# baclofen and anxiety



## brown324

I want to help expose the benefits that people may experience with baclofen for anxiety treatment. I know there are some on this forum that have taken or still do take baclofen. I also know some will say tolerance will build and the anxiolytic effects will diminish, or that it doesn't have a very good anxiolytic effect at all. I have only been taking it for 5 days but I believe it is going to change my life long term, and it could do this for others as well.

There is not enough exposure or research into the anxiolytic effects of gaba B agonists like baclofen. There are very few gaba B agonist substances available, and the only current reliable gaba B agonist in the form of a real medication is baclofen.

Many people including myself have experienced wonderful anxiolitic effects from the nootropic phenibut, a gaba B agonist that that is not an actual medication in the u.s.a. but is available to order as a supplement online. The mechanism of action from phenibut and baclofen is very similar, in my case baclofen is actually less sedating than phenibut, but is just as good as an anxiolytic.

If you do the research you will find that there are some small scale clinical trials that have proven efficacy of baclofen for anxiety. You will also find that it is now being used at an increasing rate to treat alcoholism and addiction. The fact is that most people who are alcoholics or drug addicts have comorbid anxiety issues, and this is often the root cause of addiction. You will find that higher dose baclofen has not only "cured" addiction for many people, but has also "cured" the underlying anxiety that goes along with it.

I do believe side effects can be an issue for some with baclofen, and that this medication will not work for everyone. I don't believe that tolerance will stop baclofen from being a long term treatment for anxiety. The reason for this is simply that most people experience tolerence when a med stops giving them the sedating effect, this is the most common effect that reduces anxiety. However, with baclofen I myself am not experiencing sedating effects, but my GAD and SA have gone down significantly. There are also many other people that have been on baclofen for months and years, that no longer experience any sedation, yet they still get the anxiolytic effects.

Gaba b agonist meds have a promising future for anxiety treatment. There are currently trials going on with newer gaba B agonist meds that are being developed for anxiety treatment, and the results look good. We will see gaba B agonist meds as the newest treatment for anxiety in this lifetime, but unfortunatly medicine development is very very slow.

The most unfortunate thing is that there is not enough info out there about baclofen's anxiolytic ability, so most doctors will not even consider prescribing it for anxiety, especially in the higher doses that may be necessary. I do have a doctor that will continue to titrate my dose up as high as is needed, and I intend to continue to document the results of this medication as I do so.

My GAD is bad enough that it is with me 90% of the time, and my SA is bad enough that I have panic attacks even thinking about social interaction in my personal life and at work. I have severe physical symptoms that are debilitating. I have been on more meds for anxiety in the last few years than you can count on your fingers and toes. This has largely controlled my life for some time now. The only way I could effectively deal with my SA before baclofen is with either alcohol or opiates. Now in a matter of 5 days I feel completely different, I am not really super pro social, but I can hold conversation with ease, and I do not constantly worry about social interaction. Some other drugs have had this effect for me, but only because they were sedating. Baclofen is working without the sedation.

Just for reference my current meds are:

-baclofen 60 mg split into 3- 20 mg doses
-propranolol 80 mg split into 2- 40 mg doses
-amitriptyline 50 mg at night
-sonata 10 mg at night
-xanax .5 mg at night only


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## brown324

Lets hear others experience with baclofen that may agree or disagree with it's efficacy for anxiety.


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## bill2313

i really would like to try baclofen and if i get a tolerance to xanax then i am going to ask a pyschiatrist to give me baclofen when i finally get a apointment in november


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## swim

today I took two baclofen pills and really got off it's much stronger than phenibut and common benzos, noticeable side effects also occurred such as nausea, racousness and impaired balance.


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## The Professor

what about cognitive impairment? Memory loss? is it taken as needed or like an SSRI?


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## crayzyMed

Ah baclofen, good **** hasnt got any tolerance issues AT ALL so if it works your set, however it has a pretty severe withdrawal.


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## crayzyMed

> Many people including myself have experienced wonderful anxiolitic effects from the nootropic phenibut, a gaba B agonist that that is not an actual medication in the u.s.a. but is available to order as a supplement online. The mechanism of action from phenibut and baclofen is very similar, in my case baclofen is actually less sedating than phenibut, but is just as good as an anxiolytic.


Phenibut has EXTREME tolerance issues and its withdrawal is as bad GHB's, also withdrawal occurs VERY rapidly with this substance, i highly recommend to stay away and go for baclofen instead.


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## brown324

memory loss, I have no idea. As far as cognitive impairment I would say no. I can think much more clearly on baclofen than I can on xanax. In fact, my personal coginition I would say is slightly improved vs. no medication at all, because anxiety is very cognitively impairing. I am taking it daily, not as needed. I will titrate up as long as I need to until I am comfortable that my dose is high enough, my guess would be somewhere between 100 - 150 mg a day.


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## ugh1979

crayzyMed said:


> Ah baclofen, good **** hasnt got any tolerance issues AT ALL so if it works your set, however it has a pretty severe withdrawal.


Have you got a source for this Wes? I've read many people's comments that it is similar (but not quite as bad) as Phenibut for tolerance/withdrawal.

I only take it 2 days a week (as a direct alternative to phenibut, which feels identical to me) as I don't want to risk taking it any more than that until I have proof it doesn't have tolerance issues.

Surely hitting the GABAb receptors hard as Baclofen does in the same way Phenibut does will lead to the same tolerance building?


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## ugh1979

brown324 said:


> Gaba b agonist meds have a promising future for anxiety treatment. There are currently trials going on with newer gaba B agonist meds that are being developed for anxiety treatment, and the results look good. We will see gaba B agonist meds as the newest treatment for anxiety in this lifetime, but unfortunatly medicine development is very very slow.


Do you have any links to news on these developments of GABAb meds? I've very interested in GABAergics as they are what cure my SA.

I currently take a rotating mixture of GABAergics so as not to become tolerant to any of them (Baclofen included). I've been doing it for 9 months and it's working very well.

I see you have only been on Baclofen for 5 days. I'd be very interested to see how you are getting on with it after 5 months with daily high dose use.


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## crayzyMed

ugh1979 said:


> Have you got a source for this Wes? I've read many people's comments that it is similar (but not quite as bad) as Phenibut for tolerance/withdrawal.
> 
> I only take it 2 days a week (as a direct alternative to phenibut, which feels identical to me) as I don't want to risk taking it any more than that until I have proof it doesn't have tolerance issues.
> 
> Surely hitting the GABAb receptors hard as Baclofen does in the same way Phenibut does will lead to the same tolerance building?


Baclofen supresses glutamate wich makes all the difference, will post the source later on.


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## brown324

ugh- here is a study from pub med--- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18195453

there is more out there, I don't have time right now to locate them, but I will add more when I get time.

On another note, I was given a 1 hour notice this morning when I got to work that I had to fill in as the lead presenter for a power point presentation to a group of about 20 peers and upper level managment. I was able to complete this task with about 10% of the anxiety I would have had about this situation just a week ago, the presentation went well. Day 7 of baclofen use.


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## ugh1979

brown324 said:


> ugh- here is a study from pub med--- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18195453
> 
> there is more out there, I don't have time right now to locate them, but I will add more when I get time.


I fully agree it's a great anxiolytic, as that study indicated, but it doesn't say anything about tolerance.

As I say, I'm very interested to see how you are doing after a few months of daily Baclofen use as an anxiolytic. Especially if you are talking about going up to the very high doses of 120-150mg.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you.


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## brown324

paragraph taken from dr. oliver ameisen's case report:


Baclofen has also been used successfully in anxiety
disorders (Breslow​​​​_et al_., 1989; Drake _et al_., 2003), and was
shown to be effective in ameliorating some affective
disturbances in alcoholic patients, including anxiety and
depression (Krupitsky _et al_., 1993; Addolorato _et al_.,
2002a,b). Anxiety is an overwhelmingly prevalent
comorbidity of alcoholism (Grant _et al_., 2004), and efficacy
on anxiety has not been shown for other agents used for
alcohol dependence (disulfiram, naltrexone, acamprosate or
topiramate). I had used baclofen for >1 year (2002-2003) to​
148 O. AMEISEN​reduce anxiety. I had progressively increased the dosage to
180 mg/day, which improved personal and general well-being
considerably, but did not suppress cravings and alcohol
relapses. Being unaware then that higher dosages were safe,
I had not exceeded 180 mg/day.
By analysing the literature, I subsequently realized that
baclofen was the only monotherapy that could, in theory,
completely suppress cravings, while alleviating comorbid
anxiety simultaneously. Although my doctors remained
unconvinced, I decided to self-prescribe high-dose baclofen,
choosing 300 mg/day (4 mg/kg) as the maximal daily dosage,
as long as side-effects were not limiting.​
http://www.mywayout.org/community/f20/baclofen-anxiety-50827.html


^^ link to many self reports that long term baclofen use has eliminated anxiety

some links to info about modern gaba b agonist compounds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GS-39783


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CGP-7930


http://rabbit.if-pan.krakow.pl/pjp/pdf/2007/6_757.pdf


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## ugh1979

Very interesting. Thanks for the sources. 

I'll keep this in mind for sure and look out for progress with those 2 other GABAb meds.


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## broflovski

ugh1979 said:


> I fully agree it's a great anxiolytic, as that study indicated, but it doesn't say anything about tolerance.
> 
> As I say, I'm very interested to see how you are doing after a few months of daily Baclofen use as an anxiolytic. Especially if you are talking about going up to the very high doses of 120-150mg.
> 
> Good luck, I hope it works out for you.


As I can understand they don't say that baclofen has anxiolytic activity (that was revealed for some _GABA(b) antagonist_). It showed antidepressant activity though.


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## brown324

broflovski-- there are many self reported cases of higher dose baclofen being taken long term that have eliminated anxiety, some of these people do take benzos as well, but the combo has completely obliterated anxiety.

I can tell you that I am on day 10 of 60 mg baclofen, I have already develpoed tolerance to its sedative effects, however, my anxiety level is extremely low compared to 10 days ago. I do also take xanax and propranolol, this combo has destroyed my anxiety like nothing else I have ever taken so far.


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## crayzyMed

Great news, hopefully the improvements continue brown.


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## DK3

I took 20mg Baclofen for the first time this morning around 9.30am. It's now 18:45 and haven't felt anything really. I also took 0.25mg Xanax and 1000mg Kratom. Anxiety is reduced slightly compared to normal level.


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## brown324

baclofen does not have a major "feeling" for me like a benzo does, slightly sedative at first, but that wears off quickly. It is what baclofen does that you don't realize that helps with anxiety. It calms the amygdala by gaba b agonism. I have noticed that after 10 days, my anxiety is actually lowering day by day. you need to start slow on baclofen, but more than 20 mg is needed, 20-30 mg every 6 hours or so after you have introduced it into your system for a few days.

It's quite strange how it helps for me, my anxious thoughts are still there, but they get less day by day. The reason it gets better each day is because I am now capable of social interaction on a level that was not previously attainable. I didn't realize how much it is really helping until I was put into some social situations that are normally very uncomfortable, and these situations have been much easier than normal to handle. I find my self being calm, opionated and assertive. The more times I have success the lower my anxiety goes. It is like the idea of exposure in cbt (this NEVER worked for me) now my experiences are becoming profoundly beneficial rather than nerve racking. This is due to the fact that baclofen is keeping me calm and collected in all situations.


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## belfort

i live in USA so how do i get baclofen??its not scripted here but i can order it online as a supplement??really?


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## brown324

belfort, unfortunatly the only good way to get it is with a prescription. It is a prescription in the usa, but it is a uscle relaxer that is commonly prescribed by nueroligistsfor people with spastic movement disorders. You can olrder from some online pharmacies with no script, but if you run out you will be sorry, as it has extreme withdrawl symptoms if taken for an extended period and then abruptly stopped. 

I know this isn't very good news for people with anxiety that want to try it, because it's baclofen's use for addiction and anxiety is not very well known yet. Many doctors will not prescribe it for anxiety unless you can compell them to do so with evidence that it may work, simply because they don't know of it's use for treatment of this nature. It's kind of like the first time I asked my GP for gabapentin for anxiety, he looked at me like I was nuts and said no it's not for that  Soo long stiry short, you need to find a psychiatrist that is willing to experiment, and then spend the time and do the research, and bring in documentation that this medication can be useful in the treatment of anxiety, then hope they are willing to try it, if not, move on to the next doctor.


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## DK3

that sounds very encouraging I hope it continues to work for you.I will try to introduce more of it gradually like you and see how it goes.


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## ugh1979

DK3 said:


> I took 20mg Baclofen for the first time this morning around 9.30am. It's now 18:45 and haven't felt anything really. I also took 0.25mg Xanax and 1000mg Kratom. Anxiety is reduced slightly compared to normal level.


I don't feel anything from 20mg either. 50-60mg is where I feel it, and it feels identical to Phenibut to me.


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## DK3

I didn't like Phenibut much but maybe I took too much, it felt too much alcohol intoxication to me. It made me a bit manic, quite emotional and I also had hangover like symptoms.

I'm on day 2 now with Baclofen and have taken another 20mg. I'm following brown324's advice and staying at this dose for a few days then will try taking 20mg every 3 hours. Still not feeling anything physical, but maybe it's helping a bit with anxiety not sure. I've also taken benzos the last 2 days so difficult to say. Would've been better to take Baclofen by itself..I will try it for 2 more days at 20mg without benzos and see how it goes.


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## barry1685

DK3 said:


> I didn't like Phenibut much but maybe I took too much, it felt too much alcohol intoxication to me. It made me a bit manic, quite emotional and I also had hangover like symptoms.
> 
> I'm on day 2 now with Baclofen and have taken another 20mg. I'm following brown324's advice and staying at this dose for a few days then will try taking 20mg every 3 hours. Still not feeling anything physical, but maybe it's helping a bit with anxiety not sure. I've also taken benzos the last 2 days so difficult to say. Would of been better to take Baclofen by itself..I will try it for 2 more days at 20mg without benzos and see how it goes.


Did you buy yours online? From the sounds of it, this med works best at a therapeutical level taken daily. Would alternating baclofen with benzos be a bad idea?


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## brown324

I have a script for it from an addiction psychiatris, because I also have bad addiction problems and it is serving a dual purpose for me. You can order it online, just have to be careful becausr withdrawl is a ***** and must be tapered, so you need to have enough on hand that if your next order takes 5 weeks to get, your not stuck without it. 

So far I agree it works well as a daily theraputic dose, next week I am going up to 80 mg. but so far it is still working well. And yes I do take it with benzos mostly at night for sleep, but today I took 60 mg balofen,100 mg propanolol, 1 mg xanax split up into 4 .25's and I took 1500 mg phenibut....This seems like a lot, and it is, but I am on a business trip and spending 4 8 hr days in interactive training, so it is needed to get through, I of course dont dose like this all the time, but this week seems needed.

Normally my 60 mg baclofen, 80 mg propranolol get me through the day just peachy then xanax,sonata, amitriptyline at night for bed. 

With my combo today I was like the life of the class, lol, kinda strange....I think my bosses would **** if they realised how bad my SA was and that I took all these meds for it, because on the outside I am a cofident proven leader, what they dont know is on the inside Im a scared emotional wreck, with the help of meds I have become a successful manager.


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## belfort

thats quite a cocktail of meds there...really hitting those gaba receptors...lol..heres a silly question, do you think you could live without those meds?


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## DK3

barry1685 said:


> Did you buy yours online? From the sounds of it, this med works best at a therapeutical level taken daily. Would alternating baclofen with benzos be a bad idea?


I indeed buy it online, got 100 x 10mg tabs so i can give it a proper trial.


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## DK3

brown324 said:


> I have a script for it from an addiction psychiatris, because I also have bad addiction problems and it is serving a dual purpose for me. You can order it online, just have to be careful becausr withdrawl is a ***** and must be tapered, so you need to have enough on hand that if your next order takes 5 weeks to get, your not stuck without it.
> 
> So far I agree it works well as a daily theraputic dose, next week I am going up to 80 mg. but so far it is still working well. And yes I do take it with benzos mostly at night for sleep, but today I took 60 mg balofen,100 mg propanolol, 1 mg xanax split up into 4 .25's and I took 1500 mg phenibut....This seems like a lot, and it is, but I am on a business trip and spending 4 8 hr days in interactive training, so it is needed to get through, I of course dont dose like this all the time, but this week seems needed.
> 
> Normally my 60 mg baclofen, 80 mg propranolol get me through the day just peachy then xanax,sonata, amitriptyline at night for bed.
> 
> With my combo today I was like the life of the class, lol, kinda strange....I think my bosses would **** if they realised how bad my SA was and that I took all these meds for it, because on the outside I am a cofident proven leader, what they dont know is on the inside Im a scared emotional wreck, with the help of meds I have become a successful manager.


