Baclofen for Alcoholism

Are your family and friends baffled as to why you can't control your alcohol intake once you have started to drink? Have you tried to stop or cut down before and failed? Promised your partner and kids you'll quit? Vowed never to drink again? Tried AA? Done all the steps to the best of your ability and still drank again?

With a success rate in Alcoholics Anonymous of anywhere from 5-10% that's not surprising. Apparently alcoholics of our type are doomed unless we live a religiously 12 step life. The 12 steps is a guide to achieving sobriety and they believe once an Alcoholic always an Alcoholic. This is a quote from the Big Book of AA:

"We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men. We have tried every imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn’t done so yet."

Well. Some believe, with good reason as we shall see that science accomplished this about 50 years ago when they invented Baclofen to treat muscle spasms in people with MS and other diseases involving muscle spasms. It wasn't until Dr Ameison a Cardiologist and Alcoholic tested high dose Baclofen on himself that it became known as a drug effective for the suppression of cravings for alcohol and other drugs of addiction.

Baclofen, also known as Kemstro, Lioresal, Liofen, Gablofen, Lyflex, Beklo and Baclosan is a drug originally developed for treating epilepsy. It was synthesized for the first time in Ciba-Geigy by the Swiss Chemist Heinrich Keberle in 1962. It's efficacy in treating epilepsy was minimal, however it did result in relieving the muscle spasms of some patients.

More recently it has been espoused as a wonder drug in the treatment of Alcoholism. A few studies have been done with one French study currently underway and due for completion in Febuary 2015.

The anecdotal evidence however is most convincing with personal testimonies coming at an ever increasing rate. The words miracle, wonder drug and cure are frequently used by grateful Alcoholics who have found freedom from bondage and a new way of living.

There is also some evidence that it works for other addictions including Amphetamines, Cocaine, Eating Disorders and even Compulsive Shopping.

Dr Ameison a cardiac specialist addicted to alcohol for 10 years is widely credited with having introduced Baclofen as a cure for Alcoholism, however the story began before Ameisen tested high dose baclofen on himself 12 years ago; it began with a researcher called Dr. Dave Roberts in a Carleton University lab during the late 90s. Roberts says it was a student of his who suggested they look into the possibility that baclofen might help fight addiction, but he says they

“had no theoretical axe to grind, we were just throwing all the drugs in the cabinet at the problem to see what might work.”

They realized they had hit something with their stab in the dark when they started to test the effects of baclofen in cocaine addicted mice. The mice on baclofen no longer had the drive to seek out a hit of cocaine compared to the mice not given a dose of baclofen. Similar results have been obtained with other drugs of addiction.

Dr Olivier Ameison claims that Baclofen relieves anxiety and drastically reduces the craving for alcohol; two of the main reasons people constantly relapse and ultimately fail in their quest for sobriety. It acts directly on that part of the brain that controls one of the major pathways in the regulation of the reinforcing properties of drugs of addiction.

Ameison wrote a book called The End Of My Addiction in which he describes his experiences. See an interview with Dr Ameison below.

I have been a daily drinker for almost 30 yrs and tried many ways to quit including a Naltrexone implant, Acamprosate, Antabuse and several stints in rehab. Alcohol was my medication, my wife and my best friend. I used it when I was happy, sad, lonely, depressed and for everything else in my life that needed fixing; and it worked very well: short term, so I had to use over and over again, to the detriment of everything truly good and worth having in a life well lived.

It eroded my self esteem......

After 2 days of taking baclofen I felt the switch effect and became totally indifferent towards alcohol; something that I had not experienced for almost 30 yrs. I can even have a couple of beers on social occasions without the addiction kicking in like it used to. I now react to alcohol like any normal person. Baclofen has filled the void and I now have no desire whatsoever to fill it with alcohol. I would even say that baclofen saved my life!

If like me, you or one of your friends or loved ones has tried everything to stop drinking to no avail then now is the time to act. As The Big Book of AA states to continue drinking will lead to one of three places, jails, institutions or death. Baclofen could save the life of you or someone you love, but more than that it can give you the life you've always dreamed of.

For more information on baclofen visit: Baclofen-The Magic Molecule.