regular, so I would take 10-20mg from time to time over the next few weeks.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, I started upping the dose. For about 10 days was taking 90mg, then about 60mg for the last 4.

Well, now I'm out. And of course, though I'd read everything about the benefits, it seemed very benign. I knew nothing about the withdrawal. I haven't take any since last night around 9:30. I do feel mild withdrawal - feels like a mix between opiate withdrawal and benzo withdrawal. BUT, it could very well be in my head for the most part as I started reading about the withdrawals last night and almost had a fear meltdown. I am started to feel very panicky,

I have no insurance. And we have very little money - none really - to spend on a doctor or ER visit.

I guess my first and foremost question is - after this amount of use for this period of time, will it really be that bad. I've done cold turkey withdrawal from Herion, Dilaudid, Oxycontin, Xanax, and Klonopin. So I'm not one to get easily freaked out by withdrawals. I've been through my "hells" many times a long time ago - including 2 cold turkeys in jail. But the stuff I'm reading about Baclofen is scaring the crap out of me.

I'd love to hear any info anyone has to share.

Also, I know nobody on this board would ever give medical advice - but I do have large amounts of Neurontin at my disposal (which I thought was similar because of acting on GabaB, but from what I'm reading now it's very different). I have not interest in starting on a new medication. I'm just asking if anyone has any experience easing withdrawals with that. I know if worse comes to worse I can take larger doses of Xanax, but that goes against my beliefs (I will however do it if it means avoiding hallucinations, convulsions, etc.).

So, anyway. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pretty damn scared right now.
Click to expand...
Sorry I haven't read the whole thread, but here is my 2 cents on it:

If you cannot go to the ER or illicitly score some more to taper, none of our advice will do much good except for:

Taper with booze! That should do the trick imho. Just get a lot of 80 proof and use that as needed to take the worst edge off the withdrawls. Keep in mind you should still be feeling shitty, otherwise you are just substituting. It'll be hard to maintain some level of discipline, but this should probably work without you experiencing any seizures or delirium.

Baclofen is also quite commonly used to get off booze by the way.

Good luck!

Also check this out:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24346755
Ethanol actually primarily acts on GABA-A, unlike Baclofen which acts on GABA-B, so I don't think it has been cleared up why it works so well for alcohol withdrawal. Either way, I'd give this a shot over using your neurontin. I'd also be very curious how well it works, so please do play guinea pig. ;) Sorry, man, fucked up situation, I hope you get through this fine.
 
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Isn't Baclofen pretty similar to phenibut? I'm currently in the middle of a phenibut taper. If they hit the same receptors you could use that, but I really wouldn't suggest it. There's a bunch of people who have huge success of getting off phenibut with Neurontin, so if baclofen hits the same receptors as phenibut it would probably be best to use that.
 
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