Our stories sound similar.

I also been taking benzo (diazepam) for sleep at night but the effects last into the next day with its long half-life. I know it's bad using benzos for sleep or using at all daily, but my sleep is really messed up and I think that is a large part of the problem with anxiety and lethargy. So getting some quality sleep is a priority. I'm in my final exam week this week so have to be on top form to work.

I also have a reasonable supply of 0.5 xanax on hand for sudden emergencies or difficult situations. I find just half a tablet does me in those situations.

I have some propranolol but never really given any thought to taking it before as I thought it was more for performance anxiety. That's a really high dose you're taking? That stuff always makes me nervous the way it changes the heart rate. But I might be willing to try it again as I tend to get my anxiety intense whenever I have to go up to counters in stores or dentist reception etc.

I buy all my meds without prescription online, I haven't been to the Dr's for years as my Doc retired and I hate going to see unknown Drs. I guess I should really as I have many health problems besides the anxiety and sleep disorder.


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## ugh1979

barry1685 said:


> Did you buy yours online?


 From the sounds of it, this med works best at a therapeutical level taken daily.[/quote]

I disagree. I take it 2 days a week and it works perfectly. I've been doing that for 9 months, and that means I have no withdrawal issues.



> Would alternating baclofen with benzos be a bad idea?


As far as I can tell it would be a good idea. This is what I do, along with Pregabalin, Etizolam, Picamilon and Phenibut, so I don't take anything more than 2 days a week to avoid tolerance or withdrawals from any one med.


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## barry1685

ugh1979 said:


> From the sounds of it, this med works best at a therapeutical level taken daily.


I disagree. I take it 2 days a week and it works perfectly. I've been doing that for 9 months, and that means I have no withdrawal issues.

As far as I can tell it would be a good idea. This is what I do, along with Pregabalin, Etizolam, Picamilon and Phenibut, so I don't take anything more than 2 days a week to avoid tolerance or withdrawals from any one med.[/QUOTE]

Smart,

How much baclofen do you take as a day dose? Have you considered DXM for tolerance too? What does picamilon do?


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## barry1685

Do you guys have any hangover feelings when on baclofen? The reason I hate phenibut is the hangovers I get.


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## ugh1979

belfort said:


> thats quite a cocktail of meds there...really hitting those gaba receptors...lol..heres a silly question, do you think you could live without those meds?


It's GABA receptors that I need hit. I've got a regime that targets different receptors on different days via different mechanisms and it seems to work well and be useful long term. I started doing it back at the beginning of the year and this has been the best year of my life. I'm now very mentally stable and as happy as i've ever been.

I wouldn't want to stop and go back the volatile and frequent low moods, along with high GAD/SAD I've always suffered from.

I'm not totally cured of GAD/SAD but a lot better than I used to be, and my depressive episodes are much less severe and frequent now.


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## ugh1979

barry1685 said:


> I disagree. I take it 2 days a week and it works perfectly. I've been doing that for 9 months, and that means I have no withdrawal issues.
> 
> As far as I can tell it would be a good idea. This is what I do, along with Pregabalin, Etizolam, Picamilon and Phenibut, so I don't take anything more than 2 days a week to avoid tolerance or withdrawals from any one med.


Smart,

How much baclofen do you take as a day dose? Have you considered DXM for tolerance too? What does picamilon do?[/QUOTE]

60mg is the sweet spot for me. Just in the morning and then that's me for the day.

I don't have any tolerance I need to address so i've not considered DXM. However, i'm a frequent user (once a week at the most) of MXE which is a NMDA antagonist so maybe that is helping stop any tolerance. Saying that though, i've had periods of many months where i've not used any MXE and no tolerance has formed to the GABAergics I take, so maybe it's not important.

Picamilon is a very mild GABA agonist. I take it 2 days as a padder supplement rather than use anything stronger.


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## brown324

belfort said:


> thats quite a cocktail of meds there...really hitting those gaba receptors...lol..heres a silly question, do you think you could live without those meds?


belfort-- Right now NO, I could not, the stress of things in life is extremely high and this is what gets me through, my goal is to take daily propranolol and baclofen only and stay on it for life if needed. And yes it is really hitting the gaba receptors lol thats what works for me, but this combo did make me very drowsy and dizzy, a small price to pay for the positive effects in my opinion.

Imagine being in a class for a week with 37 other managers, and every 20 min. is a group activity or discussion that then has to be presented to the class :um---- and on top of that the instructor really "liked" me so I had the privlage of doing several 20-30 min. role plays in front of the class with the instructor about performance managment and HR issues, surprisingly I did very well will all of this because of this combo, I would not have made it through without. Thank god the week is over and I'm at the airport now heading home!


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## brown324

Update:

day #16 with baclofen, still at 60 mg per day, still working well. Albeit I have noticed a 'slight' decrease in efficacy, but not enough to worry about. I will be upping the dose again soon. I still feel this is a very good treatment, still working better than xanax alone did.

DK3 how are you doing?


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## barry1685

brown324 said:


> Update:
> 
> day #16 with baclofen, still at 60 mg per day, still working well. Albeit I have noticed a 'slight' decrease in efficacy, but not enough to worry about. I will be upping the dose again soon. I still feel this is a very good treatment, still working better than xanax alone did.
> 
> DK3 how are you doing?


Thanks for keeping us updated. Why are you upping your dose? Why don't you wait to see how tolerance builds. I am curious if daily dosing is the way to go or not yet.


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## DK3

brown324 said:


> Update:
> 
> day #16 with baclofen, still at 60 mg per day, still working well. Albeit I have noticed a 'slight' decrease in efficacy, but not enough to worry about. I will be upping the dose again soon. I still feel this is a very good treatment, still working better than xanax alone did.
> 
> DK3 how are you doing?


I have had a weird week or so.. I took the Baclofen at 20mg for 3 or 4 days in a row and was supplementing with 0.25 xanax as been needing to go to post office a lot. Anyways, still didn't feel nothing from the Baclofen and anxiety was present but manageable somewhat..

So then, I had a bad day and took 5mg Valium + 0.5mg Xanax and 40mg Baclofen, plus a **** load of Kratom..as I was very tired and needed some stimulation (tired before I took the benzos due to lack of sleep!).. anyway, I felt very good when I went out, anxiety was much less..but then a few hours later I think the Baclofen kicked in and I felt a bit sick. Some nausea and slight giddy feeling so I had an early night. Laying down helped and I soon went into a deep peaceful sleep.

The next day I reduced my Baclofen dose to 20mg and I haven't taken it for the last 3 days now.. I will start again tomorrow I think and do 40mg in two doses, then 60mg the next day. I'd like to give it a proper try without the benzos if possible.


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## brown324

barry1685 said:


> Thanks for keeping us updated. Why are you upping your dose? Why don't you wait to see how tolerance builds. I am curious if daily dosing is the way to go or not yet.


Barry- I am upping the dose because I don't feel 60 mg is enough, from what I have read it seems the sweet spot for most people that have *complete* anxiety relief is more or less 100-150 mg per day. You guys also have to remember that I take baclofen as well to treat addiction. I have a volitile past with addiction to amphetamines and opiates, and was finding myself drinking alcohol frequently to deal with social situations. The dosage for addiction treatment can be in excess of 300 mg per day for some people, but I know I will never get this high.

I am just following the advice of my p-doc and titrating up as he see's fit, I will be up to 100 mg in a few weeks.

I promise to continue posting results. It is so frustrating that when people find a *cure* for there illness, they stop coming to places like this and posting. I am dedicated to educating others about treatment, even if baclofen *cures* my anxiety, I will still come here and post about it in hopes that I may help others. It is this same conviction that ultimately makes me want to be a doctor, and I believe I am intelligent enough to do so, but alas, my anxiety stops life from progressing as it should. Maybe some day this dream could become a reality if I can get a real grip on my anxiety.


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## DK3

brown324 said:


> Barry- I am upping the dose because I don't feel 60 mg is enough, from what I have read it seems the sweet spot for most people that have *complete* anxiety relief is more or less 100-150 mg per day. You guys also have to remember that I take baclofen as well to treat addiction. I have a volitile past with addiction to amphetamines and opiates, and was finding myself drinking alcohol frequently to deal with social situations. The dosage for addiction treatment can be in excess of 300 mg per day for some people, but I know I will never get this high.
> 
> I am just following the advice of my p-doc and titrating up as he see's fit, I will be up to 100 mg in a few weeks.
> 
> I promise to continue posting results. It is so frustrating that when people find a *cure* for there illness, they stop coming to places like this and posting. I am dedicated to educating others about treatment, even if baclofen *cures* my anxiety, I will still come here and post about it in hopes that I may help others. It is this same conviction that ultimately makes me want to be a doctor, and I believe I am intelligent enough to do so, but alas, my anxiety stops life from progressing as it should. Maybe some day this dream could become a reality if I can get a real grip on my anxiety.


I commend your efforts and discipline. As you indicated, it will be a great service to fellow sufferers if this little-known med should turn out to be an effective therapy. And even if it does not offer a long term treatment solution, at least we will know how long and at what dose..it is another avenue fully explored and the more we have the better I think.


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## barry1685

brown324 said:


> Barry- I am upping the dose because I don't feel 60 mg is enough, from what I have read it seems the sweet spot for most people that have *complete* anxiety relief is more or less 100-150 mg per day. You guys also have to remember that I take baclofen as well to treat addiction. I have a volitile past with addiction to amphetamines and opiates, and was finding myself drinking alcohol frequently to deal with social situations. The dosage for addiction treatment can be in excess of 300 mg per day for some people, but I know I will never get this high.
> 
> I am just following the advice of my p-doc and titrating up as he see's fit, I will be up to 100 mg in a few weeks.
> 
> I promise to continue posting results. It is so frustrating that when people find a *cure* for there illness, they stop coming to places like this and posting. I am dedicated to educating others about treatment, even if baclofen *cures* my anxiety, I will still come here and post about it in hopes that I may help others. It is this same conviction that ultimately makes me want to be a doctor, and I believe I am intelligent enough to do so, but alas, my anxiety stops life from progressing as it should. Maybe some day this dream could become a reality if I can get a real grip on my anxiety.


Thanks for helping and posting. Does baclofen make your stomach hurt? When I took Phenibut for anxiety it made me nauseous.


----------



## brown324

Yeah one noticeable side effect of both phenibut and baclofen can be nausia, I have experienced this too. This is why a very slow upward titration is needed, to help combat this.


----------



## DK3

I took 40mg baclofen today and it was too much for me, I've had a slight headache all afternoon. I took 20mg yesterday and hadn't taken any for a few days before that so maybe it was too much and I need to stay at 20mg and increment up to 30mg for a few days, then 40mg and upwards..what do you guys think? What I can tell you is that I'm sure it's having some benefit on my SA...I felt quite good today and went out in the afternoon (unusual for me).


----------



## barry1685

brown324 said:


> Yeah one noticeable side effect of both phenibut and baclofen can be nausia, I have experienced this too. This is why a very slow upward titration is needed, to help combat this.


Okay, keep me updated, I am really interested taking it daily. Let me know if it wears out long term.


----------



## DK3

I have just had the most bizarre and intense dream last night, but slept very well. Has anyone else had strange dreams on Baclofen?


----------



## DK3

*Baclofen is doing something*

I can't be sure, but I think Baclofen is having some effects on my mood and energy levels..somewhat like an anti-depressant. Bit too early to safe for sure yet tho.

I'm definitely getting a good vibe though from it so far. I feel it's definitely the better of the three GABA-B drugs (Lyrica, Phenibut, Baclofen). It seems to have a much cleaner effect than Lyrica, and considerably cleaner than Phenibut. It's like there is a subtle disinhibiting effect akin to alcohol, but without the intoxicating physical effects. Does that make sense?

The only problem i'm having is a lingering headache and a slight over-stimulation which pushes me towards mania at 40mg. Probably too much for me. I halved the dose this morning and think I will continue at 20mg for a while and see how I get on.


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> I can't be sure, but I think Baclofen is having some effects on my mood and energy levels..somewhat like an anti-depressant. Bit too early to safe for sure yet tho.
> 
> I'm definitely getting a good vibe though from it so far. I feel it's definitely the better of the three GABA-B drugs (Lyrica, Phenibut, Baclofen). It seems to have a much cleaner effect than Lyrica, and considerably cleaner than Phenibut. It's like there is a subtle disinhibiting effect akin to alcohol, but without the intoxicating physical effects. Does that make sense?
> 
> The only problem i'm having is a lingering headache and a slight over-stimulation which pushes me towards mania at 40mg. Probably too much for me. I halved the dose this morning and don't think I will continue at 20mg for a while and see how I get on.


I just started 20mg today. The only concern I have is the stomach nausea.


----------



## barry1685

Off Wikipedia "A very beneficial property of baclofen is that tolerance does not seem to occur to any significant degree — baclofen retains its therapeutic anti-spasmodic effects even after many years of continued use."

This makes me extremely happy!!! That's insane how the tolerance of the med is not built.


----------



## DK3

barry1685 said:


> Off Wikipedia "A very beneficial property of baclofen is that tolerance does not seem to occur to any significant degree - baclofen retains its therapeutic anti-spasmodic effects even after many years of continued use."
> 
> This makes me extremely happy!!! That's insane how the tolerance of the med is not built.


That's really good. It certainly puts Baclofen firmly into its own category then it seems from Lyrica and Phenibut, particularly in light of the more subtle action and less physical effects of the other two. It feels like a "proper" more serious drug for SA to me.


----------



## DK3

barry1685 said:


> I just started 20mg today. The only concern I have is the stomach nausea.


I haven't experienced any nausea at 20mg at all, but I did at 40mg when taken in combination with Kratom and a small glass of spirit one time.

I take my 20mg in one dose first thing in the morning on an empty stomach before breakfast.

I get the feeling it has a delayed onset like Lyrica and Phenibut, but maybe not as long as those two. Do you experience the nausea delayed later or fairly soon after taking it? You're not taking anything else or drinking alcohol are you?


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> I haven't experienced any nausea at 20mg at all, but I did at 40mg when taken in combination with Kratom and a small glass of spirit one time.
> 
> I take my 20mg in one dose first thing in the morning on an empty stomach before breakfast.
> 
> I get the feeling it has a delayed onset like Lyrica and Phenibut, but maybe not as long as those two. Do you experience the nausea delayed later or fairly soon after taking it? You're not taking anything else or drinking alcohol are you?


I am taking Xanax and Inderal as needed. I have to agree with the late onset. It is not as late as Phenibut but has the same onset feeling. I took 10mg and will take the next 10mg soon. I wanted to test my bodies reaction to the med. So far so good. I feel slight sedation, and I imagine this will fade as the days go on as I've heard.

I don't plan on drinking alcohol on this med. I don't want to eff up my GABA receptors anymore. Plus, I hate hangovers lol.


----------



## barry1685

So today concludes my test of 20mg, and it was a positive result. I took 10mg and initially felt sedation, that soon wore off and I tried my second 10mg. Same once again, the sedation returned. After the sedation wore off I had this relaxful day with anxiety getting better as the day went on. Later this evening I went to the mall with my girlfriend and noticed how much my anxiety was reduced! Let's see if this gets better


----------



## barry1685

I'm up to 30mg and I'm starting to notice nice relaxing effects from it. My anxiety is way down from last week and I don't know if this is the cause of it. My general anxiety seems far down as well. I feel extremely relaxed when on this medicine.


----------



## DK3

barry1685 said:


> I'm up to 30mg and I'm starting to notice nice relaxing effects from it. My anxiety is way down from last week and I don't know if this is the cause of it. My general anxiety seems far down as well. I feel extremely relaxed when on this medicine.


That's great news barry I hope it is the drug working and it continues to work for you. I'm also feeling positive about it but still on a low dose, as I'm finding it gives me headaches (even at 20mg!) so I've dropped down to 10mg. I feel it is helping me still a lot even at this dose, but only time will really tell.


