Baclofen thread

[Saitteld]

hey there all. I was searching information on this medication on the forum but I couldn't find a thread started about this medication so I thought about making one as I have a few questions about it. anything regarding this medication would be appreciated. thoughts, experiences, literature, etc. etc.

 

obviously… the reason why I am interested in it is because I just started to take it. I just got put on this drug due to the fact that I am getting pains in my muscles so I needed a muscle relaxant and the doctor gave me this one. but I can also say that besides pains I have also started to get some kind of spasms as well as a new feeling. it feels pretty much like I am being shocked or something like this.

 

I have been thinking that it is either me who simply did not got used of them or they are just really really strong for me. they are really knocking me out completely. I mean, I did expected and I did knew that they would make me drowsy. I have been warned about this and it was well known. however, the problem is that I did not think that it would make me so bad to reach the point that I am not even able to keep my eyes open anymore. and yeah, that would be all just fine if I would take it right before going to be and I can't keep my eyes open. that's fine since I still need to sleep. but the problem is that it also continues through the morning as well and there's not enough coffee in this world to wake me up or to be able to stop this ""unable to open my eyes stuff"". overall I can say that they do help, however I am simply not able to take them when I am alone at home so yeah - this is quite a problem for me that I would want to avoid. so, is here anybody else who uses this medication as well? do you get the same effects? if yes, how you cope with it? also, does it have this type of effect on absolutely everybody else who takes it? what I can do to avoid this effect? I would want to continue taking it since as I said - it does help, but I just need to get rid of this annoying effect of it. too much sleepiness, too much drowsiness…

 

[Thadestal63]

well.. yes, I did used it but I have taken it some years ago back when I still had lower back problems… thanks god I don't have them anymore (at least, not as bad for me to take meds for it) and so I don't take it anymore. but yeah, I do remember very well that it also made me very drowsy as well and not in a pleasant drowsy kind of way so I perfectly understand you and what you are trying to say. I am not sure if there's a way to "trick" this effect or to avoid getting it while you still take the meds… I doubt about that but one good news for you is that I remember that after a while it has gotten a little bit better. I mean, this drowsiness wasn't so severe anymore. I assume that it is because of the fact that your body is getting used to the medication. I think that the same would happen to you as well. but anyway, even so I have ended up changing around medications (muscle relaxants drugs) until the moment that I have tried carisoprodol. that's because I have tried it and then later I have noticed that this one is the drug that most agree with my body type and chemistry. I'm not trying to say that carisoprodol is the best one out there of them all, what I am trying to say is that it has been the best one personally for me. it might be for you too, but it might not. like for example I also remember that personally for me Flexeril has been the absolutely worst of all the rest that I have tried, however it might turn out to be the best for you. at least, I did met people saying that Flexeril is much better working for them especially compared to carisoprodol. people are different and react differently on drugs. Flexeril made me feeling really "spacey" and "out of me" in not a good kind of way. plus it didn't worked so well as a muscle relaxant. what I'm trying to say here is that you should be trying out different muscle relaxants until you would find the perfect one for you. as for baclofen itself - I doubt you can do anything with its drowsiness - only after some time this effect would diminish a bit. 

 

[Saitteld]

hi there. I absolutely do not mind sleeping at all, however there is absolutely no way that I can take them without somebody being here so that is quite a problem if you ask me. I mean… I am not sure if you understand me correctly but what I am trying to say is that I'm completely unable to keep my eyes open. it's like they are closing themselves and I can't even feel it. very often I've fallen asleep without realizing that I do and as an example I can tell you that I woke up on the recliner with a water still in my hand. after that I came upstairs to my bed and I have woken up when the alarm have went off hanging off the bed. well… I am not sure, maybe you are right and maybe with time it is going to pass, maybe this effect would indeed diminish as I really hope that it will. but this is going to happen only after I am going to get used to them, however until then I would need to be this way and I doubt that I can wait that long so if it is going to remain this way then I might need to switch medications. I can't fall asleep whenever and wherever. it is not only the fact that this is, obviously, not normal, but this might be even dangerous as I might fall off of something or do whatever else.

