Long Term Effects Of Baclofen Abuse

My sister has been using Baclofen to self medicate. She has overused the drug so much that she now hallucinates and is paranoid. She has been in and out of rehabs and psych units. What is the long term effect of this medication? I am afraid that it has put her over the edge. Please advise.

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Hello Debbie,

Overuse of Baclofen can lead to numerous side effects, many of which can be dangerous. It's critical to restrict the intake of Baclofen to 80 mg per day (maximum for an adult).

Hallucinations are typically not a result of overdose, but rather from abruptly discontinuing the medication. You should never immediately stop Baclofen intake.

Instead, you need to gradually taper down the intake of Baclofen and then discontinue it. For instance, if the medication is stopped one day and the last dosage was 50 mg, withdrawal symptoms, such as hallucinations, will likely occur.

To avoid this, make sure the medication is reduced to 40 mg a day for a week, then 30 mg a day for the following week. Over a period of about a month, she should be down to consuming 5 mg per day. Attempting to stop at that point should result in fewer withdrawal symptoms, and she should be fine.

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Long-term abuse of any substance creates the possibility of us doing some type of permanent damage to our bodies, it doesn't take much to throw off our delicate chemical balance with regular, prescribed use of medications, so abusing something definitely increases the risk.

The FDA warns that Baclofen may cause side effects, such as nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, and drowsiness.

Ref: Baclofen Information

How much has she been taking?

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