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> That's great news barry I hope it is the drug working and it continues to work for you. I'm also feeling positive about it but still on a low dose, as I'm finding it gives me headaches (even at 20mg!) so I've dropped down to 10mg. I feel it is helping me still a lot even at this dose, but only time will really tell.


Oh that's unfortunate, keep trying. I noticed the same problems though. I had slight nausea when starting with a splitting headache. This all subsided and the side effects are less and less each day.

I am up to 30mg and its making a big difference. It feels more potent than a benzo IMO and the best part is that it builds zero tolerance.

This morning I dosed 30mg and I also used 20mg of Inderal and this is a insane combo! I had zero anxiety, none physical, and I actually was filled with happiness because this was the first time I ever experience no anxiety in a long time. I can't even imagine what its like to be up on a larger dose.

I also think I am depressed, because even though I had no anxiety, I had no desire to talk to people and socialize. I am hoping to start an antidepressant soon and defeat my social anxiety.

My brother is a MD and I told him about the baclofen. He thought I was crazy because its a muscle relaxer in his view. I explained the effects on GABA B and he really didn't understand it. I think my problem with my chemical imbalance is GABA b. I have never felt so calm ever. To top it off, I sleep ten times better now that I'm on baclofen. I can easily relax and snooze off when ever I want!

P.S. I forgot to mention that there is still mental anxiety, although long term I think this will go away with exposure.


----------



## barry1685

Slight Nausea today. Looks like I will be going down to 30mg. I plan to titrate up 5mg at a time instead of 10mg.


----------



## DK3

barry your previous post was encouraging. I'm up to 20mg again today and no headache. I divided it into 2 doses 4 hours apart and that seems to have done the trick. I experienced some very slight nausea or unsteadiness fairly soon after taking my first 10mg this morning (and with food) which was odd..but it went away very quickly anyway. 

I wonder how brown324 is getting on now.


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> barry your previous post was encouraging. I'm up to 20mg again today and no headache. I divided it into 2 doses 4 hours apart and that seems to have done the trick. I experienced some very slight nausea or unsteadiness fairly soon after taking my first 10mg this morning (and with food) which was odd..but it went away very quickly anyway.
> 
> I wonder how brown324 is getting on now.


Okay keep going, don't give up. I have to go back down to 20mg and I will see how the nausea goes. Today its been amazing on it. I have had close to no anxiety like I had last week. I also think its helping my GAD big time too.

I have a really bad treatment resistant form of social anxiety. But this seems like the first med to really kick its butt. The only downside to baclofen is the nausea and headaches it causes. It feels like a mild hangover IMO. I am hoping this goes away.


----------



## DK3

barry1685 said:


> Okay keep going, don't give up. I have to go back down to 20mg and I will see how the nausea goes. Today its been amazing on it. I have had close to no anxiety like I had last week. I also think its helping my GAD big time too.


I'm feeling very good too, my energy and motivation is way up, sleeping better too. Feel much more stable mood-wise and although I still have SA, the "fear" of doing things is much less.. I'm more inclined to just go out now rather than dither.



barry1685 said:


> I have a really bad treatment resistant form of social anxiety. But this seems like the first med to really kick its butt. The only downside to baclofen is the nausea and headaches it causes. It feels like a mild hangover IMO. I am hoping this goes away.


I know what you mean, I've tried everything in the last 13 years. nothing I've tried in the past has any effect on mine either except for GHB, alcohol and briefly Tramadol..none of them suitable for long-term treatment options ;-)

I know what you mean about the hangover/headache.. I haven't really experience nausea on it only briefly earlier for first time.. but the headache was a pain when I tried 40mg. I think the key is to divide the dose up and it may be a case of experimenting to get it optimal..maybe 10mg every 4 or 5 hours or perhaps divided up like morning, midday, late afternoon.. I noticed the half-life is up to 4 hours..but it can be as low as 1.5 hours in some people.


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> I'm feeling very good too, my energy and motivation is way up, sleeping better too. Feel much more stable mood-wise and although I still have SA, the "fear" of doing things is much less.. I'm more inclined to just go out now rather than dither.
> 
> I know what you mean, I've tried everything in the last 13 years. nothing I've tried in the past has any effect on mine either except for GHB, alcohol and briefly Tramadol..none of them suitable for long-term treatment options ;-)
> 
> I know what you mean about the hangover/headache.. I haven't really experience nausea on it only briefly earlier for first time.. but the headache was a pain when I tried 40mg. I think the key is to divide the dose up and it may be a case of experimenting to get it optimal..maybe 10mg every 4 or 5 hours or perhaps divided up like morning, midday, late afternoon.. I noticed the half-life is up to 4 hours..but it can be as low as 1.5 hours in some people.


I never tried GHB before but heard good things about it.

The nausea reminds me of Phenibut's. But it's worth it IMO. I have had zero anxiety today. I am really happy to have found a permanent anti anxiety med. It thought I was never going to find one. Its so weird feeling to have no anxiety. I still am depressed though. I hate acknowledging people when they walk by. Although when I was on a antidepressant I was so much happier but my anxiety was worse as my mind was racing. So hopefully this equalizes that offset.

Have you tried a benzo with baclofen? It is an insane amount of sedation. I have no fears when Im on both.


----------



## StPatrick

What if you already have GHB? I take Xyrem, essentially the same thing with prescription for, but not for anxiety, for sleep. Would Baclofen do anything to help someone, which didn't benefit from GHB?

I've read over time, various people "wishing" they had GHB or something like that, but you basically get KTFO if you take the recommended amount. If I take less than for sleep you are like the walking dead.

Anyways, thankyou I have been a member for a very long time I just don't visit boards that often


----------



## DK3

StPatrick said:


> What if you already have GHB? I take Xyrem, essentially the same thing with prescription for, but not for anxiety, for sleep. Would Baclofen do anything to help someone, which didn't benefit from GHB?
> 
> I've read over time, various people "wishing" they had GHB or something like that, but you basically get KTFO if you take the recommended amount. If I take less than for sleep you are like the walking dead.
> 
> Anyways, thankyou I have been a member for a very long time I just don't visit boards that often


I'm not sure about this. I'm surprised Xyrem (if it is indeed the same as GHB) doesn't do anything for your SA.. GHB was very effective for my SA and many others have reported similar experiences.. maybe Xyrem is more selective or works differently to GHB?

One other question..does Xyrem have the same tolerance and withdrawal problems as GHB? That is really what makes GHB not a good option for treating SA in the long-term, even ignoring its illegal status.

All I can suggest is you give Baclofen a try I don't think it will do any harm.


----------



## barry1685

I took 20mg today and already noticed the effects working. Today I had an incident where when talking to this particular person I would shake. I had no shaking and stood there confident. This is crazy!! I have never experienced a medicine do this before. I think I found a cure to my SA.


----------



## DK3

barry1685 said:


> I took 20mg today and already noticed the effects working. Today I had an incident where when talking to this particular person I would shake. I had no shaking and stood there confident. This is crazy!! I have never experienced a medicine do this before. I think I found a cure to my SA.


I'm on 20mg again, divided into two doses..morning and lunch time for last 2 days and zero headaches.. I have for 2 days in a row now experienced very slight and rapid onset of nausea as its digested (within 15-20 mins) but it passes in a few seconds..quite strange.

Are you taking just Baclofen now barry, and how long you been taking it now? Your progress is outstanding this could be the one.


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> I'm on 20mg again, divided into two doses..morning and lunch time for last 2 days and zero headaches.. I have for 2 days in a row now experienced very slight and rapid onset of nausea as its digested (within 15-20 mins) but it passes in a few seconds..quite strange.
> 
> Are you taking just Baclofen now barry, and how long you been taking it now? Your progress is outstanding this could be the one.


I started it last thursday? I can't remember. But yea, I am on 20mg with relief. I have really bad OCD though that triggers my SA. But in social situations it goes away which is strange. Before the OCD would make my SA ten times worst, now it just goes away when I socialize. I need something to kill my ocd.

Thats good that you aren't having headaches. I usually have some form of nausea on 20mg but I don't have it anymore. I am going to try 10mg after lunch.

I am taking just baclofen and every other day I take beta blocker (inderal) I also plan to take xanax as needed which will kill all anxiety.

I just need something to make me happier, then I will find the ultimate cure.

Gaba B was my missing link to why I have SA. I find myself asking, why am I freaking out?" in social situations now. My mind slows down to the point where I just relax and ask myself why am I wasting time freaking out?


----------



## barry1685

Oh man!! Today I had a meeting with a few people I work with. I was extremely relaxed and I had very little symptoms of SA! If I increase my dose slightly I know my SA will be gone


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## barry1685

I broke my doses up today and had no problem. I took 20mg this morning and 10mg this afternoon. No nausea like yesterday. I also took it with food in the afternoon so that might be why too. But I can say I still have anxiety from anxiety intense situations, but my social anxiety symptoms are gone. So physically speaking I have none, which is awesome!


----------



## brown324

GUYS! It is so encouraging to hear that others are having the same positive effects that I am having.

Sorry I havent posted in a while, life has been crazy. I just got a new job and have to leave town for 6 weeks soon for training, I could have never nailed this interview and gotten the new job before I disovered baclofen.

I am still on 60 mg a day, I take 30 mg with 40 mg Inderal (propranolol) in the morning when I wake up, and I take 30 mg. baclofen and 30 mg Inderal at lunch time, and I am living with about 85-90% less anxiety than I was before baclofen.

I must admit my night time meds for sleep are where I NEED to make a change some how. I drink white grape fruit juice an hour before to potentiate, then I take .5 mg xanax, 10 mg zaleplon, 1 mg lunesta, and 50 mg amitriptyline every night, needless to say I sleep well, but this combo can't last forever I think.

Baclofen has been a wonder drug for me, and I hope that others can benefit from it. It's funny how it works, because you might not "think" it's doing anything, but then you find yourself in social situations that would normally be debilitating and akward, suddenly your smooth and confident, and you realize after these instances how much it can help.

The story of the brother in law that is an MD not understanding how baclofen could help anxiety is the only real problem with this drug, doctors don't know **** and just push pills that don't help, this is unfortunate and hopefully exposure for this med will open up some doctors eyes to think outside the box.

Keep up the good fight brother's, this drug does help, more
than anything else I have ever taken.


----------



## barry1685

brown324 said:


> GUYS! It is so encouraging to hear that others are having the same positive effects that I am having.
> 
> Sorry I havent posted in a while, life has been crazy. I just got a new job and have to leave town for 6 weeks soon for training, I could have never nailed this interview and gotten the new job before I disovered baclofen.
> 
> I am still on 60 mg a day, I take 30 mg with 40 mg Inderal (propranolol) in the morning when I wake up, and I take 30 mg. baclofen and 30 mg Inderal at lunch time, and I am living with about 85-90% less anxiety than I was before baclofen.
> 
> I must admit my night time meds for sleep are where I NEED to make a change some how. I drink white grape fruit juice an hour before to potentiate, then I take .5 mg xanax, 10 mg zaleplon, 1 mg lunesta, and 50 mg amitriptyline every night, needless to say I sleep well, but this combo can't last forever I think.
> 
> Baclofen has been a wonder drug for me, and I hope that others can benefit from it. It's funny how it works, because you might not "think" it's doing anything, but then you find yourself in social situations that would normally be debilitating and akward, suddenly your smooth and confident, and you realize after these instances how much it can help.
> 
> The story of the brother in law that is an MD not understanding how baclofen could help anxiety is the only real problem with this drug, doctors don't know **** and just push pills that don't help, this is unfortunate and hopefully exposure for this med will open up some doctors eyes to think outside the box.
> 
> Keep up the good fight brother's, this drug does help, more
> than anything else I have ever taken.


Hey brown, you say you take 60mg a day, did you ever at one point find low doses like 40mg a day to be sufficient enough? I am wondering if I still need to increase my dose with it working right now, will it get even better if I go up to 60mg? Have you built any tolerance at all? I haven't noticed any tolerance changes, I still have some minor anxiety but it is almost all gone. I would say my SA has been reduced about 60%. I plan to go to 40mg tomorrow


----------



## brown324

Yes barry, I did see results at 40 mg, and even better at 60 mg, I did have nausia at each step up though, it goes away after a few days of dose increase. So far no tolerance issues at all, hope it stays that way!


----------



## barry1685

Today is an update for me. I took 40mg today. It seems like I am losing the effectiveness of the med that I had initially. I would say my Anxiety is around 50% reduced. I will see how 60mg is hopefully soon.


----------



## DK3

Interesting guys and very encouraging... it can't be coincidence that 3 of us are getting similar benefits from this med! It would be great to see others try it too and report their experiences here.

I'm still on 20mg daily divided into 2 doses and I've never felt better in so far as dealing with SA. The fear is still there, but I don't avoid situations or get the big physical build-up anxiety before events. 

I am taking 0.25mg Xanax still for very intense situations for me like going into shops or speaking to people, but I'm planning to half this dose and see what effect that has next.


----------



## barry1685

DK3 said:


> Interesting guys and very encouraging... it can't be coincidence that 3 of us are getting similar benefits from this med! It would be great to see others try it too and report their experiences here.
> 
> I'm still on 20mg daily divided into 2 doses and I've never felt better in so far as dealing with SA. The fear is still there, but I don't avoid situations or get the big physical build-up anxiety before events.
> 
> I am taking 0.25mg Xanax still for very intense situations for me like going into shops or speaking to people, but I'm planning to half this dose and see what effect that has next.


I'm glad it's benefiting you! It sure is benefiting me! It's killing a lot of my OCD though too. Not as much as I would like but oh well. I have noticed that yesterday it was weaker when I took baclofen with inderal. Maybe it's in my head but it seemed like it wasn't working yesterday.

Overall I have noticed that baclofen slows down your brain and kills tightness that one experiences from anxiety. It is helping me and I will continue to stay on it.

I have no more nausea from. 40mg a day of baclofen.


----------



## DK3

I took 30mg late yesterday afternoon as an experiment as I've been on 20mg for a week now. It was tolerated much better than previous attempts, but I did notice the very slight sign of a headache coming on later in the evening. I don't see any benefit to re-dosing that late in the afternoon anyway so I will probably stick to 20mg for now.


----------



## StPatrick

DK3 said:


> I'm not sure about this. I'm surprised Xyrem (if it is indeed the same as GHB) doesn't do anything for your SA.. GHB was very effective for my SA and many others have reported similar experiences.. maybe Xyrem is more selective or works differently to GHB?
> 
> One other question..does Xyrem have the same tolerance and withdrawal problems as GHB? That is really what makes GHB not a good option for treating SA in the long-term, even ignoring its illegal status.
> 
> All I can suggest is you give Baclofen a try I don't think it will do any harm.


Not really, I dont build tolerance too it or withdrawal. But as far as I know they are basically they same thing. I actually don't like to take it unless I have to get some sleep. Technically, I guess it could help anxiety, but just due to being less aware of whats going to the point where it's not beneficial. Thats just for me, I know certain people get a buzz from it or get relaxed but not sleepy.


----------



## Medline

If you take Xyrem for sleep / narcolepsy as prescribed (e.g. 4,5g x 2 = 9g GHB) you won't get physically dependent. Taking it also during the day for anxiety, depression will get one in serious trouble pretty fast. As at sleep inducing doses GHB also acts quite strong as a GABA-B agonist using baclofen (a clean GABA-B agonist without abuse potential) during the day could also lead to physical dependence. They are cross-tolerant, meaning baclofen works for GHB withdrawal.


----------



## swim

baclofen's the best med I've tried lately much better than phenibut and gabapentin.


----------



## nito

swim said:


> baclofen's the best med I've tried lately much better than phenibut and gabapentin.


Does it work straight away or is it like ssri, takes weeks to build up, which sucks. Meds shud work straight away


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> Does it work straight away or is it like ssri, takes weeks to build up, which sucks. Meds shud work straight away


Good question, IMO I think it starts immediately, well maybe a few days. But I am not positive.


----------



## nito

nito said:


> Does it work straight away or is it like ssri, takes weeks to build up, which sucks. Meds shud work straight away


hm just took 300 mg wellbutrin xl. Read that u cant mix it with buspar. I got buspar, and i really wanna take it now, d;oh


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> hm just took 300 mg wellbutrin xl. Read that u cant mix it with buspar. I got buspar, and i really wanna take it now, d;oh


I'm glad you are checking your meds now, you got to be really careful and know what your doing especially not under a dr.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> I'm glad you are checking your meds now, you got to be really careful and know what your doing especially not under a dr.


i think im gonna take it anyway and pray to god nothing happens :blank. i only took 300 mg xl.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> i think im gonna take it anyway and pray to god nothing happens :blank. i only took 300 mg xl.


