Long-term treatment, even after the blood levels have normalized, is necessary. The stored drug in the brain can cause sedation long after the blood levels of the drug are within the normal range. The overall effect is the depression of activity in the brain and spinal cord, which may be responsible for relieving muscle stiffness and tightness. As a depressant, it causes euphoric effects, reduces stress, and can reduce pain sensations. Our writers and reviewers are experienced professionals in medicine, addiction treatment, and healthcare. AddictionResource fact-checks all the information before publishing and uses only credible and trusted sources when citing any medical data.
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Whether you are looking to receive addiction treatment for baclofen or some other substance or mental health issue, Discovery Institute is here to help. To learn more about the addiction treatment services that we provide, contact us today. If you suddenly stop taking baclofen, your muscle spasms may get worse. If you miss your doses or do not take your baclofen as scheduled, it may not work as well as it should.
If you are ready to begin your journey to recovery, please call a caring AAC representative free at to learn more about your treatment options. There are also free drug and alcohol hotline numbers you can contact. Baclofen is absorbed quickly from the gastrointestinal tract, and peak concentration in the bloodstream occurs about 1-3 hours after oral administration of the medication. Baclofen’s half-life is 3-4 hours in plasma, and its shelf life is three years from the date of manufacture. Oral tablets of the medication also contain lactose, pregelatinised maize starch, maize starch, magnesium stearate, and water. Users often develop a tolerance after taking baclofen over an extended period.
Any treatment center receiving calls from the site is a paid advertiser. It is quite clear how important it is to be aware of how to stop taking Baclofen. There is always a possibility of developing severe symptoms when weaning off the drug. Sudden abruption of Lioresal intake can result in organ failure and even death in some cases. Lioresal is a derivative of a naturally occurring GABA neurotransmitter.
People with chronic illnesses or persistent muscle pain are particularly at risk of tolerance—and possibly, misuse. One study found that people using baclofen gradually reduced their cocaine use. Even though baclofen can help in certain addiction treatment programs, it can still be abused. It’s crucial to recognize how to spot baclofen misuse and understand why it’s risky.
If you misuse baclofen while also taking alcohol, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, or other muscle relaxants, it can cause you to experience weakness, dizziness, drowsiness, and imbalance. According to the Electronic Medicines Compendium, you should increase and decrease your dosage of baclofen gradually over time. The action of gradually increasing and decreasing your dosage of medications is called tapering. Not tapering your baclofen dosage could lead to severe side effects.
Baclofen Dosage and Administration
Ask your pharmacist for the device if you do not get one with the medication. Thus, it is evident that baclofen is likely to cause fatal complications in some users. Instead, a boxed warning aims to promote the safe use of powerful drugs. Most notably, the injectable form comes with a boxed warning on the label. Boxed warnings (or black box warnings) inform prescribers about the potentially fatal risks of a prescription drug. The FDA continues to monitor a drug’s safety years after the drug has reached the market.
Mixing Baclofen With Other Medications and Substances
- Patients with hemodynamic instability or significant CNS depression should be admitted to the intensive care unit.
- Patients and their entourage need to be very aware of this issue so they can ensure that baclofen treatment is not abruptly stopped for any reason.
- Increasing the release of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that block electrical activity in the brain and spinal cord.
- If you believe you or someone you love may be struggling with addiction, let us hear your story and help you determine a path to treatment.
- Like other narrative reviews, this review did not follow a specific set ofevidence-based criteria to select or evaluate the included references, potentiallyintroducing bias.
- This means those using the medication to treat withdrawal symptoms should only do so under strict medical supervision.
If you have galactose intolerance, active peptic ulceration, or porphyria, do not take baclofen. If you have severe psychiatric disorders, seizure disorders, sphincter hypertonia, liver disease, or diabetes mellitus, take baclofen with extreme caution. Baclofen may also not be right for you if you are already receiving antihypertensive therapy. More dangerous and severe side effects of baclofen include seizures and difficulty breathing. Many people wonder if baclofen is addictive and if is there such a thing as a baclofen withdrawal. To find out the answer to this question, you must first learn about the different ways that people use and misuse baclofen and the effects that such use and misuse causes.
Addiction Therapy FAQs
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- That way you can receive the 24/7 care that you’ll need to remain sober after treatment is done.
- At United Recovery Project, our holistic approach to addiction treatment centers around addressing and healing the underlying issues at the root of addiction.
- However, it can typically take up to 48 hours for symptoms to occur.
- Anyone who would want to recover from Baclofen addiction should seek help from the United Recovery Project rehab to benefit from customized treatment.
- Often, the user will need additional medication to help the body cope with the changes it experiences through a detoxification program.
- To counterbalance this, your doctor may prescribe you a lower than normal dosage of baclofen to start.
If you have noticed baclofen withdrawal symptoms after baclofen dependence taking the drug for some time, you’ll likely need professional help to detox safely. Professionals will normally recommend a tapering approach, where the user slowly reduces the dose under supervision. This can help reduce the severe withdrawal symptoms that can come with a baclofen detox. Often, the user will need additional medication to help the body cope with the changes it experiences through a detoxification program. As baclofen affects GABA in the brain, the withdrawal timeline can be comparable to alcohol.
Some people will start to feel baclofen withdrawal symptoms within a few hours of their last dose. In other people, the start of withdrawal may take longer to surface and may take up to 48 hours. Baclofen can be addictive, particularly if used for extended periods or at high doses. Addiction often develops when users rely on Baclofen to manage muscle spasms and other conditions but start to use it beyond the prescribed amount. This misuse can lead to physical and psychological dependence, making it challenging to stop without experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
