Pagoclone results publishes

[bebop]

The dopamine drugs might work on mild stutterers but moving up the severity levels, anxiety and muscle tension could be the least of the worries. As I read, some stutter in their minds so I don't think any kind of over-the-counter prescription can aid with that. Unless a person wants to be sedated and not use their brain anymore.

Problems lie deeper than just a physical reaction.

[Otorongo]

From what I've gathered, PWS have heightened dopamine levels in a very specific area of their brains. Drugs like Xanax lower the *general* dopamine levels (more or less), including the dopamine levels in this specific area, and as a result improve stuttering, but that's a very non-selective mode of action. It does what you want, but it also does many things you don't want. This puts a limit on the dose you could possibly take and not suffer from the side effects too much.

[Ryojin]

Simply treating the dopamine-effected areas may or may not "cure" stuttering, but I think you're right when you say a big part of it is anxiety. I'm actually noticing that taking 5-htp every night is helping my anxiety, which in turn makes me more comfortable with speaking, even if I stutter. Anyway, my interest in nootropics isn't all for my stutter-related concerns though, I'm actually curious about some of the [positive] effects certain smart drugs can have on you. By the way, urbanmermaid you're so cute

[urbanmermaid]

Originally Posted by bebop

The dopamine drugs might work on mild stutterers but moving up the severity levels, anxiety and muscle tension could be the least of the worries. As I read, some stutter in their minds so I don't think any kind of over-the-counter prescription can aid with that. Unless a person wants to be sedated and not use their brain anymore.

Problems lie deeper than just a physical reaction.

I think that anxiety is the main cause of my stutter and that's why I've had really good results with xanax. I want a break and maybe try something different though.
I'm not sure you can really stutter even in your mind, that seems a bit extreme :P .. I never stutter when i whisper, sing, read aloud when I'm alone etc. but I guess it's the same with most people :P

[Otorongo]

Originally Posted by urbanmermaid

I'm not sure you can really stutter even in your mind, that seems a bit extreme :P .. I never stutter when i whisper, sing, read aloud when I'm alone etc. but I guess it's the same with most people :P

I'm more fluent when I sing aloud than when I "speak" in my mind.

[Ryojin]

Yes! Singing does make me fluent and I love it. I really don't sing enough. ;] I'm also very fluent when alone. When I speak in my mind my speech is perfect... too bad it doesn't translate without error. Sometimes my fluency increases when I'm mad or have an adrenaline rush, then again sometimes not--- I'd really like to think into this more and maybe come up with some theories. I posted about the Picamilon (ontop of some other things) in my thread by the way. I'll continue to use it and keep you posted. Ciao.

[Burt Not Quite The Second]

Interesting to see those results. But they look quite disappointing. A 20% % reduction of stuttered syllables, that's not even going to change the impression of severity of one's stutter. And compared to 8% on the placebo, ... this leaves only a 10ish percent.
It's certainly better than nothing, and I reckon that there will be the ones for whom it could make the difference. But It's far from the original hopes.

What I have to say though is that it is refreshing to see that those results are published in a scientific, fair and honest way. If there is one source of hope in all this, it's the fact that the guys who do that work are serious, dedicated and honest.

[MarkB]

It's reasonable to expect that the effects will vary quite a bit from person to person. As a result, it may be a godsend to some, and no help to others. If so, they there won't be much harm in trying it for a while. The results don't sound particularly impressive, but then I wouldn't expect a single drug to have a dramatic result. If you add the drug to the effects of therapy, then it might be a big help. If you treat it like an antibiotic, it may not help much at all - no pain, little gain.

[Holger Stenzel]

A report from thestutteringbrain.com:

"I consulted Dr.Maguire for my stuttering and he put me on Abilify and then Geodone and both reduced my stutter by about 40% or so.
I'm in Pagoclone trials and now am in open label phase. I can sense good improvement in my speech. There are days when I'm about 80-90% fluent but on average my speech has improved about 60-70%.
Like everybody else I'm anxiously waiting for results of Pagoclone trials."

[zion]

I'm really quite new to this subject, and am far less adequate to speak of medicine, treatments for stuttering and all, but just a general thought - placebo effect is a common thing. Though we're not talking Top Shop TV pills that cure death and bad breath, still many people tend to believe they feel better. They even believe to such extent that they physically get well, or in this case possibly even reduce stuttering.

It's something to keep in mind, of course it's so very far from a bad thing, I'd just love having Tic-Tac's as my prescribed medicine without knowing it, and if my brain figures it should heal my stuttering and actually drops it by even 10%, that's a big progress. It's known that the human mind actually has self-diagnosis and self-healing mechanism that are controlled by sheer power of will, but that's already deep meditation/yogi material and rarely accessible to us "mortals" as it would take decades of solitary and contemplating, focus etc

That alone would probably fix the stutter, without even achieving a higher state of mind or gaining control of your body on a cellular level to heal it