I don't see any interactions with buspar and wellbutrin. But don't do it based on my opinion or research.


----------



## nito

thanks. made a bit of research on wiki and other sites , and didnt see anything about them interacting. Now im wondering, should i start slow, or take a big dose, probably small is better.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> thanks. made a bit of research on wiki and other sites , and didnt see anything about them interacting. Now im wondering, should i start slow, or take a big dose, probably small is better.


Small jeez, lol.


----------



## nito

ok just took 10 mg. I could not split the buspar dose as they are so small so i took a gamble. I went to the shop to grab a burger and as i was standing in the que (30 mins ) after ingestion, i suddenly felt really dizzy. Wherever i turned my head or eyes gave me a weird eletricity through my eyes and head. Is this normal start up? I thought you ain't meant to feel anything til week 2 or 3..*confused*


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> ok just took 10 mg. I could not split the buspar dose as they are so small so i took a gamble. I went to the shop to grab a burger and as i was standing in the que (30 mins ) after ingestion, i suddenly felt really dizzy. Wherever i turned my head or eyes gave me a weird eletricity through my eyes and head. Is this normal start up? I thought you ain't meant to feel anything til week 2 or 3..*confused*


Dizziness is a common startup side effect of buspar. Just FYI your anxiety is going to be 10x worst on buspar starting up until it levels down.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Dizziness is a common startup side effect of buspar. Just FYI your anxiety is going to be 10x worst on buspar starting up until it levels down.


Oh oki. Hopefull i can counter that with some stablon.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> Does it work straight away or is it like ssri, takes weeks to build up, which sucks. Meds shud work straight away


It works instantly. (Well, a couple of hours or so)


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> ok just took 10 mg. I could not split the buspar dose as they are so small so i took a gamble. I went to the shop to grab a burger and as i was standing in the que (30 mins ) after ingestion, i suddenly felt really dizzy. Wherever i turned my head or eyes gave me a weird eletricity through my eyes and head. Is this normal start up? I thought you ain't meant to feel anything til week 2 or 3..*confused*


Yeah that's a side effect of buspar. I was on it for about a month earlier in the year but stopped it as the side effects (mainly dizziness) persisted and I was getting nothing positive from it.

For the record, Wellbutrin and Baclofen can be a good combo.


----------



## nito

ugh1979 said:


> Yeah that's a side effect of buspar. I was on it for about a month earlier in the year but stopped it as the side effects (mainly dizziness) persisted and I was getting nothing positive from it.
> 
> For the record, Wellbutrin and Baclofen can be a good combo.


So baclofen is for social anxiety or generalized? I don't understand how a drug used to reduce spasm , will give you less anxiety, but i guess it works for some.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> So baclofen is for social anxiety or generalized? I don't understand how a drug used to reduce spasm , will give you less anxiety, but i guess it works for some.


It's good for both SA and GAD. It reduces anxiety as it's a GABAb agonist. GABAergic meds are well known to reduce anxiety. For example benzos are GABAa agonists.


----------



## nito

ugh1979 said:


> It's good for both SA and GAD. It reduces anxiety as it's a GABAb agonist. GABAergic meds are well known to reduce anxiety. For example benzos are GABAa agonists.


Seems interesting. A well knows contributor on another forum said, whats the point, it has not got alot of research behind it. But i might give it a shot, this thread got me interested.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> Seems interesting. A well knows contributor on another forum said, whats the point, it has not got alot of research behind it. But i might give it a shot, this thread got me interested.


Having much research behind it in relation to treatment for SA/GAD isn't that important. The point is finding a med that works.


----------



## nito

hm i guess. Ok i don't want to go to my doc and ask for it, he'll think im an experimental junkie. Can you order it online?


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> hm i guess. Ok i don't want to go to my doc and ask for it, he'll think im an experimental junkie. Can you order it online?


Yes. I don't think any doc would prescribe it for SA/GAD since it's not approved for that use.


----------



## nito

oh so you guys are taking it for what it's not prescribed for, but it's working? strange lol.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> oh so you guys are taking it for what it's not prescribed for, but it's working? strange lol.


Yes. There are many meds with valid off label uses.


----------



## Medline

ugh1979 said:


> It's good for both SA and GAD. It reduces anxiety as it's a GABAb agonist. GABAergic meds are well known to reduce anxiety. For example benzos are GABAa agonists.


I wouldn't compare the well proven and strong anxiolytic action of drugs acting on GABA(A)-receptors like benzodiazepines, barbiturates, mebrobamate... with that one of baclofen, a clean GABA(B)-agonist. Don't get me wrong, I think baclofen can be worth a shot off-label for anxiety, but I wouldn't raise expections too high. For people with alcohol problems I consider it a very good medication.


----------



## ugh1979

For me personally GABAb agonists are far more of an anxiolytic than GABAa agonists.

I understand what you are saying, but it well worth talking about Baclofen as an effective anxiolytic as it could be just what someone else in a similar position to me needs.


----------



## Medline

ugh1979 said:


> For me personally GABAb agonists are far more of an anxiolytic than GABAa agonists.


Everyone's brain chemistry is different.

As I said it's worth a shot and I'm happy that it works great for you.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> so if you look at this page ****** Which one is the one people are using? Btw look at the price difference between generic and the baclofen (pacifen), ripo of or what!


Might want to hide that site. Not allowed to post links to places like this:|


----------



## DK3

I mentioned on the other thread started by barry about a curious side effect of baclofen I've noticed.. thought I would mention it here too for those following this thread..

OK I can't be 100% sure this is definitely caused by baclofen but I'm pretty sure it is.. I have tinnitus (ringing in ear) and baclofen is worsening that, not the ringing noise but a different kind of sensation/noise in the ear. I've noticed when I miss a dose of baclofen it doesn't happen so I'm sure its connected to the drug.

It's not a big problem tho and certainly wouldn't put me off continuing baclofen but just thought i'd mention it for any other tinnitus sufferers out there, and perhaps if anyone wants to suggest any theory of how baclofen might be worsening tinnitus symptoms.


----------



## Medline

Tinnitus is listed as a possible side effect of treatment with baclofen. Interestingly the L-isomer of baclofen (just used in studies) improves tinnitus.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Dizziness is a common startup side effect of buspar. Just FYI your anxiety is going to be 10x worst on buspar starting up until it levels down.


You are right. Today is the second day, after i took 10 mg yesterday which made me feel so dizzy. I have not taken any today, but boy i felt some weird anxiety, which has now cooled down.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> I'm glad it's benefiting you! It sure is benefiting me! It's killing a lot of my OCD though too. Not as much as I would like but oh well. I have noticed that yesterday it was weaker when I took baclofen with inderal. Maybe it's in my head but it seemed like it wasn't working yesterday.
> 
> Overall I have noticed that baclofen slows down your brain and kills tightness that one experiences from anxiety. It is helping me and I will continue to stay on it.
> 
> I have no more nausea from. 40mg a day of baclofen.


Slows down? Impairs your thinking, sounds bad lol.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> Slows down? Impairs your thinking, sounds bad lol.


It works I agree. But it felt a little too dangerous for me to be on. It did help me a lot but killed my dopamine and I just felt bleh. It also made it harder to breathe and I didn't like that.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> It works I agree. But it felt a little too dangerous for me to be on. It did help me a lot but killed my dopamine and I just felt bleh. It also made it harder to breathe and I didn't like that.


So you stopped the baclofen then i guess? How many days did you last?


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> So you stopped the baclofen then i guess? How many days did you last?


1 week.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> 1 week.


Perhaps you could have mixed deprenyl with it to get that dopamine, or l tyrosine , i don't know, providing they don't interact with eachother.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> Slows down? Impairs your thinking, sounds bad lol.


The 'slowing down' of an over active brain can be a good thing. The calmer you are the less anxious you generally are.

It certainly doesn't impair my thinking. I can be very productive on it.


----------



## nito

ugh1979 said:


> The 'slowing down' of an over active brain can be a good thing. The calmer you are the less anxious you generally are.
> 
> It certainly doesn't impair my thinking. I can be very productive on it.


So, one down, 2 to go. Hopefully you, brown and DK3 can stay on it.


----------



## ugh1979

barry1685 said:


> It works I agree. But it felt a little too dangerous for me to be on. It did help me a lot but killed my dopamine and I just felt bleh. It also made it harder to breathe and I didn't like that.


Harder to breath? I've never heard anyone report that before.


----------



## nito

ugh1979 said:


> Harder to breath? I've never heard anyone report that before.


Sounds serious. Perhaps he took it with something else. Hope it doesen't mean it feels like u got asthma.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> So, one down, 2 to go. Hopefully you, brown and DK3 can stay on it.


I see no reason I'll stop using it as i've been happily using it for 9 months now. Only once a week though (and not every week), where as the other guys are using it daily.


----------



## nito

ugh1979 said:


> I see no reason I'll stop using it as i've been happily using it for 9 months now. Only once a week though (and not every week), where as the other guys are using it daily.


Wait! Once a week, and not every weak? I'm assuming your anxiety is not as bad as other, unless there's something else you take in between. I mean does the effect last that long, that you only need it once a week ?


----------



## barry1685

ugh1979 said:


> Harder to breath? I've never heard anyone report that before.


Yes, baclofen is a muscle relaxer, It didn't necessarily cause my breathing hard, but made me breath less I guess? It was a weird feeling, I felt like it was hard to take a heavy breath. I felt very physically relaxed on it though. I didn't get out of breath walking places.


----------



## DK3

Today I took 20mg Baclofen, 0.5mg xanax and 0.5mg Etizolam and had virtually no SA at all. I was able to have a conversation with a complete stranger (something very unusual for me) and also visited a relative (something quite rare for me). Admittedly the xanax and etizolam had me fairly sedated, but the baclofen definitely played a big part in this, in me being able to be sociable.


----------



## nito

DK3 said:


> Today I took 20mg Baclofen, 0.5mg xanax and 0.5mg Etizolam and had virtually no SA at all. I was able to have a conversation with a complete stranger (something very unusual for me) and also visited a relative (something quite rare for me). Admittedly the xanax and etizolam had me fairly sedated, but the baclofen definitely played a big part in this, in me being able to be sociable.


To what extent does your anxiety lower if you only took baclofen? Would you still be able to talk to strangers?


----------



## DK3

nito said:


> To what extent does your anxiety lower if you only took baclofen? Would you still be able to talk to strangers?


I would say maybe 50-70%. Put it this way... if I didn't take any Baclofen I would have trouble going outside, I'd be anxious before I even went out thinking negative about it. If I take the Baclofen, I just do it and don't think about it. It doesn't wipe out the anxiety completely when I'm outside, but I feel I'm able to function better.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> Wait! Once a week, and not every weak? I'm assuming your anxiety is not as bad as other, unless there's something else you take in between. I mean does the effect last that long, that you only need it once a week ?


I take other meds in between, so as to avoid tolerance to any of them.

Monday - 1mg Etizolam
Tuesday - 250mg Picamilon
Wednesday - 150mg Pregabalin
Thursday - 250mg Picamilon
Friday - 150mg Pregabalin
Saturday - 2000mg Phenibut or 60mg Baclofen
Sunday - 2000mg Phenibut or 60mg Baclofen


----------



## brown324

Gentlemen,

This thread and a few others about baclofen solidify the fact that all people react differently to meds. 

If anybody doubts the fact that a "muscle relaxer" can help with anxiety I challenge them to try the medication for themselves and see, it DOES help a lot.

I am still on 60 mg. a day for I think 7 weeks now, and it still has the same effect it did on day one, it KILLS my anxiety. Off label use is the exact reason it will be hard for many to get their doctor to prescribe, this is not a common or well known off label use. If there were clinical trials done on baclofen for its efficacy on anxiety, I will guarantee it would get FDA approval for this use, but this will never happen because its a generic. I hope that some drug company is smart enough as this med gains momentum to create another gabab agonist for anxiety use and trial it so it can be put to use. gabab agonists have far more efficacy for me on anxiety than gaba a agonists do. I would take baclofen any day over xanax, which I have a script for as well, baclofen works better and has less side effects.

The simultanious use of propranolol and baclofen has pretty much cured my GAD and SA without the need for benzos. The one bad thing about baclofen is that it does kill dopamine, for some this may cause depression, and some will not like this because they like to get "high" on there meds. In my opinion the fact that it kills dopamine is a good thing as it will help those with dependency issues get over there addiction and not need to take meds to get high.

This medication could change so many peoples lives if it had the exposure it needs, so lets keep up the good talk as this is the only way it will happen.


----------



## Australia

Brown, how are you doing with the balclofen? Is it still helping? I am sick and tired of being assertive and interesting and wonderful in my head but my body let's me down when trying to express myself! I mumble and jitter and blush. Do you think b would help?


----------



## ugh1979

Australia said:


> Brown, how are you doing with the balclofen? Is it still helping? I am sick and tired of being assertive and interesting and wonderful in my head but my body let's me down when trying to express myself! I mumble and jitter and blush. Do you think b would help?


It sounds like Propranolol would be better for you if it's physical symptoms you are struggling with.


----------



## Australia

Well yes the physical stuff let's me down but I'm also nervous in my head?


----------



## Hercules7

Being a muscle relaxer, would taking baclofen keep you from being able to work out (lift weights, cardio, etc.)? 

Do you exercise at all?

I know that I have to carefully organize my workouts so that they don't coincide with when I take benzos as the sedation makes it impossible. I'm really hoping baclofen won't effect ur ability to exercise bc from reading ur guys posts it really does sound very promising, although I don't like the reduction in dopamine


----------



## barry1685

Hercules7 said:


> Being a muscle relaxer, would taking baclofen keep you from being able to work out (lift weights, cardio, etc.)?
> 
> Do you exercise at all?
> 
> I know that I have to carefully organize my workouts so that they don't coincide with when I take benzos as the sedation makes it impossible. I'm really hoping baclofen won't effect ur ability to exercise bc from reading ur guys posts it really does sound very promising, although I don't like the reduction in dopamine


These are very good points to consider. I liked baclofen's effects yet the dopamine depletion and muscle problem made me worry. I don't want long term muscle determination. I felt like my throat muscles weren't even working on baclofen. If some one can confirm this I might try going on it again.


----------



## The Professor

crayzyMed said:


> Baclofen supresses glutamate wich makes all the difference, will post the source later on.


suppressing glutamate would actually be beneficial to the brain, right? (neuroplasticity) Similar to one of the actions of Tianeptine.

...because too much glutamate is toxic, so would suppressing it do the opposite?


----------



## The Professor

brown324 said:


> Barry- I am upping the dose because I don't feel 60 mg is enough, from what I have read it seems the sweet spot for most people that have *complete* anxiety relief is more or less 100-150 mg per day. You guys also have to remember that I take baclofen as well to treat addiction. I have a volitile past with addiction to amphetamines and opiates, and was finding myself drinking alcohol frequently to deal with social situations. The dosage for addiction treatment can be in excess of 300 mg per day for some people, but I know I will never get this high.
> 
> I am just following the advice of my p-doc and titrating up as he see's fit, I will be up to 100 mg in a few weeks.
> 
> I promise to continue posting results. It is so frustrating that when people find a *cure* for there illness, they stop coming to places like this and posting. I am dedicated to educating others about treatment, even if baclofen *cures* my anxiety, I will still come here and post about it in hopes that I may help others. It is this same conviction that ultimately makes me want to be a doctor, and I believe I am intelligent enough to do so, but alas, my anxiety stops life from progressing as it should. Maybe some day this dream could become a reality if I can get a real grip on my anxiety.


What do you do for a living? I'm guessing it's business related?


----------



## A Sense of Purpose

The Professor said:


> suppressing glutamate would actually be beneficial to the brain, right? (neuroplasticity) Similar to one of the actions of Tianeptine.
> 
> ...because too much glutamate is toxic, so would suppressing it do the opposite?


But too little glutamate and you have problems too. Less excitation in certain regions thus less activity. Less activity in the left prefrontal cortex is linked with depression etc

You mainly only see problems with the glutamatergic system in schizophrenia (hence the glutamate hypothesis)


----------



## brown324

Guys, I am still on 60 mg. a day and having the same good results. 

Australia-- It does sound like propranolol and a gaba agonist both would be beneficial for you. My main problem has always been physical anxiety as well.