 

[22bruce22]

well… have you tried to lower the dosage? have you discussed about this with your doctor? are there any chances that you can get a lower dose and still get some relief from your muscle pains? yeah, you do sound like you need help as it does not sound to me like you are in a workable situation right now. falling asleep like that definitely can be dangerous but as much as I can understand - you are not functional at all, isn't it? so yeah, try to get a bit of help here, professional help if you can. 

 

[nevery2014]

hi Saitteld, how it is going? one more days passed, did it get a bit better? generally, are you still using the Baclofen or decided not to anymore? I do know what you are talking up there because I have also been given a trial on this medication so I perfectly understand you and what you want to tell us. exactly as you, it knocked me out cold as well so I doubt that you can do anything about it. my dosage on this medication has been reduced to 5 mg and then very and very slowly titrated up, higher and higher but to no avail. that's because, sadly, it did not really help with my spasms, it wasn't enough effective. so taking all of that in consideration it is obvious that I needed to search for something else as I couldn't take it anymore.

 

obviously I don't know what dosage you are on right now, however maybe you could cut it in half and then slowly increase it to see how it would work on your this way? I assume that it might be helpful, at least a little bit. but yeah, you should know that sedation, in fact, it is a very common side effect of this medication so don't worry, you are surely not the only one experiencing this. I wish you good luck and take care

 

[Summy]

well, at least it does work for you and trust me I am very happy that it does work for you. that's already a good thing when you can get rid of the pains and sleep normally. when the rheumy has put me on this medication (got the instructions of taking 20 mg of it 3 times per day) it has been feeling pretty much like I have been using some kind of a fake medication that is coming from India or something in this matter. I am honest, it was feeling absolutely like nothing. when I was using it I have been like : WTF is with this medication? I mean - taking "supposedly" a strong medication like this and nothing that wasn't normal. when I saw that it didn't gave me any effects I have experimented and I have taken 3 of them at a time in order to see if I am going to have any effects at all and still - nothing at all. that was extremely strange for me.

 

and yeah, also, exactly as Thadestal63 has said it up there - the flexeril (which in my opinion it is rotten devil's little medication) is the worst of them all. I remember very well that while I have been taking it I was all hammered, I have been all drugged out…. embarrassing but with all of that, it has also been doing absolutely nothing at all for my medication. I mean, in the time it made me feel bad - it didn't even taken care of the pains.

 

all of those medications that "they" are making so hard for people in order to get their every day life back, to have their good health condition again etc. etc. in fact, to be honest, it is blowin' my mind that this medication Flexeril it is still there and it is still being sold. I am shocked to see that it still exists in general. it worked so bad for me that I would put it in the box of "dangerous stuff".

 

[Texplass]

so well, I have only used beclofen one time in my life and I remember it very well but I have literally threw the rest of the vial out then. I can't take it and I won't ever try to take it either. I remember that I have been given this one by an ER doctor a couple of years ago when I have been moving and my back went out so I have been having some very and very severe spasms in my back. ER doc thought that baclofen would deal with it. the fact that this medication puts you in a complete drowsiness is without any questions. but besides the fact that this one single pill has completely knocked me out sending me in the la la sleep land, I also was not able to walk for a while after I woke up and I couldn't even talk normally. one single pill made me black out and it limited my basic functions such as walking and talking. I remember that I have taken it and then my muscles has turned into some wet noodles, into yogurt. yeah, it did the job as the spasms have been gone then, however crawling like that is surely not my way of transportation so I just need something more balanced. I think that one should take this medication on a day when you literally want to watch TV your entire day. when you don't need your legs. when you don't need movements.

