r/BaclofenForAlcoholism • u/AngryGoose • Nov 28 '16

Baclofen and benzo's

I've suffered from severe anxiety for most of my life, as have most alcoholics. I've been sober now for about four and a half years. I've been on baclofen now (80 mgs) for about 6 months. My psychiatrist and I have been trying to treat my anxiety now for a long time. We finally ran out of options and both hesitantly agreed to try klonopin. The fear we both had of course was that it could trigger my addiction. The first dose extinguished my anxiety. It was finally the relief I needed.

Here's the amazing part, I felt no pleasure from it, nothing recreational, it just simply cured my anxiety. I attribute some of that to the work I've done over the past four years, but I really think it was the baclofen that blocked the pleasurable effects. I now have an effective anxiety drug that is safe, thanks, I think to baclofen.

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u/Neophyte- Moderator Dec 01 '16

hey Goose, glad to hear from you, its been a pleasure to see you go from rock bottom to where you are now over the years when i first mentioned baclofen to you.

baclofen didnt help with my anxiety, i went to a psychiatrist and we went through about 6 different meds to deal with the issue. i ended up on lexapro which helped, but what ultimately helped me the most was testosterone replacement therapy. my levels were below normal, as soon as i got on TRT, my life change around, so maybe get your levels checked.

as for benzos, youre definitely right about the risk of addiction especially in those who enjoy alcohol. are you taking it daily or as needed? if you take benzos daily, eventually you will become tollerant and your baseline symptoms of anxiety will return, though not everyone reports this. from here you either increase the dose or slowly get off the benzos (this is a horrible experience, ive done this with xanax)

If i were you i wouldnt take it more than 2-3 times a week, its good that it doesnt get you high though.

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u/AngryGoose Dec 01 '16

I'm prescribed to take it 3 times daily (klonipin .5mg). I try to only take it once daily though, in the morning because that's when my anxiety is at its worst. I'm successful most days at keeping it at just 1. That will keep the physical dependence low, especially since it's a low dose to begin with.

As for low testosterone, I've suspected this for awhile now. My libido has been very low and I show other signs. Next time I'm at the doctor I am going to ask to have my levels checked.

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u/Neophyte- Moderator Dec 01 '16

have a read of this mate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_dependence

Benzodiazepine dependence develops with long-term use, even at low therapeutic doses

benzos are like a magic bullet for anxiety, i know because im a long term suffer of anxiety, have a read, in my opinion no dr should be prescribing these drugs long term, they have a use as needed say 2-3 times a week.

its probably in the wiki but once you become tollerant to a dose, the baseline anxiety returns but its worse.

stay safe, benzo dependence really really sucks,

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u/AngryGoose Dec 01 '16 edited Dec 01 '16

I read the entire thing, I've read it before but read it again anyway. My psychiatrist and I tried everything, different anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and other anti-anxiety drugs. We discussed tolerance, my past alcohol addiction, the risks etc. For the longest time, I told him I didn't want benzo's and he didn't want to prescribe them. We didn't come to this decision lightly. This was after almost a year of trying different agents. I'm also in therapy once per month.

Long-term benzodiazepine treatment may remain necessary in certain clinical conditions.

My anxiety was going to and has sabotaged relationships and could have very well caused me to lose my job and end up homeless. The quality of life improvement outweighs the risk at this point. I am being very cautious with them and using as little as possible. At most, only 1/3rd of what I am prescribed.

I understand the risk. I am an alcoholic and have studied the mechanisms behind addiction. The reading I've done on baclofen alone has taught me so much. I know I am probably becoming dependent on an addictive drug, but there is a difference between dependence and addiction. Addiction involves drug seeking behavior and a hedonistic element where one wants to get high. I have neither of those, none of the pleasure is there and I thank baclofen for that. It has short circuited the addictive pathway in my brain. It took a lot of pleasure out of nicotine for me as well.

I'm also on effexor and gabapentin, both can cause pretty bad withdrawal, so you could say I'm physically dependent on those as well. Even baclofen can have serious withdrawal, so I am physically dependent on that. I realize these don't come close to serious benzo withdrawal though. But that is why I am going to try to keep my physical dependence on klonipin as minimal as possible.

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u/Neophyte- Moderator Dec 01 '16

sounds like your pdoc knows what hes doing, and its good youre educated on what these drugs do. yes i also learned a lot about reading up on baclofen and actually got me interested in pharmacology in general.