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Baclofen
The Baclofen 4 Alcoholism site is for the public.
It is not primarily aimed at doctors and other health care professionals. I'm developing another web site for that.
This site is for people taking Baclofen. It is for those contemplating using Baclofen or about to start Baclofen. And, just as importantly, it is for those who care for someone in any of those groups. The following is therefore intended to be understood by them. If it is not understood by them, then there is no point in the page. But it is important that they do all understand to some degree. Why?
- because Baclofen tablets are not sweeties or candy. They are 'proper' medicines with effects, associations and side-effects / complications;
- because a large proportion of users will be self-prescribing;
- because its use in chronic alcoholism requires much higher doses than is usual in routine medical practice;
- because very few doctors have even heard of its potential value in chronic alcoholism - if you have a problem and go to A&E / ER, they will probably not have a clue what you are talking about;
- because almost all doctors will never have even heard of using it in these doses, and will assume that it is dangerous and shouldn't be done ever;
- because the mechanism of action of Baclofen (ie how it does its job) requires altering your brain chemistry (ie how your brain does its job);
- because buying from on-line pharmacies means that you really do not know precisely what you are buying. You may suffer side effects that are nothing to do with 'pure' Baclofen. These complications might be wholly a result of what the Baclofen has been 'cut' with. You must be able to, at least, recognise this possibility;
Still with me? Good. Because it is important.
Next, a few definitions. Now, don't go to sleep. Everything that I am putting down, I am putting for a precise reason, that I believe will make you and those around you better 'Baclofen Users'. Firstly, doctors and scientists are great at making up long names for things that could otherwise be explained easily. It's partly them surrounding their specialty with mystery; but it's mostly a form of very sophisticated shorthand. If I wanted to try to tell a colleague that an injury had torn the long muscle on the liitle finger side of the forearm that makes the fingers bend in towards the palm, it would take all day, and even then he might get it wrong. A full thickness tear of flexor carpi ulnaris means the same to medics all over the world, and has done for centuries.
- a 'drug' is any substance that, when administered into the body by any route, produces an effect that is measurable. Consequently, food most definitely is a drug, so Baclofen must be too;
- 'self-prescribing' means that, essentially you have become your own physician (prescriber) and pharmacist (dispenser). It takes at least five years after leaving medical school to become a competent physician, and as many years to become a registered pharmacist. Have I made my point?
- 'Neurotransmitters' - your neuromuscular system consists of your nervous system and your muscles. Your nervous system consists of the central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord) and your peripheral nervous system (nerves to your organs and muscles). Next, imagine you are setting up an electric model train set. You have to plug it into the mains source (central nervous system). At the end of that lead, you might have a relay box, into which you plug another lead (peripheral nervous system). This then connects to the train itself (muscles). In this system, all the bits are physically connected, so that the electricity can pass from one component to the other easily. This is not the case here. In between all the component bits is a really really tiny gap. For the electricity in one to pass to the next, it needs a minute bit of a chemical to be shot across that small gap from one to the other. This chemical is the Neurotransmitter. Why such a daft complicated system? Good question. And this is where it gets important. It is because some chemicals make the train go one way. Others make it go the other. Some might make it not go at all. And some might make it do really crazy things. Is it beginning to make sense now?
- Agonists make the train do what nature intended. Antagonists either make it go the other way, or stop it dead on its tracks;
- Inhibitors tend to reduce the 'excitability' of the process they are controlling.
- Stimulators tend to 'fire up' the process that they are controlling;
- GABA is a neurotransmitter. It is the major inhibitor in our central nervous system; calming the system down and reducing muscle tone;
- Baclofen is an analogue of GABA. It is therefore an agonist of GABA;
- Analogue means that scientists have made a drug in a laboratory that does similar things in the body that the natural chemical does. Baclofen is a synthetic analogue of GABA;
- Indications are the diseases that doctors use a drug for;
- Contra-indications or Cautions are diseases that mean a drug probably should NOT be used with;
- Associations are often relatively harmless symptoms and physical signs that almost routinely occur with a particular drug;
- Side effects are more serious problems that a drug can cause;
- Interactions are often serious problems that arise if one drug is taken alongside a specific other drug. This is such an important topic that I have included a specific interactions section -click here;
- Tolerance means that the good effects of the drug tend to wear off with time, and larger doses are required to maintain the good result;
- Dependence means that the taker of the drug is unable to stop taking the drug without unpleasant side effects
So, Baclofen has been deliberately made by scientists to mimic the actions of GABA, so that doctors can use it on patients to calm down their central nervous systems, and relax their muscles. And this simple drug has been doing this successfully and safely in millions of patients for decades.
Consequently, doctors have been using it in medical conditions (normally neurological diseases) where the muscles become too tight and rigid (or spastic, as medics call it). Diseases such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy all come to mind.
It was originally developed as a treatment for epilepsy, but it really wasn't very good for that series of conditions. It is used for other more esoteric conditions, including hiccups, but it is with muscle spasm that it is most associated.
The really good news was that, after probably seven decades of experience with it, Baclofen does not appear to result in any problems with dependency or tolerance like so many other 'brain chemistry' altering drugs do.
Still with me? Excellent.
As with many drugs, over the years, some doctors extend the indications for their use. This often occurs through sheer luck. For example, maybe an alcoholic patient with muscle spasms is prescribed Baclofen. His muscles lose their spasticity and become relaxed. However, he also notes that his alcohol cravings seem to have gone too.
A really good example is Minoxidil, the stuff men (and a few women) spray or rub into their scalp to reverse baldness. It was actually invented as a treatment for high blood pressure. When it was trialed, it did reduce blood pressure, but the patients also noticed that their hair started to grow back. So, that is what it became the treatment for.
You get the idea.
Very often, one maverick practitioner might go out on a limb and try something unexpected, and hit upon the Holy Grail.
That is roughly how we have got to the stage we are now at.
Whenever you look up any drug in a doctor's encyclopaedia of drugs (called a formulary), it is always laid out roughly as follows - this one is for Baclofen.
You simply MUST read this formulary
if you are considering self-prescribing Baclofen
So far, so good.
We have seen that Baclofen is an agonist analogue of GABA, acting as an inhibitor of the central nervous system and reducing muscle tone. It is a long established, very safe medicine that does exactly what it is meant to do, and without generating any significant dependence or tolerance in its takers, and with very few significant side effects. It does interact with a few other medicines, but with few dangerous side effects. Further, there are very few people for whom it would not be entirely safe to take it.
Perfect.
But ............... There's always a 'but'.
The use of Baclofen in chronic alcoholism is a little bit different.
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Isn't it time for you to let a little bit of peace into your own life, and into the lives of the ones who care so much about you, and deep down you love just as much? |
Baclofen 4 Alcoholism - as simple as A - B - C
Alcoholism + Baclofen = Cure |
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