 

but yeah, there's also my sister who is taking this medication either, she takes it for her neuropathy and initially it seemed to be such an horrific drug for her, however then she has went through an adjustment period to where the side effects are currently minimal and she is able to take it. hope you're going to find the dosage that you work for you well. or maybe just plainly another muscle relaxer that would work much better for you. good luck and stay safe

 

[Saitteld]

hey there everyone, thanks to each one of you who have responded to my post, I really appreciate this and that you took your time for helping me out. thanks to all of you! also, nevery2014, I need to tell that mine it is a higher dose than yours and I can say that it does seem to be helpful with my left arm, however it is not really that helpful with those very bad spasms or the shock feeling that I am getting and this is annoying. I am only thinking that I am having a high tolerance to the medications and the first 2 nights it has knocked me out completely. now I am going to make an appointment with my GP and I am going to check if I am able to get another steroid/cortisone shot again. it really did have worked very great for my right arm, however I just don't know if he is going to do another shot or not?! I just can say that I do know that my arms are having tears in my muscles from picking up my daughter so much and so often, so now I just can guess that I am going to wait and see what he is going to decide. it is obvious that I am going to tell him everything what I said here and what I know and I hope that by saying everything he would decide something good for me. 

 

[Suffes]

so well… about baclofen medication… hmmm… just… look… very well, I am currently on it and I am taking 200 mg of it a day. do not gasp as it is off label.. prescribed, and being used as an anti craving medication now.

 

I have seen someone mentioning that you need to titrate it up slowly but I can say that this is generally a drug that MUST be titrated slowly - that's the best way to deal with it. 80 mg of it - that's normally the highest level dosage, but it is also quite often being used at this dosage and also higher for some ALS patients. quite often they are going on a pump either. as each one of you who tried it and posted here has already noticed this (and I understand that this thread is about this) - baclofen is able to cause extreme somnolence indeed (daytime sleepiness) and it also can actually cause insomnia during the night. these are all the issues that I have dealt with over the years while I have been on it and trying to deal with these side effects. this medication is not really helpful much for my muscles, however it is for my severe spasms that I am getting, in fact, this is what it is mainly and primarily being used and prescribed for - spasms!

 

remember that in case you decide to go up in your dosage with this medication then under any circumstances it should not exceed the dosage of 20 mg per week. that's the absolute maximum, however I personally suggest you to keep it under the 10 mg or max. 10 mg per week. but even if keep it at this dosage level then even then you can expect to have side effects so that’s why I would say to keep it lower (I just know that sometimes it is impossible to keep it lower). however, there is one good side effect from this medication (at least one, LOL), and it is that it can help and usually it does help with the anxiety as well. I am a fellow anxiety sufferer and I have noticed that it has seriously changed me since I am using it. it has been really strange, as soon as I have been up there with my dosage I have started to notice myself thinking inwardly… wow, frankly, I would have never been so comfortable with that last conversation… it is as strange as it is. besides this all, this medication really can help with sleep (I have even seen people without muscle pains taking it, just for their insomnia - something that I wouldn't recommend anyone to do), but once again, it can have the opposite effects as well.

 

I think that it is important to mention the fact that this is also a gaba B agonist. interestingly, it is sharing some of the properties with the GHB. Phenibut it is also a OTC gaba B agonist either. I can tell you that you should be very careful with this medication Phenibut because if you won't - you might end up being in a bad situation. I should tell you that it is dangerous and there are some who are using it for anxiety and for sleep which is very much like baclofen.

 

next thing is that in case you want to stop on using baclofen and you are at a dosage which is over, let's say 20 mg per day, then please, do it very slowly and titrate it down slowly until you're going to reach a very low dosage before going off of it. trust me that's the best way to get off of it because at higher doses dropping off it is able to cause some seizures, hallucinations as well as some other problems either, lots of other problems. well, so unless you want to get that sort of things into your life then I suggest you to do it very slowly. just in case you are going to need to use say more than 10 mg per day then I would recommend you to space your doses out. that would be better for you. however, at 20 mg, most likely would be 10 mg 2 times per day. and so it is going up from there on. I personally need to use it 4 times per day which is a lot. I have been gathering all this information a lot of time because as I said, I am on this med for quite a good while now. so in case there's anybody who would want to get some more information about this medication then you should PM me. I will be glad to help. best wishes.