Hercules-- As far as working out goes with it being a muscle relaxer--- I personally don't work out on a regular basis, although I would like too. But I have not found doing any physical activity any more difficult while using baclofen. In fact, if you do enough research you will find that baclofen will stimulate HGH (human growth hormone), and that it's use can actually be synergistic with weight lifting and help speed the process of physical fitness!


----------



## The Professor

no one ever answered my question about cognitive deficits. Does it cause any? By slowing dopamine release it seems apparent that it would cause attention problems, right?


----------



## Medline

If cognitive deficits are a problem depends on the person taking baclofen, but in general I would say drugs acting on GABA(A) receptors like benzos are quite more likely to cause memory problems. At times I've used much higher doses of Lioresal than most people here, but never had a problem with memory and people couldn't tell I was on a drug.


----------



## barry1685

Word of warning-

Stopping baclofen without tapering is horrible. Extreme anxiety and muscle problems can occur. I now have a very stiff back and side. I read online and a lot of people have these problems when stopping.


----------



## The Professor

Medline said:


> If cognitive deficits are a problem depends on the person taking baclofen, but in general I would say drugs acting on GABA(A) receptors like benzos are quite more likely to cause memory problems. At times I've used much higher doses of Lioresal than most people here, but never had a problem with memory and people couldn't tell I was on a drug.


thanks, very insightful.

I have ADHD-inattentive, so do you think this would be a problem for me? I know it's hard to answer but I think if it decreases anxiety it would help with that part of my inattentiveness (worrying about other things instead of paying attention to what is being said, etc.) So if it doesn't have any actual cognitive problems I bet it would help with that.

(my hypothesis): the problem is that my brain has been rewired based on years of *anxiety* and *inattentiveness* (both intertwined AND independently). So simply taking away the anxiety may not solve the inattentiveness. So basically my mind is conditioned to not pay attention. How to reverse that? idk, maybe something like tianeptine.

Now that you know a little more about me, would you recommend that I at least try out Baclofen for a little while? Or should I look elsewhere? Or combine it with something?

*sorry for the long post, im on adderall... I should be studying.

Also, this is important, my ocd symptoms and perfectionism tie in with the inattentiveness because I overthink EVERYTHING, now even simple concepts. I make things a lot harder than they have to be and this makes it very hard to concentrate and *understand* things. It sucks because I should be smart, but I overthink things to the point of actually being stupid, because I just cannot understand some things (this has been happening more for me recently)


----------



## brown324

prof.---- I have noticed a very slight cognitive impairment while on baclofen, but only very slightly. Certainly other meds have caused much more cognitive impairment, such as benzos and even antihistamines. It is not enough that it affects my ability to perform everday life and work at a high demand job. As far as inattentivness goes I can't really give you any insight as I have never had this problem.


----------



## The Professor

brown324 said:


> prof.---- I have noticed a very slight cognitive impairment while on baclofen, but only very slightly. Certainly other meds have caused much more cognitive impairment, such as benzos and even antihistamines. It is not enough that it affects my ability to perform everday life and work at a high demand job. As far as inattentivness goes I can't really give you any insight as I have never had this problem.


Can you describe what the impairment is like? Critical thinking, memory, reasoning, etc.?

Here's an article showing that it can repair cognitive damage induced by methamphetamines:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19028488

I would love to try baclofen, but after (kind of) quitting adderall I really don't think I could deal with cognitive impairment.


----------



## nito

Can you take baclofen while your're on lustral (zoloft) and wellbutrin? I'm just playing around with these two at the moment.


----------



## Medline

In general yes, but if you're on baclofen daily long-term and stop it (too) abruptly taking Wellbutrin during this time would make baclofen withdrawal significantly more severe (increased risk of seizures, psychosis / delirium).


----------



## nito

Medline said:


> In general yes, but if you're on baclofen daily long-term and stop it (too) abruptly taking Wellbutrin during this time would make baclofen withdrawal significantly more severe (increased risk of seizures, psychosis / delirium).


Wow seizures from wellbutrin, seizures from baclofen. :blank


----------



## Medline

nito said:


> Wow seizures from wellbutrin, seizures from baclofen. :blank


For a healthy person the risk of having a seizure because of Wellbutrin XL (max. 450mg daily) is very small. But during benzo / alcohol / GHB / baclofen withdrawal the seizure threshold is lowered.


----------



## nito

Medline said:


> For a healthy person the risk of having a seizure because of Wellbutrin XL (max. 450mg daily) is very small. But during benzo / alcohol / GHB / baclofen withdrawal the seizure threshold is lowered.


I take 150 mg xl, rarely 300 mg. Iam healthy, only smoke cigarettes, no major faults. I shall be careful. Hey medline, wot bout mixing zoloft tianeptine and wellbutrin, is tianeptine the odd on out or will it blend?


----------



## Medline

Keep it simple.  I can't predict what bupropion + tianeptine + sertraline would do for you, nobody can.


----------



## The Professor

nito said:


> I take 150 mg xl, rarely 300 mg. Iam healthy, only smoke cigarettes, no major faults. I shall be careful. Hey medline, wot bout mixing zoloft tianeptine and wellbutrin, is tianeptine the odd on out or will it blend?


No one knows the exact actions of tianeptine, but SSRE or not, when combined with SSRIs some of the beneficial effects of tianeptine are cancelled out.

wellbutrin and tianeptine may be okay but I wouldn't go over 150 wellbutrin in case tianeptine _does_ happen to affect dopamine.

Where do you live? How do you plan on obtaining tianeptine?

I don't know much about you and your problems but in my case I would LOVE to try tianeptine... just don't know how to get it. I've done enormous amounts of research on it and there's not much to not like!


----------



## The Professor

Medline said:


> For a healthy person the risk of having a seizure because of Wellbutrin XL (max. 450mg daily) is very small. But during benzo / alcohol / GHB / baclofen withdrawal the seizure threshold is lowered.


Medline, random question but do you know if it's true that GHB causes a 40% loss of neurons? (or something like that)

I would love to try GHB too, There are theories that taking it in a certain way for a few weeks can permanently eliminate SAD and depression.


----------



## Medline

The Professor said:


> Medline, random question but do you know if it's true that GHB causes a 40% loss of neurons? (or something like that)


No, it's a very safe and non-toxic drug *IF* used as prescribed in case of Xyrem for narcolepsy or under strict medical supervision in case of alcohol withdrawal (Alcover® syrup used in some european countries like Italy). Studies with rodents and ultra-high dose GBL didn't show organ toxicity.



The Professor said:


> I would love to try GHB too, There are theories that taking it in a certain way for a few weeks can permanently eliminate SAD and depression.


You might have read http://biopsychiatry.com/ghb/authentic.html or something like that. Ain't true. GHB & GBL won't cure depression and anxiety disorders, but do have a IMHO pretty high abuse potential. Physical withdrawal is even more harsh than that of benzos because of GHB's very short half-life and it can be lethal.


----------



## nito

The Professor said:


> No one knows the exact actions of tianeptine, but SSRE or not, when combined with SSRIs some of the beneficial effects of tianeptine are cancelled out.
> 
> wellbutrin and tianeptine may be okay but I wouldn't go over 150 wellbutrin in case tianeptine _does_ happen to affect dopamine.
> 
> Where do you live? How do you plan on obtaining tianeptine?
> 
> I don't know much about you and your problems but in my case I would LOVE to try tianeptine... just don't know how to get it. I've done enormous amounts of research on it and there's not much to not like!


I live in the uk. I got tianeptine from an online source. I have mild anxiety, mild depression and severe organisation / motivation & focus problems.


----------



## The Professor

nito said:


> I live in the uk. I got tianeptine from an online source. I have mild anxiety, mild depression and *severe organisation / motivation & focus problems*.


same with me. Does wellbutrin help you with that? Better yet, did tianeptine help you at all with that? very recently quit adderall IR (or am in the process of quitting, considering I took some yesterday and the day before :blank) My motivation for school work and life in general has been absolutely non-existent since I stopped taking it. I assume my dopamine receptors have been downregulated after a few years of on and off daily use. I'm A student in college and since stopping I literally have been unable to open a book! Does anyone know if I will get back to normal if I stay off adderall for long period of time?


----------



## nito

The Professor said:


> same with me. Does wellbutrin help you with that? Better yet, did tianeptine help you at all with that? very recently quit adderall IR (or am in the process of quitting, considering I took some yesterday and the day before :blank) My motivation for school work and life in general has been absolutely non-existent since I stopped taking it. I assume my dopamine receptors have been downregulated after a few years of on and off daily use. I'm A student in college and since stopping I literally have been unable to open a book! Does anyone know if I will get back to normal if I stay off adderall for long period of time?


I have not tried wellbutrin long eneough. Gonne give it a propper go. But zoloft, man, im not sure. I might quit and return to tianeptine and wellbutrin. How do you get adderall in the uk, didn't know they had it here? Anyways i feel ya brotha, on the motivation thing. I'm at university right now, and been here for 12 hours infront of the computer on facebook, youtube, google searches etc. Didn't get anything done, sucks big time, cus i really want to study!


----------



## The Professor

nito said:


> I have not tried wellbutrin long eneough. Gonne give it a propper go. But zoloft, man, im not sure. I might quit and return to tianeptine and wellbutrin. How do you get adderall in the uk, didn't know they had it here? Anyways i feel ya brotha, on the motivation thing. I'm at university right now, and been here for 12 hours infront of the computer on facebook, youtube, google searches etc. Didn't get anything done, sucks big time, cus i really want to study!


I live in the US. "New England" is like the most northeast part of the northeast US.

Was there a reason you stopped tianeptine?

I still don't get how wellbutrin differs much from cocaine... when I asked my pdoc she didn't know what to say and just said "well cocaine is addictive and people take high doses of it... have you ever tried cocaine?" me: "No"


----------



## barry1685

How is everyone doing on this med? I am tempted to go back on it but I am extremely worried about the withdrawal seeing how I had problems coming off of it. I worry that if I am on it long term I could have problems.


----------



## barry1685

Back on baclofen I am excited! I decided to give it another try.


----------



## nito

The Professor said:


> I live in the US. "New England" is like the most northeast part of the northeast US.
> 
> Was there a reason you stopped tianeptine?
> 
> I still don't get how wellbutrin differs much from cocaine... when I asked my pdoc she didn't know what to say and just said "well cocaine is addictive and people take high doses of it... have you ever tried cocaine?" me: "No"


I stopped it to try to experiment with sertraline a bit. I guess i was a bit greedy and looked for stronger effects than tianeptine. Wellbutrin is like cocaine?


----------



## Medline

Methylphenidate (intranasal, bad idea) would be relatively similar to cocaine regarding mechanism of action.


----------



## moke64916

Not one medication can cure you. What hapoens when you stop taking it? I bet the symptoms will come back. This medicine that works on GABA receptors is what benzodiazepines work on. Only cure is to become aware of the underlying issue. That's why awareness is so important in life. Awareness leads to peace and joy.


----------



## belfort

^^ugghh, that helps in some cases but in many people, simply finding the underlying cause allows them to cope with their anxiety or decrease it rather than eliminating it..

the professor-im like you, i hav bad motivation/focus problems as well as anxiety issues..i have to be honest, GHB does cure these problems all at once for a good 2-3 hours..maks me pro-social, motivated and empathetic, qualities i simply dont have normally..problem is, you really cant use it more than once a day without its effects lessening and risk of adiction increasing..

with me i can kill my anxiety 100% but the problem is, i still lack motivation and 'drive' to socialize or just get out there..so killing anxiety is only a small part of the problem for me..i have tried benzos, phenibut, opiates, ghb, stimulants and so far ghb has been the only drug that works on all 3 issues for me..i wonder how similar baclofen works in regards to ghb?i dont want to be high, im more referring to the social lubricant, motivation effects?


----------



## ugh1979

belfort said:


> the professor-im like you, i hav bad motivation/focus problems as well as anxiety issues..i have to be honest, GHB does cure these problems all at once for a good 2-3 hours..maks me pro-social, motivated and empathetic, qualities i simply dont have normally..problem is, you really cant use it more than once a day without its effects lessening and risk of adiction increasing..
> 
> with me i can kill my anxiety 100% but the problem is, i still lack motivation and 'drive' to socialize or just get out there..so killing anxiety is only a small part of the problem for me..i have tried benzos, phenibut, opiates, ghb, stimulants and so far ghb has been the only drug that works on all 3 issues for me..i wonder how similar baclofen works in regards to ghb?i dont want to be high, im more referring to the social lubricant, motivation effects?


Likewise I can kill anxiety 100% using GHB, but it gets me FAR too high to be of use therapeutically.

Baclofen's effects are identical to Phenibut for me, which is ideal as they are just the right strength for me to be pro-social, anxiety free and not appear high. GHB is *way *stronger/more anxiolytic than Baclofen/Phenibut.


----------



## Medline

barry1685 said:


> How is everyone doing on this med? I am tempted to go back on it but I am extremely worried about the withdrawal seeing how I had problems coming off of it. I worry that if I am on it long term I could have problems.


When you're never running out of baclofen and never stop it (too) abruptly again, but instead taper it down slowly, you will be fine. Just one word of warning: Withdrawals from GABAergic substances will - in general - get worse the more often one is going through them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindling_(substance_withdrawal)


----------



## belfort

ugh-phenibut works pretty well for me in terms of anti-anxiety but it isnt exactly pro-social.in fact, sometimes it makes me less social which makes me wonder whats going on because GHb makes me very social..alcohol can make me social sometimes but for the most part it just makes me feel numb and blunted..phenibut doesnt work nearly enough in the 'i am finding other people more interesting' category..lol..GHb really is the only thing that does..


----------



## barry1685

belfort said:


> ugh-phenibut works pretty well for me in terms of anti-anxiety but it isnt exactly pro-social.in fact, sometimes it makes me less social which makes me wonder whats going on because GHb makes me very social..alcohol can make me social sometimes but for the most part it just makes me feel numb and blunted..phenibut doesnt work nearly enough in the 'i am finding other people more interesting' category..lol..GHb really is the only thing that does..


Interesting. People have a hard enough time finding a solution to anxiety, yet alone pro socialness. Pleasure from socializing will make you more prosocial. Dopamine would help this. When I know people well enough to not have anxiety and I can be my true self, I get pleasure from socializing.


----------



## ugh1979

belfort said:


> ugh-phenibut works pretty well for me in terms of anti-anxiety but it isnt exactly pro-social.in fact, sometimes it makes me less social which makes me wonder whats going on because GHb makes me very social..alcohol can make me social sometimes but for the most part it just makes me feel numb and blunted..phenibut doesnt work nearly enough in the 'i am finding other people more interesting' category..lol..GHb really is the only thing that does..


I know what you mean, but still, for me, Phenibut at least gives me a little bit more interest in others.

It definitely doesn't make me less social. I guess it works out differently for different people


----------



## belfort

^^yeah see with me it isnt the anxiety or lack thereof that makes me social..i wish it was as then my problem could easily be fixed but its not..many anti-anxiety meds make me even more apathetic towards socializing than i was before meds..this is why benzos are almost useless for me..phenibut is effective to a small degree in making me more social but it still would never make me want to go seek people out to socialize..maybe i simply am asking for something that doesnt exist..


----------



## The Professor

belfort said:


> ^^ugghh, that helps in some cases but in many people, simply finding the underlying cause allows them to cope with their anxiety or decrease it rather than eliminating it..
> 
> the professor-im like you, i hav bad motivation/focus problems as well as anxiety issues..i have to be honest, GHB does cure these problems all at once for a good 2-3 hours..maks me pro-social, motivated and empathetic, qualities i simply dont have normally..problem is, you really cant use it more than once a day without its effects lessening and risk of adiction increasing..
> 
> with me i can kill my anxiety 100% but the problem is, i still lack motivation and 'drive' to socialize or just get out there..so killing anxiety is only a small part of the problem for me..i have tried benzos, phenibut, opiates, ghb, stimulants and so far *ghb has been the only drug that works on all 3 issues for me*..i wonder how similar baclofen works in regards to ghb?*i dont want to be high, im more referring to the social lubricant, motivation effects?*


Wow I wouldn't have thought GHB would also help motivation. You think if there was an extended release GHB it would still work?

The last sentence you typed is interesting. I definitely do not want to be "high" either. But is it possible that a particular anxiety-free "high" to us is the way normal people feel all the time?

