Bad experience with baclofen

[boulder]

Thought I'd add a cautionary word about baclofen from my own very recent experience. I just tried it and had to stop after less than two weeks because of worsening chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome symptoms, temporary inability to urinate, powerful nightmares and senses of nausea, confusion, fear, and sadness- all of which started 2 days after increasing my dosage to 20mg 3xday. Of course every patient is different, baclofen just turned out to be a bad choice for me. But I guess I wouldn't have known unless I'd tried it. I am now taking a "benzo (benzodiazepine) weekend" while waiting for the baclofen to leave my system and any possible withdrawal effect to stop. So I hope folks trying baclofen will increase their dosages slowly, stay in very close contact with their doctors, mental health professionals, friends, family, etc. Most people don't have these kinds of problems with baclofen, but y'know, please play it safe out there guys. This medication can be serious business.

I'd be curious to know if anyone else has had similar experiences with baclofen, or if anybody has any theories to share about why baclofen can have this effect (I think I may have had a "paradoxical reaction" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxical_reaction to it)

PS: Before baclofen I tried phenibut (another GABA B agonist) for over 2 weeks. Phenibut may have given me some very slight symptom relief, but it produced nausea which I found intolerable.

[boulder]

By the way, I certainly don't mean to worry folks, I think mine was a very unusual case. Just thought I'd mention it because I think people are unware (I know I was). From the web:

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/baclofen-side-effects.html

Neuropsychiatric: Confusion (1 to 11%), headache (4 to 8%), insomnia (2 to 7%); and, rarely, euphoria, excitement, depression, hallucinations, paresthesia, muscle pain, tinnitus, slurred speech, coordination disorder, tremor, rigidity, dystonia, ataxia, blurred vision, nystagmus, strabismus, miosis, mydriasis, diplopia, dysarthria, epileptic seizure.

http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-8615-Ba ... lofen+Oral (click on "side effects")

Tell your doctor immediately if ... these unlikely but serious side effects occur: mental/mood changes (e.g., confusion, depression, hallucinations)

The first site notes that problems urinating are common, and inability to urinate (while not common) is severe and requires immediate medical attention. However, the second site mentions this:

Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

In the end, I'm sorry I reacted so badly to baclofen, but I guess I don't have to regret not being able to use it, as it didn't have any positive effect on my chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome symptoms. I would have felt much worse if I'd had to give up taking a drug that was doing something good for me!

[Hacksquat]

Ok, thanks for the warning.

I was prescribed 3x10mg/day. My GP knew nothing about possible effects or sides for that matter, he had almost never prescribed this medicine before (and most certainly never for CP/CPPS).

About possible effects from it, does it need to be used for a prolonged period of time to see any muscle relaxant effects, or is it immediate? (I was prescribed 50 tabs, that is ~ 2 weeks for evaluation).

[boulder]

Ok, thanks for the warning.

My pleasure!

My GP ... had almost never prescribed this medicine before (and most certainly never for CP/CPPS).

My GP had experience with baclofen as a treatment for some form of severe spasticity(?) while a resident at a hospital, but he had never prescribed it before in private practice. Turns out he was very wise to keep close watch on me.

About possible effects from it, does it need to be used for a prolonged period of time to see any muscle relaxant effects, or is it immediate? (I was prescribed 50 tabs, that is ~ 2 weeks for evaluation).

I can't really answer that question, but I can say A) definitely follow the advice of medical professionals and stay in close contact with them and B) I did read several places that one can expect to begin to experience the effects of baclofen 3-5 days after reaching a sufficient dose. I've read some things that say you need to be on it for 2 months to get maximum benefit. But the short answer is no, I don't believe you should expect to feel immediate relief.

[boulder]

(BTW, moderators, please feel free to bump this to the treatments-muscle relaxation category. I probably should have put it over there in the first place.)

[Luxemburger1977]

Of course every patient is different, baclofen just turned out to be a bad choice for me. But I guess I wouldn't have known unless I'd tried it. I am now taking a "benzo (benzodiazepine) weekend" while waiting for the baclofen to leave my system and any possible withdrawal effect to stop.

Hi webslave, hi all,
Anyone else experienced baclofen since this post about a bad experience with it?

I could actually soon be going just the other way and give baclofen a try to kill two birds with one stone: make benzodiazepine withdrawal somewhat easier (like with alcohol, this use is only being investigated at the moment) and use it as a muscle relaxant to make all remaining symptoms somewhat more manageable.

Was just offered to try out mirtazapine for sleep. First night, first 15mg pill, 4 hours sleep only, but still able to get some sleep after being awake for a few hours