I would like to try GHB but I was scared off by some articles saying it causes a 40% loss of neurons or something like that... could just be gov't propaganda, idk.

Also, any HGH effects of GHB/baclofen/etc. would be a definite positive! (not cause I'm small but because I lift weights)


----------



## brown324

moke64916 said:


> Not one medication can cure you. What hapoens when you stop taking it? I bet the symptoms will come back. This medicine that works on GABA receptors is what benzodiazepines work on. Only cure is to become aware of the underlying issue. That's why awareness is so important in life. Awareness leads to peace and joy.


I disagree with you sir. Coming from someone who has been through therapy, cbt, done daily exposure to my triggers and been on a load of different drugs. The majority of exposure and therapy did nothing more than make me aware of the instances that triggered my anxiety, but did not lessen the severity or help control it at all. I have been on a bunch of diff. meds as well, some helped, some made anxiety worse. Bottom line is I now keep baclofen and propranolol in my system all day long, and take a z drug, a benzo and a tricyclic at night. I now live with tolerable anxiety that is at the level it should be for a normal person, no matter what the situation. I am not all hopped up on drugs, I function at 100% mentally and physically. This is only thanks to finding the right med combo, awareness and exposure and therapy did nothing to make this happen for me, drugs did. If I stop taking them will the anxiety and depression come back? Absolutly they will, so why on earth would I stop taking them? I will take them until I am dust, and live a happy and free life.


----------



## barry1685

brown324 said:


> moke64916 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Not one medication can cure you. What hapoens when you stop taking it? I bet the symptoms will come back. This medicine that works on GABA receptors is what benzodiazepines work on. Only cure is to become aware of the underlying issue. That's why awareness is so important in life. Awareness leads to peace and joy.
> 
> 
> 
> I disagree with you sir. Coming from someone who has been through therapy, cbt, done daily exposure to my triggers and been on a load of different drugs. The majority of exposure and therapy did nothing more than make me aware of the instances that triggered my anxiety, but did not lessen the severity or help control it at all. I have been on a bunch of diff. meds as well, some helped, some made anxiety worse. Bottom line is I now keep baclofen and propranolol in my system all day long, and take a z drug, a benzo and a tricyclic at night. I now live with tolerable anxiety that is at the level it should be for a normal person, no matter what the situation. I am not all hopped up on drugs, I function at 100% mentally and physically. This is only thanks to finding the right med combo, awareness and exposure and therapy did nothing to make this happen for me, drugs did. If I stop taking them will the anxiety and depression come back? Absolutly they will, so why on earth would I stop taking them? I will take them until I am dust, and live a happy and free life.
Click to expand...

I am back on baclofen. I have to be careful I don't ever miss a dose but I feel my anxiety dropping back down.


----------



## ugh1979

The Professor said:


> Wow I wouldn't have thought GHB would also help motivation.


I find any drug that makes me less anxious makes me more motivated.



> You think if there was an extended release GHB it would still work?


Baclofen/Phenibut effectively are like extended release GHB. The effects last about 8 hours. Obviously the effects aren't as strong, but that suits me. I got in to a lot of trouble with the frequent redosing of GHB so welcomed a similar drug that I only need to take once a day.



> The last sentence you typed is interesting. I definitely do not want to be "high" either. But is it possible that a particular anxiety-free "high" to us is the way normal people feel all the time?


Yes, i've always thought that. We are basically giving our brains the chemical balances we lack that they have naturally.



> I would like to try GHB but I was scared off by some articles saying it causes a 40% loss of neurons or something like that... could just be gov't propaganda, idk.


Total nonsense. GHB is non-toxic drug and can be used frequently with no problems at all if not abused. (Quick fact, there is GHB in every cell in your body, and it could actually be considered a nutrient. It used to be sold in health stores.)



> Also, any HGH effects of GHB/baclofen/etc. would be a definite positive! (not cause I'm small but because I lift weights)


Indeed.


----------



## ugh1979

moke64916 said:


> Not one medication can cure you. What hapoens when you stop taking it? I bet the symptoms will come back. This medicine that works on GABA receptors is what benzodiazepines work on. Only cure is to become aware of the underlying issue. That's why awareness is so important in life. Awareness leads to peace and joy.


I disagree being aware of the underlying issue is the cure. I'm well aware of what the underlying issue is and it makes zero difference. I've also been through CBT which was useless.

What you say might work for some people but certainly not for all. I know 100% that I'm simply lacking in some essential brain chemicals (particularly GABA) so that needs to be addressed with medication. (I already eat well and exercise often, along with taking relevant health supplements)


----------



## nito

So i just got some baclofwb. I am currwntly on 50 mg zoloft. Is it safe to mix them? Also what dose should i start the baclofen on?


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> So i just got some baclofwb. I am currwntly on 50 mg zoloft. Is it safe to mix them? Also what dose should i start the baclofen on?


You should be safe with Zoloft. Baclofen is GABA b agonists. Even if baclofen slowed down the metabolism of Zoloft your on a small enough dose that it won't do anything. Try. 10mg first a day because of the side effect of nausea. Day two try 20mg see how your stomach handles it.


----------



## barry1685

By the way coming off baclofen and coming back on I noticed that my GAD has gone down quite a bit. My SA has become more manageable on baclofen. Nothing groundbreaking though.


----------



## Argamemnon

I don't know much about drugs, but would love to try baclofen. However, my doctor probably wouldn't prescribe it


----------



## The Professor

brown324 said:


> I disagree with you sir. Coming from someone who has been through therapy, cbt, done daily exposure to my triggers and been on a load of different drugs. The majority of exposure and therapy did nothing more than make me aware of the instances that triggered my anxiety, but did not lessen the severity or help control it at all. I have been on a bunch of diff. meds as well, some helped, some made anxiety worse. Bottom line is I now keep baclofen and propranolol in my system all day long, and take a z drug, a benzo and a tricyclic at night. I now live with tolerable anxiety that is at the level it should be for a normal person, no matter what the situation. I am not all hopped up on drugs, I function at 100% mentally and physically. This is only thanks to finding the right med combo, awareness and exposure and therapy did nothing to make this happen for me, drugs did. If I stop taking them will the anxiety and depression come back? Absolutly they will, so why on earth would I stop taking them? I will take them until I am dust, and live a happy and free life.


can you do without the xanax?


----------



## Argamemnon

So, how do you guys get baclofen prescribed? Perhaps you already explained but I didn't see it.


----------



## brown324

The Professor said:


> can you do without the xanax?


Yes, in fact I ONLY take it at night to help me fall asleep, so in effect I am not taking xanax to treat anxiety, I am taking it because I am a chronic insomniac and I can't sleep unless I'm drugged. But I can easily do without xanax if I was still taking lunesta. lunesta fixed my insomnia, but I switched to xanax and zaleplon because lunesta is so damn expensive


----------



## brown324

Argamemnon said:


> So, how do you guys get baclofen prescribed? Perhaps you already explained but I didn't see it.


I get it prescribed by my pdoc, and I'm sorry but I wont give out his information. Many people are just ordering it online as it is not a controlled substance so it's pretty easy to order. Your other option is to collect as much info as possible about baclofen, and take it to your doctor and ask him/her to prescribe it.


----------



## crayzyMed

ugh1979 said:


> I find any drug that makes me less anxious makes me more motivated.
> 
> Baclofen/Phenibut effectively are like extended release GHB. The effects last about 8 hours. Obviously the effects aren't as strong, but that suits me. I got in to a lot of trouble with the frequent redosing of GHB so welcomed a similar drug that I only need to take once a day.
> 
> Yes, i've always thought that. We are basically giving our brains the chemical balances we lack that they have naturally.
> 
> Total nonsense. GHB is non-toxic drug and can be used frequently with no problems at all if not abused. (Quick fact, there is GHB in every cell in your body, and it could actually be considered a nutrient. It used to be sold in health stores.)
> 
> Indeed.


GHB is in fact neurotoxic however things like NAC can protect against its toxiticy, i used to take it daily except at night.


----------



## nito

been trying 10 mg for two days now. Not sure i noticed any groundbreaking significance. I do take zoloft 50 mg too, which i have for 2 weeks. I'm not sure how to evaluate the baclofen.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> been trying 10 mg for two days now. Not sure i noticed any groundbreaking significance. I do take zoloft 50 mg too, which i have for 2 weeks. I'm not sure how to evaluate the baclofen.


I dont really like baclofen much now. Its initial sedation felt and worked but I don;t get that anymore. Its a good sleeping pill IMO. Also Baclofen and xanax makes xanax stronger and I love that aspect. I might just keep baclofen for my xanax dosing.


----------



## ugh1979

nito said:


> been trying 10 mg for two days now. Not sure i noticed any groundbreaking significance. I do take zoloft 50 mg too, which i have for 2 weeks. I'm not sure how to evaluate the baclofen.


Up the dose. 10mg is too low to feel anything. I don't feel anything until at least 40mg.


----------



## ugh1979

crayzyMed said:


> GHB is in fact neurotoxic however things like NAC can protect against its toxiticy, i used to take it daily except at night.


Even when not abused?

I know it has neuroprotective effects as well.


----------



## crayzyMed

The lower the dose the higher the toxiticy wich is caused by the GHB receptor causing excessive glutamate levels, higher doses counteracts in as the GABAB receptor gets more agonised counteracting this toxiticy.

Its neuroprective in situations of oxygen deprivation wich isnt very relevant to normal conditions.


----------



## nito

Are you meant to take baclofen on an empty stomach?


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> Are you meant to take baclofen on an empty stomach?


No it doesnt matter. I find baclofen gets rid of my ocd and thats about it.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> No it doesnt matter. I find baclofen gets rid of my ocd and thats about it.


ok 10 mg never worked. Just popped 20 now.


----------



## nito

What i'm trying to achieve is to get rid of the random butterflies i have as soon as my mind thinks of an uncomfortable situation. It's annoying as hell. Barry how long does it take to work, instant or builds up over days?


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> What i'm trying to achieve is to get rid of the random butterflies i have as soon as my mind thinks of an uncomfortable situation. It's annoying as hell. Barry how long does it take to work, instant or builds up over days?


Butterflies? Wow Social anxiety is different big time for each person. I just get shakey and feel like my bodies stiff in public.

But anyways, It should work instantly. It's essentially like a different type of benzo. Be careful taking this med because withdrawal is dangerous. Make sure once you quit you taper.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Butterflies? Wow Social anxiety is different big time for each person. I just get shakey and feel like my bodies stiff in public.
> 
> But anyways, It should work instantly. It's essentially like a different type of benzo. Be careful taking this med because withdrawal is dangerous. Make sure once you quit you taper.


Yea like it can happen for no reason. I can also get it standing in a que in the shop, getting on the bus or train. I actually have train problems. Socially i can laugh with people and you would not think i got SA problems if u met me.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> Yea like it can happen for no reason. I can also get it standing in a que in the shop, getting on the bus or train. I actually have train problems. Socially i can laugh with people and you would not think i got SA problems if u met me.


Wow, I am very quiet and am anti social. I can be myself around my friends just not new people. I don't get butterflies ever. Just stiffness and when I make eye contact its hard.

What meds are you on?


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Wow, I am very quiet and am anti social. I can be myself around my friends just not new people. I don't get butterflies ever. Just stiffness and when I make eye contact its hard.
> 
> What meds are you on?


The thing is, when we are about to go out to a cafe or a social place, my mind gets filled with possible situations that could happen, like seeing a nice girl and interacting and stuff, so i get butterflies. As soon as i get butterflies, this feeling the travels down my knees to my feet and they tingle and i feel slightly weak down there. One thing i have big problems with is eating in social places especially if there are pretty women around. I have not eaten in the school canteen for 3 years.

In terms of eye contact, i struggled with that for so long, but in later years i have learned how to manage that, unless it's looking at a girl in the eyes (with the intention of showing interest) i don't find it difficult.

I'm on zoloft 50 mg now. 2 weeks in. Not noticed anything significant, hardly any side effects. Apart from that, general noots like choline, modafinil etc.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> The thing is, when we are about to go out to a cafe or a social place, my mind gets filled with possible situations that could happen, like seeing a nice girl and interacting and stuff, so i get butterflies. As soon as i get butterflies, this feeling the travels down my knees to my feet and they tingle and i feel slightly weak down there. One thing i have big problems with is eating in social places especially if there are pretty women around. I have not eaten in the school canteen for 3 years.
> 
> In terms of eye contact, i struggled with that for so long, but in later years i have learned how to manage that, unless it's looking at a girl in the eyes (with the intention of showing interest) i don't find it difficult.
> 
> I'm on zoloft 50 mg now. 2 weeks in. Not noticed anything significant, hardly any side effects. Apart from that, general noots like choline, modafinil etc.


How do you deal with eye contact?


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> How do you deal with eye contact?


Ok so when i was younger, my eyes would suddenly water or feel like they are getting cramp, especially when talking to someone about something serious. I would often look like i am frowning, but this was due to me trying to not make them water or cramp. I think this could have been due to being a shy child but also due to underperforming at school and having teachers yell at me alot. So i found it hard having eye contact with adults.

As i grew older, i started to develop an aggresive mentality, where i thought things like "who da f**k are you" and used my eyes as a weapon. I know it sounds strange but it somewhat worked. I sometimes feel uncomfortable maintaining eye contact for a long period of time as that is due to my brain over thinking things like "i wonder if the person things i look weird looking at him for so long" so i'm still learning. But they dont water or cramp no more. I only struggle when it comes to women and trying to show interest with me eyes.


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> Ok so when i was younger, my eyes would suddenly water or feel like they are getting cramp, especially when talking to someone about something serious. I would often look like i am frowning, but this was due to me trying to not make them water or cramp. I think this could have been due to being a shy child but also due to underperforming at school and having teachers yell at me alot. So i found it hard having eye contact with adults.
> 
> As i grew older, i started to develop an aggresive mentality, where i thought things like "who da f**k are you" and used my eyes as a weapon. I know it sounds strange but it somewhat worked. I sometimes feel uncomfortable maintaining eye contact for a long period of time as that is due to my brain over thinking things like "i wonder if the person things i look weird looking at him for so long" so i'm still learning. But they dont water or cramp no more. I only struggle when it comes to women and trying to show interest with me eyes.


Yes I feel the same way with aggression. Once I get angry at myself I tell myself to stop being afraid and it works.

Women take response to flirting and talking/ showning attention. My GF, which I am so lucky to have and we have been together for 2 years now.

I was a chicken and messaged her on Facebook and she was willing to talk to me outside of Facebook. So we met and moved on from there.

She eventually told me I wasn't talking to her much and that is why she never thought I liked her. If I showed interest and talked to her more I would have had no problem getting with her.

So the biggest strategy is getting to talk with a girl and keep conversations.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Yes I feel the same way with aggression. Once I get angry at myself I tell myself to stop being afraid and it works.
> 
> Women take response to flirting and talking/ showning attention. My GF, which I am so lucky to have and we have been together for 2 years now.
> 
> I was a chicken and messaged her on Facebook and she was willing to talk to me outside of Facebook. So we met and moved on from there.
> 
> She eventually told me I wasn't talking to her much and that is why she never thought I liked her. If I showed interest and talked to her more I would have had no problem getting with her.
> 
> So the biggest strategy is getting to talk with a girl and keep conversations.


Yes the more you practice, the more perfect it is. I've never really had a serious relationship. Ok 20 mg popped an hour ago. Stupid butterflies still there, gonna pop another 10. 30 is ok right?


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> Yes the more you practice, the more perfect it is. I've never really had a serious relationship. Ok 20 mg popped an hour ago. Stupid butterflies still there, gonna pop another 10. 30 is ok right?[/QUOTE
> 
> Yea its fine, I wouldn't recommend going over 30. Some people do it but baclofen is taken 10-30mg every 3 or 4 hours.
> 
> I don't think baclofen will help with butterflies though. Benzos will.


----------



## barry1685

What am I thinking? Beta blocker will help you so much with butterflies


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> What am I thinking? Beta blocker will help you so much with butterflies


 things like Propranolol? I've never tried it. Should i give it a go. Is it addictive and riskt?


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> things like Propranolol? I've never tried it. Should i give it a go. Is it addictive and riskt?


Non addictive, Heart medicine, and risks are making your heart stop by oding.

But not to scare you its very safe medicine. It blocks all adrenaline to your heart, which stops the physical anxiety symptoms such as sweatiness and heart racing and butterflies before an event.

Dosing is 10mg starting and up to who god knows. I'm on 40mg and it works extremely well for heart racing anxiety. Don't take too much or your heart will slow down so much you will faint and in extreme cases you will die.

I have also noticed it builds a tolerance, the tolerance isnt horrible but not like the first time I took it.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Non addictive, Heart medicine, and risks are making your heart stop by oding.
> 
> But not to scare you its very safe medicine. It blocks all adrenaline to your heart, which stops the physical anxiety symptoms such as sweatiness and heart racing and butterflies before an event.
> 
> Dosing is 10mg starting and up to who god knows. I'm on 40mg and it works extremely well for heart racing anxiety. Don't take too much or your heart will slow down so much you will faint and in extreme cases you will die.
> 
> I have also noticed it builds a tolerance, the tolerance isnt horrible but not like the first time I took it.


hm sounds really interesting. Definately need to try this. I think i found a source online but its called inderal, will there be a difference?


----------



## Benjee

nito said:


> Yes the more you practice, the more perfect it is. I've never really had a serious relationship. Ok 20 mg popped an hour ago. Stupid butterflies still there, gonna pop another 10. 30 is ok right?


yea i have the same problem
in alotta social situations having these butterflies and feeling sick in the stomach, also breathing problems and increased heartrate
few years ago i went a few times to the doctor and they thought it was some kind of stomach bacteria at first
but i think i just produce to much adrenaline when its not really used by the body


----------



## nito

Benjee said:


> yea i have the same problem
> in alotta social situations having these butterflies and feeling sick in the stomach, also breathing problems and increased heartrate
> few years ago i went a few times to the doctor and they thought it was some kind of stomach bacteria at first
> but i think i just produce to much adrenaline when its not really used by the body


I don't know what it is. Is it my diet? is it lack of water during the day becasue i dont drink much. I don't know. What i know is that after taking 30 mg baclofen, i can't say i would have noticed any effect if someone put it in my sandwitch. So far , im dissapointed : /


----------



## Benjee

nito said:


> I don't know what it is. Is it my diet? is it lack of water during the day becasue i dont drink much. I don't know. What i know is that after taking 30 mg baclofen, i can't say i would have noticed any effect if someone put it in my sandwitch. So far , im dissapointed : /


i think its SA
and i think ssri`s like zoloft can take up to 2 weeks to kick in


----------



## barry1685

nito said:


> barry1685 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Non addictive, Heart medicine, and risks are making your heart stop by oding.
> 
> But not to scare you its very safe medicine. It blocks all adrenaline to your heart, which stops the physical anxiety symptoms such as sweatiness and heart racing and butterflies before an event.
> 
> Dosing is 10mg starting and up to who god knows. I'm on 40mg and it works extremely well for heart racing anxiety. Don't take too much or your heart will slow down so much you will faint and in extreme cases you will die.
> 
> I have also noticed it builds a tolerance, the tolerance isnt horrible but not like the first time I took it.
> 
> 
> 
> hm sounds really interesting. Definately need to try this. I think i found a source online but its called inderal, will there be a difference?
Click to expand...

Nope that's right. Swim orders it online and from the same source as you and it works fine. This I believe will really help your butterfly problem. But take as needed because it really diminishes its effects over time.


----------



## Benjee

Benjee said:


> i think its SA
> and i think ssri`s like zoloft can take up to 2 weeks to kick in


ah oops sorrys i thought u took an ssri but just realized that baclofen is an other medication


----------



## nito

Benjee said:


> ah oops sorrys i thought u took an ssri but just realized that baclofen is an other medication


I do take zoloft, im 2 weeks in and fairly disapointed, ive not felt enyting at all, ok i tend to get less depressed over things, but wot bout anxiet, its meant to help that. Motivation wise, i feel unmotivated, i thought motivation would rise when ssri clears depression of u.


----------



## nito

barry1685 said:


> Nope that's right. Swim orders it online and from the same source as you and it works fine. This I believe will really help your butterfly problem. But take as needed because it really diminishes its effects over time.


Hm maybe inderal is what i need. Before i enter a building or, school library i have this almost stage frigt, like "imagine if this or that happend" i also suffer from te imagination that people are thinking something about me, or find the way i walk weird. And i hate cars, always feel people r looking at me from their cars when i cross te road whuch leads me to examine every car and se if its te case.


----------



## DK3

Hi guys, been away from the forum for a few weeks due to other commitments so just been catching up and reading back some of the interesting discussions..

Anyway thought I'd provide a quick update on my own situation..

My regime is similar to brown324's...I'm still taking Baclofen (20mg divided into two doses) every day and also xanax (0.125mg) as and when needed.. plus 0.25mg Etizolam (benzo analogue) every night to help sleep.

The SA isn't gone completely but its certainly a lot more manageable. My mood and energy levels have stablised a lot over the last two months, and I've put this down to a combination of the Baclofen and getting better quality sleep with regular sleep cycle thanks to the Etizolam.

I'm now at a point where I think the Baclofen is losing effects a bit and I'm going to increase the dose to 30mg. But this dose gave me a headache last time I tried, so we'll see.

I'm also interested in supplementing with Paxil starting on a very low dose, to see if it brings any additional benefits. I'm a bit unsure about mixing Paxil and Baclofen though. Anyone have any thoughts on that combo?


----------



## swim

is propanolol better than baclofen and phenibut for gad?


----------



## DK3

swim said:


> is propanolol better than baclofen and phenibut for gad?


I don't think so, propanolol is a beta blocker and they are usually best for performance anxiety, i.e. nerves and anxiety centered around specific events, rather than general anxiety or social anxiety.. although some people do say beta blockers help with reducing physical symptoms of any kind of anxiety.

Certainly wouldn't hurt to try as beta blockers have very few side effects and work instantly. Also pretty safe to take with other drugs. Only thing to watch for is if you have low blood pressure or heart problem.

P.S. For me, there is no comparison between Phenibut and Baclofen. Baclofen feels a million miles better for me and Penibut feels "dirty", but I know some disagree and say the effects are similar.


----------



## swim

DK3 said:


> I don't think so, propanolol is a beta blocker and they are usually best for performance anxiety, i.e. nerves and anxiety centered around specific events, rather than general anxiety or social anxiety.. although some people do say beta blockers help with reducing physical symptoms of any kind of anxiety.
> 
> Certainly wouldn't hurt to try as beta blockers have very few side effects and work instantly. Also pretty safe to take with other drugs. Only thing to watch for is if you have low blood pressure or heart problem.
> 
> P.S. For me, there is no comparison between Phenibut and Baclofen. Baclofen feels a million miles better for me and Penibut feels "dirty", but I know some disagree and say the effects are similar.


yeah baclofen's much stronger than pheni


----------



## ugh1979

swim said:


> yeah baclofen's much stronger than pheni


Depends on the dose.

For me 60mg Baclofen is identical to 2g Phenibut.


----------



## DK3

*Going to try augmenting Baclofen with Paxil*

Ok since nobody has responded about Paxil + Baclofen combo question and I can't find any contradictions or interaction problems, I'm going to risk it and try a very low dose of Paxil today (5mg approx) with 10mg Baclofen).

My only concern is that Baclofen does seem to have some kind of anti-depressant effects so I'm hoping I don't end up with a headache and serotonin crisis.. then there's also the very negative side effects associated with Paxil by itself I may have to contend with.. I'm hoping starting a very low dose will lessen these..

Wish me luck!


----------



## DK3

Quick update.. it's been a few hours since I took the Paxil and I re-dosed 10mg Baclofen an hour before taking it. 

I've experienced a slight Baclofen headache again all morning and still have it now..which is quite annoying...it seems my Baclofen doses were too close together.. I normally take 10mg morning on waking and 10mg late afternoon....I felt I could tolerate it now as the effects seem to be lessening the longer I've been taking it, but it seems not.

As for the Paxil...I'm feeling a bit more anxious and edgy but apart from that, nothing else bad to report.. none of the usual horrible side effects people report, but the day is still young! I reckon I might of taken a very low dose of it though, about 3mg so perhaps it's not going to effect me much.


----------



## swim

DK3 said:


> Ok since nobody has responded about Paxil + Baclofen combo question and I can't find any contradictions or interaction problems, I'm going to risk it and try a very low dose of Paxil today (5mg approx) with 10mg Baclofen).
> 
> My only concern is that Baclofen does seem to have some kind of anti-depressant effects so I'm hoping I don't end up with a headache and serotonin crisis.. then there's also the very negative side effects associated with Paxil by itself I may have to contend with.. I'm hoping starting a very low dose will lessen these..
> 
> Wish me luck!


there's no risk, it's totally safe I take it with prozac I used to take it with SNRIs also


----------



## DK3

swim said:


> there's no risk, it's totally safe I take it with prozac I used to take it with SNRIs also


That's good to know swim. My headache is still there, like 9 hours later! But it's lessened now and not as bad as earlier. Pretty sure it was the Baclofen doses too close together and not related to the Paxil. I'm going to continue with the Paxil at 5mg daily. Amazingly no Paxil side effects at all, nothing. Maybe 5mg is too low to be clinically effective or have much effect?


----------



## tornadobill

I use Baclofen for anxiety(10mg TID) works well. However high dose Baclofen caused problems-sense of dissociation,feel light like nitrous and some closed eyed visuals.I once took too much at once(100mg) and had vivid visuals,euphoria and occasional paranoia-sort of like shrooms or 2cb or something. I quit for awhile got back on it at 10mg TID. Never gonna use high dose again. To me it not like phenibut or ghb,Its a class of its own. Baclofen seems more complex in neurochemistry than just a GABA_B agonist.


----------



## Huk phin

I just started on 10mg of Baclofen 3x daily for anxiety. It has only been a few days so I am not sure if it is having any effect.


----------



## brown324

Time to bring this back from the dead.

Anybody else have any personal baclofen experiences they would like to share?

I have now been on baclofen daily for about 9 months, and life is better than ever.

My daily medication is as follows:

Baclofen : 90 mg daily taken in 3 30 mg doses

Propranolol: 60 mg daily taken in 3 20 mg doses

Amitriptyline: 50 mg daily one dose

Xanax: .25 mg daily one dose 

Lunesta: 3 mg daily one dose 

This medication regimen has 100% cured all of my GAD my SAD and my insomnia.

The only time I ever get anxiety any more is when I think about the possibility of losing the ability to obtain these meds, as they have truly made my life worth living.


----------



## UltraShy

I brought up baclofen with my pdoc and he dismissed it out of hand, saying "you can find someone who's been helped by anything if you search online." Yeah, the personal story of one individual is the same as the abstract of the NIH study I printed up & brought in.:roll

My argument for giving it a shot is rock solid I'd say. It's dirt cheap, has no real risk, and after 30+ meds WTF do I have to lose? At worst it doesn't work & I lose a few bucks.

What brilliant ideas can he come up with? After failing 5 SSRIs, beat dead horse #6 named Celexa. Yeah, that's so much more likely to work. If only I'd gone to med school I might have been genius enough to think of that.

If the definition of an idiot is one who keeps doing the same thing again & again expecting different results, wouldn't that make him an idiot? I gather he's not familiar with that saying.


----------



## djp7125

I took baclofen for 3 months and didn't get anything out of it except depression.


----------



## Inshallah

djp7125 said:


> I took baclofen for 3 months and didn't get anything out of it except depression.


Sounds like a great drug :teeth


----------



## Hilzy

I have read through this entire thread and haven't seen this covered.
How does baclofen effect your libido (if at all)? And.. are any of you female that are taking B? 

I'm so confused how to treat my anxiety (sad and gad)...after many years on AD's (ha! and the cruel SE of absolutely no sex drive) currently started Buspar....but hate messing with Serotonin, even a 5ht1a agonist. I have a rx for Baclofen after explaining the situation w/doc and wanting to get off benzos due to reliance. I just want my sex drive back...is that too much to ask?.....so sad.


----------



## Broshious2

Hilzy said:


> I have read through this entire thread and haven't seen this covered.
> How does baclofen effect your libido (if at all)? And.. are any of you female that are taking B?
> 
> I'm so confused how to treat my anxiety (sad and gad)...after many years on AD's (ha! and the cruel SE of absolutely no sex drive) currently started Buspar....but hate messing with Serotonin, even a 5ht1a agonist. I have a rx for Baclofen after explaining the situation w/doc and wanting to get off benzos due to reliance. I just want my sex drive back...is that too much to ask?.....so sad.


For me Baclofen made me horny as hell. I believe a female friend I gave it to said that it made her kinda horny as well, but I can't be sure of this.



djp7125 said:


> I took baclofen for 3 months and didn't get anything out of it except depression.


That's pretty much what I got. Well, I got a month of super socialness then a couple months of constant crying.



brown324 said:


> Time to bring this back from the dead.
> 
> Anybody else have any personal baclofen experiences they would like to share?
> 
> I have now been on baclofen daily for about 9 months, and life is better than ever.
> 
> My daily medication is as follows:
> 
> Baclofen : 90 mg daily taken in 3 30 mg doses
> 
> Propranolol: 60 mg daily taken in 3 20 mg doses
> 
> Amitriptyline: 50 mg daily one dose
> 
> Xanax: .25 mg daily one dose
> 
> Lunesta: 3 mg daily one dose
> 
> This medication regimen has 100% cured all of my GAD my SAD and my insomnia.
> 
> The only time I ever get anxiety any more is when I think about the possibility of losing the ability to obtain these meds, as they have truly made my life worth living.


I'm glad that those are you working for you. I had a similar situation in that I was buying Parnate off the internet and my biggest fear was losing the chance to get it...which I have since lost. I might give Baclofen a try again, but it is scurry.

Interesting to note that doing ANYTHING to GabaB seems to have positive effects:

"The GABA(B) receptor* positive allosteric modulator CGP 7930 and the antagonist SCH 50911 show both antidepressant and anxiolytic profile*, while the GABA(B) receptor agonists (baclofen and SKF 97541) produce effects that are characteristic of antidepressant drugs."


----------



## billyho

For the guys who've used baclofen.. were there any sexual side effects? Also, anyone use this in conjunction with a stimulant? Effects?


----------



## Darrenlogan56

I am at my wits end searching for an anxiolytic medication that works as well as the well known efficiency of benzodiazepine drugs, and am about to meet my new physiatric doctor in a couple of weeks for a medication review. The medications that show me noticable imrpovement in my chronic anxiety are Benzodiazepines, and Lyrica. My tolereance to Lyrica has gone very high now and I get no real relief unless it's in high doses. I feel that I need a Gabaergic medication wether it's A or B receptors - I just know that out of all the cocktails of drugs I've been on the Gaba ergics are the only successful 1s. My therapist said she will be mentioning how motivated I have been by quitting smoking Cannabis (It is an addiction clinic / Alcoholic clinic) they have a few doctors on the team but said that I will get a medication review if I can prove to go without smoking Cannabis or taking any other drugs (I've been self medicating) and that "people often come to try and get tablets" so this is the procedure. 
Because it's an addiction centre/ Alcoholic clinic, I'm hoping that they will acknowledge my quitting of my GOLD standard Anti-anxiety self medication Cannabis daily, and offer me something like *Balcofen* taking on board the severity of my daily social phobia and an inibility to relax around people. I understand that my self medicating has made me prone to feeling more abnormal now in public without being stoned anymore in public/daily but seen as I've proven a cold turkey stop and a determined effort to do this and pass a drug test to prove it I hope that this time they will prescribe the right thing. If anyone has received balcofen or another Anxiolytic medication that can prove effective in the long term with effeciency through alcoholic/addiction specialists or just long term trial and error periods, let me know how it worked out for you! :/ Cheers!

Current meds : Imipramine 25mg x3 Lyrica 50mg x 2 propranolol 20mg Ritalin 5mg RitalinXR 40mg Agomelatine 25mg


----------



## chelsea98

hi there,

i hope people are still coming in to read this thread. i've been taking baclofen for almost 7 months now to combat my mental addiction and cravings for alcohol. I reached the dizzy heights of 240mg (24 x 10mg tablets per day) and that enabled me to hit what is called "the switch" which turned off my mental cravings/addiction to alcohol. i've read A LOT about the benefits of baclofen for anxiety and have recently started a thread over on SAUK about it here:

http://www.social-anxiety-community.org/db/showthread.php?p=1832334#post1832334

with regards to libido which i've seen mentioned on here, it appears that a lot of people who are at the higher dose levels like me experience and increase in libido. for people coming off of drink this can be a real bonus not only because you're horny, but because it's better for the partner to be having sex with someone who isn't drunk basically. there are many side effects to the drug, especially at these higher doses but I didn't really experience them with any force until i hit 150mg a day. for those of you at lower doses I really would keep on soldiering through them until you reach where you want to be. however.....

CORRECT DOSING LEVELS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Baclofen is a powerful drung and not to be messed with. The addiction phsychiatrist who prescribed it to me started me out a 15mg per day for the first 5 days. after that, you are supposed to double it to 30mg afor 5 days and then go up by 10mg only EVERY 5 DAYS!!! going up faster and in larger amounts is not the way to do it. Going up to 60 from 40 after a couple of days is not advisable at all. you have to slowly titrate up and the same for coming down. it took me 5 and bit months to get up to 240mg per day and it will take me the same amount of time to get down to whatever maintenance dose i settle at. so basically to go from zero to 100mg per day should take no less than 45 days and coming back down to zero should take the same, 90 days in total. a lot of people get put off by the side effects but you do build up tolerance to them and although I'm taking advice from people who are in a similar situation to me and self medicate over and above our prescribed amounts, they have all comfirmed to me through their experience that these are all to be expected and safe. I have run the full gamut of side effects and all are more than manageable. if there are any questions anyone has regarding these higher levels of baclofen use or queries about the side effects please do send me a pm and I should receive an email notification about it.

best wishes....


----------



## SensitiveMind

Hi all, im aware that this thread is a few years old now but i have come across this drug many times in my reading.

How is it working for all that have posted somfar? Has anyone started this recently for SAD? 

I ask because i have tried sertraline and citalopram SSRIS, and venlafaxine for my angst. None worked, i just wish there was something out there. I know we are all different but i know a guy who was on pregablin for anxiety but did to work for him so im worried it wont for me, me and him are similar in what our angst is like.

What would be a good starting dose on this be like? I have my first ever psychiatrist appointment in a week, and would like to mention baclofen but dont know if its a good idea. He might prescribe me something completely unrelated. Also im a bit skeptical of doctors and psychs when it comes to mental health.


----------



## SensitiveMind

But it didn't work for him* i meant to write in my prev post.


----------



## Coolspot

I've personally tried quite a few different meds & supplements, in the past including Ritalin - which although made me feel pretty confident as well as off my head! haha, it ended up leaving me with physical illness, nothing I have tried has worked as well as Baclofen, it's another level.

It feels to me, personally like it's not so much masking my anxiety like I've felt with other drugs but actually preventing the chemicals that heighten or create feelings of fear & anxiety in the first place - that probably doesn't make sense or at least I guess all meds do that to some degree, but I hope you can take something from this. 

I've been taking it for around 4 days & I'm noticing a big improvement not just in my anxiety but I'm experiencing a very driven mood, I only take 2.5mg twice a day, I did try 5mg twice a day but it made me feel a bit high & didn't work as well for me it. It also makes seems to make you look more youthful & your skin feel softer - no joke! it increases human growth hormone so I'm guessing this is why this occurs, the only side effect that's annoying me a bit is dealing with a dryer than usual mouth - less saliva, which can't be good for my teeth. I'm not sure how to remedy this one yet.

I would strongly recommend trying this, of course I've tried online therapy & I'd recommend some kind of therapy also, which can really help, but for me it didn't rid me of my fear & anxiety, which Baclofen helps me with.

Surprised more people don't take this, but then again I don't think it's in the prescribing guidelines for any type of anxiety, just muscles spasms in MS.


----------



## billyho

Coolspot said:


> I've personally tried quite a few different meds & supplements, in the past including Ritalin - which although made me feel pretty confident as well as off my head! haha, it ended up leaving me with physical illness, nothing I have tried has worked as well as Baclofen, it's another level.
> 
> It feels to me, personally like it's not so much masking my anxiety like I've felt with other drugs but actually preventing the chemicals that heighten or create feelings of fear & anxiety in the first place - that probably doesn't make sense or at least I guess all meds do that to some degree, but I hope you can take something from this.
> 
> I've been taking it for around 4 days & I'm noticing a big improvement not just in my anxiety but I'm experiencing a very driven mood, I only take 2.5mg twice a day, I did try 5mg twice a day but it made me feel a bit high & didn't work as well for me it. It also makes seems to make you look more youthful & your skin feel softer - no joke! it increases human growth hormone so I'm guessing this is why this occurs, _*the only side effect that's annoying me a bit is dealing with a dryer than usual mouth - less saliva, which can't be good for my teeth. I'm not sure how to remedy this one yet.*_
> 
> I would strongly recommend trying this, of course I've tried online therapy & I'd recommend some kind of therapy also, which can really help, but for me it didn't rid me of my fear & anxiety, which Baclofen helps me with.
> 
> Surprised more people don't take this, but then again I don't think it's in the prescribing guidelines for any type of anxiety, just muscles spasms in MS.


Mouthwash.. Either 'Act Dry Mouth' or 'Biotene'. There may be other brands but I use these two.


----------



## jakeysnakey

Hi all - 

I'm not sure if anyone still reads this old thread, but I'm here to revive it. 

My story is similar to others - SSRIs don't help, neither did 5HTP. Developed an eating disorder when I was young, always wanting to try drugs as a youngster even though I we as a good kid - I think something has been off neurochemically from the beginning. 

I've done a lot of self medicating. I'll drink even though I don't like it to ease anxiety, I've taken a variety if recreational drugs. The first time I tried a benzo was after a night of heavy cocaine use and I woke up the next day feeling better than I ever had in my entire life. It was amazing. I tried wellbutrin, Zoloft, buspar - nothing. A friend gave me some ambien which worked awesoem. At least I got a little bit of relaxation in before bed. I was prescribed benzos a few times for situational anxiety but developed a tolerance fast cause I take them everyday when I have then - not cause I'm an addict, but cause I want to feel better almost everyday. I recently tried phenibut and oh my
God I felt amazing. It was like everytime a thought came I to my head that was negative or judgemental, my brain immediately dismissed it as false. I was so full of love, my entire perception had changed. Is this how people normally feel?

I tend to say I usually feel a 6/10. I'd like to be an 8 a little more often. That's it. 

So this baclofen thing is real intriguing. I don't wanna self medicate anymore, I want some support and I want to do this the right way. I don't wanna get high I just want to feel better. 

It really sounds like baclofen would be what I need. I have a pdoc appointment coming up - I've actually never been - but do I just ask for this by name? Bring research papers? I don't want to buy some over the internet and give it a go, and I don't want to hurt my brain. I actually love my mind I just need it to chill the eff out a lot so I can enjoy life a little. 

It will be my first trip to the pdoc so I don't want him to think I'm hunting for drugs. What so you guys recommend?

Thanks,
JS


----------



## wmg

brown324 said:


> Barry- I am upping the dose because I don't feel 60 mg is enough, from what I have read it seems the sweet spot for most people that have *complete* anxiety relief is more or less 100-150 mg per day. You guys also have to remember that I take baclofen as well to treat addiction. I have a volitile past with addiction to amphetamines and opiates, and was finding myself drinking alcohol frequently to deal with social situations. The dosage for addiction treatment can be in excess of 300 mg per day for some people, but I know I will never get this high.
> 
> I am just following the advice of my p-doc and titrating up as he see's fit, I will be up to 100 mg in a few weeks.
> 
> I promise to continue posting results. It is so frustrating that when people find a *cure* for there illness, they stop coming to places like this and posting. I am dedicated to educating others about treatment, even if baclofen *cures* my anxiety, I will still come here and post about it in hopes that I may help others. It is this same conviction that ultimately makes me want to be a doctor, and I believe I am intelligent enough to do so, but alas, my anxiety stops life from progressing as it should. Maybe some day this dream could become a reality if I can get a real grip on my anxiety.


Hope you OK????!!!!


----------



## wmg

chelsea98 said:


> hi there,
> 
> i hope people are still coming in to read this thread. i've been taking baclofen for almost 7 months now to combat my mental addiction and cravings for alcohol. I reached the dizzy heights of 240mg (24 x 10mg tablets per day) and that enabled me to hit what is called "the switch" which turned off my mental cravings/addiction to alcohol. i've read A LOT about the benefits of baclofen for anxiety and have recently started a thread over on SAUK about it here:
> 
> http://www.social-anxiety-community.org/db/showthread.php?p=1832334#post1832334
> 
> with regards to libido which i've seen mentioned on here, it appears that a lot of people who are at the higher dose levels like me experience and increase in libido. for people coming off of drink this can be a real bonus not only because you're horny, but because it's better for the partner to be having sex with someone who isn't drunk basically. there are many side effects to the drug, especially at these higher doses but I didn't really experience them with any force until i hit 150mg a day. for those of you at lower doses I really would keep on soldiering through them until you reach where you want to be. however.....
> 
> CORRECT DOSING LEVELS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
> 
> Baclofen is a powerful drung and not to be messed with. The addiction phsychiatrist who prescribed it to me started me out a 15mg per day for the first 5 days. after that, you are supposed to double it to 30mg afor 5 days and then go up by 10mg only EVERY 5 DAYS!!! going up faster and in larger amounts is not the way to do it. Going up to 60 from 40 after a couple of days is not advisable at all. you have to slowly titrate up and the same for coming down. it took me 5 and bit months to get up to 240mg per day and it will take me the same amount of time to get down to whatever maintenance dose i settle at. so basically to go from zero to 100mg per day should take no less than 45 days and coming back down to zero should take the same, 90 days in total. a lot of people get put off by the side effects but you do build up tolerance to them and although I'm taking advice from people who are in a similar situation to me and self medicate over and above our prescribed amounts, they have all comfirmed to me through their experience that these are all to be expected and safe. I have run the full gamut of side effects and all are more than manageable. if there are any questions anyone has regarding these higher levels of baclofen use or queries about the side effects please do send me a pm and I should receive an email notification about it.
> 
> best wishes....


Thank you for this post, amazingly helpful guidance, how are you doing by the way?


----------



## springbreeze1

I am currently trying this drug. It seems to be helping me. Need to put myself in social situation to really test it though. Will update on it.


----------



## Sweeto

How much do you take? Whats the onset of action?


----------



## springbreeze1

I took 20 mg. I felt a little sedated, and I think there was some relaxation of muscle. I felt my neck is less tense. I'm trying it now since I have a tense neck rn, and I'll see if it will ease it again. 

As about side effects, it caused a little nausea. But one thing good about it is it didn't interfere with running, quite unlike propranolol, which basically kills running.

Update: a couple hours after taking 20 mg of the drug, I'm not feeling significant effects. The sedation feeling yesterday is mostly gone. It may make me relaxed because I'm not having a stiff neck, but then it's hard to say it's the drug or I just relaxed myself, because I sometimes (may be most of the times) only have stiff neck part of the day.

My body does tend to develop tolerance to drugs. I described this in another thread about propranolol. I had took some diazepam back in college when I had difficulty sleeping. I only just now realized this drug actually belongs to benzo family. Where I came from (China) it's routinely used for sleeping disorder, and could be bought without prescription. I also developed tolerance to it super fast, to the point I stopped after a few times since it's not making me sleepy at all.

More update: I just had a meeting with my supervisor, it's about 6 hours after I took the 20 mg of baclofen, I didn't feel the drug had done anything in term of easing my anxiety. I was quite my usual tense and stiff self. May be it had worn off or I need higher dosage.


----------



## bigfail91

I was prescribed baclofen by my addiction doctor a few days ago. I don't know if it is because of the baclofen or because of the atarax that I'm also taking but I'm experiencing some really positive things already. 

I'm taking 10mg in the morning and 10mg after dinner now for 4 days, then I will take 10 in the morning and 20 with dinner. I'm meeting with my doctor next week so that we can make some kind of plan for the future and since I'm mostly taking it for my addiction, I will probably take fairly big doses in the coming weeks. 

It's no miracle cure, but as soon as a negative thought pops up into my head, I can make it disappear. Before, my thoughts would just spiral out of control and I would start crying. Now, I make them go away before they hurt me. They do still pop up fairly often, but I can make them go away. 

I also noticed that I was weirdly confident talking to strangers today. 

I've only been on baclofen for a few days, but it looks very promising to me.


----------



## Parousia

I read this thread in its entirety and found it fascinating on a number of counts.

First, I have suffered from severe GAD w/ episodes of panic attacks for ca. 26 years. I had absolutely no idea what was happening to me, as I had never even heard of panic attacks or anxiety disorders. This ignorance created the vintage "loop effect" of becoming fearful and further sensitized by the symptoms of anxiety. 

I went an entire decade without medication and experienced suffering that is hard to put into words. I have then had several docs who attempted to cheer it with Paxil, and Xanax (as well as a few other things). Nothing was effective until my family doctor started me on Effexor and Clonozapam (the second as needed). The Effexor was the very first thing that dialed down my fight or flight response and gave me hope. However, I still lived with anxiety pretty much every day, which began to influence how I interacted with people.

I write the above preamble inasmuch as I accidentally stumbled upon Baclofen. I thought you might find my observations helpful. About three years ago I began to experience severe headaches/neck pains that were readily identified as originating in the cervical joints and adjoining muscles. I was prescribed Baclofen by a neurologist to control the muscle spasms. I had tried other muscle relaxants that were okay, but shortly after taking the Baclofen I knew something completely different was taking place. As the daily dosage increased, for the first time in nearly three decades I began to experience a completely unexpected cessation of anxiety. My anxiety can be so severe at times that I experience it even while I sleep and wake up with an anxiety attack.

To the point: at a very specific daily dosage my body was no longer capable (if that is the correct term) of triggering a panic attack. In terms of the ongoing GAD, there was no longer any anxiety present--either day or night. In terms of an analogy, it was as if the Baclofen had reached into my brain and adjusted the idle of my nervous system back down to normal level. I discovered that now that my nervous system was no longer sensitized and was back to what I had known as "normal" nearly 25 year prior, my attitude and patterns of thinking followed and became healthy again. I did not obsess about avoiding people; I began to relate to people and enjoyed going places. Again, this had all been unexpected on my part.

I likewise discovered the hard way that you absolutely cannot stop Baclofen, or even titrate at the rate that a pharmacist or neurologist will recommend. When I needed to try to strength my neck muscles, I ceased taking it as per their instructions. I was met with the most severe anxiety and muscle cramping I had ever encountered. This really scared me and made me rethink taking it at all. After several failed attempts, I researched it enough to find out that the best titration schedule was to reduce by 5mg every seven days. Any faster and you would hurt--bad.

After being off it for several months, I realized that all my previous anxiety was back, arguably even stronger than when I began the Baclofen (that may have been a subjective impression due to an experience of such peace). Consequently, with my neck still needing a muscle relaxer, I resumed the Baclofen. Once again, it completely removed what has been 2.5 decades of severe GAD with occasional panic attacks.

There are some side effects, but they are minimal compared to what it accomplishes.

I have no idea why Baclofen is not used as a front-line drug to bring relief for many who suffer with various forms of anxiety disorders. Nothing I have taken even comes close to its efficacy, and I have yet to build up any tolerance to it.

Hope this note helps some folks. Do bear in mind that attempting to suddenly stop it without a proper taper will not only be hell-on-earth; it is potentially lethal.


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## erosion

Sounds potentially superior to benzos. I do wonder if it would be better than valium, which I'm currently on.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Iwillovercomeanxiety1

Anyone know if Baclofen can be taken everyday without developing much of a tolerance to it's anxiolytic effects?


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## Apexio

Iwillovercomeanxiety1 said:


> Anyone know if Baclofen can be taken everyday without developing much of a tolerance to it's anxiolytic effects?


No, that's not possible. You have to differentiate between the initial effects and the long term benefits. There is tolerance, but some level of anxiolysis will remain over time.


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## Iwillovercomeanxiety1

Apexio said:


> Iwillovercomeanxiety1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Anyone know if Baclofen can be taken everyday without developing much of a tolerance to it's anxiolytic effects?
> 
> 
> 
> No, that's not possible. You have to differentiate between the initial effects and the long term benefits. There is tolerance, but some level of anxiolysis will remain over time.
Click to expand...

So is it a good long term anxiety medication to take if it works for you? It helps me more than any other meds so I'm wondering if I can just take it for good?


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## rew

i want to buy baclofen in the UK but i can only find it on a uk site which then is based in China also after post how much, I bought for £18 for 100 10mg can anyone advise, please


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