baclofen

[Guest]

baclofen

Theme2be

Wonderful prose, such immense feeling and sincerity really touched my heart and my creative soul spirit.

You have spoken for me too, when I have found so much hope, love and support here with all of you very kind people. Thank you for sending that message, you spoke so well for many of us.

The very best to you. :happyheart::happyheart::happyheart:

[bloggy]

baclofen

I have decided to forgo the nal for the time being and only take Baclofen.

I am very very grateful to Drs. Sinclair and Eskapa and Naltrexone, because thanks to them my drinking is now within tolerable levels- I lead an almost normal life again. However I am still drinking, and I want this monkey of my back for good. I have carried him around far too long.

I took 10mg of Baclofen before bed last night, and I had the most wonderful sleep, yet I have woken this morning bright and early and wide awake.

I will take my first 5mg at around 10am, another 5mg around 3pm and was planning on having 10mg around 7pm which is when I would normally probably have a beer.

What about if those of us who are just starting all begin a separate thread eg "Marbella's Progress on Baclofen" and posted our stories on our individual thread? That way for any new people coming along who want to try it it is easy to see how each individual is doing- we did that at the Sinclair board and it worked very well.

[startingover]

baclofen

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say what a great thread this is.
I dont take meds but I am very interested in how the ones out there work.
I am hoping to work in the addiction field in the future and knowing all these ways to reduce or stop drinking are a very important weapon in the sobriety arsenal.
Marby, I think a progress thread is a great idea.

[bloggy]

baclofen

startingover;624409 wrote: Hi everyone, I just wanted to say what a great thread this is.
I dont take meds but I am very interested in how the ones out there work.
I am hoping to work in the addiction field in the future and knowing all these ways to reduce or stop drinking are a very important weapon in the sobriety arsenal.
Marby, I think a progress thread is a great idea.

I will start mine tomorrow- it helps people make choices about the treatment they want to follow without having to read 5000 threads

[Cinders]

baclofen

I just received info that my order was shipped.

They say 12 to 21 business days.

I am going to be patient and read each and everyone of your posts about your experience.

Boy, Zen, the last time I put a bottle away would have been a few years ago. I can't even recall having a bottle with something left in it.

I will try to stay AF until the Bac gets here, though. It is my goal. To be AF.

Love,
Cindi

[bloggy]

baclofen

I have taken 2 lots of 5 mg so far today and have no tiredness, so for my third dose at 7pm I will take 10mg. I feel nice and calm today- I don't know if that is because of the Baclofen or if up till now there have not been any major mishaps!

Am a little bit nervous about not taking the nal- at least I know after nal three drinks is the max I can manage- I am hoping that I will not even want one- I certainly don't feel like drinking at the moment, but my witching hour usually starts in a few hours time- I hope I don't get one!!
I know I probably will, after all I need to get to a higher dosage for the cravings to go completely as I understand it.

Cinders- it seems many people get their order before the 12 days, I will say a prayer that yours arrives quickly.

[Chilipepper]

baclofen

Baclofen may be the new wonder drug for alcohol addiction, even though it's been around as a muscle relaxer for a long time. I've heard that it is also very effective in preventing alcohol withdrawals. Has anyone had experience with that? If so, what dosage did you use - similiar to what Bill P. uses to prevent cravings?

[Guest]

baclofen

UHHH!!!! I keep typing and lossing my posts! Hello anyway, I shall try later!lanter:

[Guest]

baclofen

Oh the dose Bill.P. said is: your weight x .45 mg per day....

Please refer to next post, BE CAUTIOUS and start at at low dose. 5mg 3 x day is recommended.

[billyb]

baclofen

Hi All, just thought I would pop in to tell my experience with baclofen. It's quite similar to the other Bill's experience.

I started out back in January, after picking up a copy of the book and going through all the relevant pubmed literature to make sure I knew what I was getting in to.

I began at 30mg a day, and steadily increased to 125mg (I switched to 25mg pills half-way through). At 150mg, round about the beginning of March, I felt the "click." Alcohol suddenly became purely optional for me (I had been drinking the entire time I was on baclofen, and although the craving had been decreasing somewhat as I increased the dose, it wasn't until 150mg that I suddenly didn't have any craving).

Shortly after the "click" I went to 2 separate dinner parties with friends. At the first, I had a single glass of wine, with no desire to drink another. At the second party, I had a glass of wine, and I actually forgot about it, only drinking half of the glass - my wife told me on the way home with tears in her eyes that it was the first time she'd ever seen me completely indifferent to alcohol.

I went from a daily dependency of 6-8 drinks MINIMUM every night (often significantly more), to having a single drink maybe 2 times a week. I never have the desire to drink a second glass, and the first glass is never out of craving - it is usually a social situation in which a refusal would draw attention to itself.

Baclofen doesn't induce craving for baclofen itself, either. Which means it is easy to start reducing the dosage when you feel it is appropriate. I am now down to 100mg a day.

A couple hints: First, Ameisen himself describes finding a good dose level, but then allowing for an extra supplementary dose on days of increased craving. He used 40mg in case of increased craving. I use 25mg additional when needed, and it always works very nicely.

Second, I also found it very useful to adjust my dose throughout the day for when the cravings are usually strongest. So, instead of three equal doses at mealtimes, I would take 25mg at 11:00, 50mg at 4:00, and 25mg at 9:00. This is because the 5:00 drive home had always been the high-point of my craving, so taking the largest dose an hour before then was most effective for me.

[billyb]

baclofen

oceanaocean;624836 wrote: Oh the dose Bill.P. said is: your weight x .45 mg per day....

careful: that dose is what you might eventually wind up at, definitely NOT a dose for withdrawal symptoms. You need to slowly work up to a dose that large, or else you risk overdose. I would not go over 10mg, three times a day, for withdrawal symptoms.

Also, please everyone be very careful with baclofen. Yes, it is safe in larger doses up to 300mg, but there is a risk of very severe, life-threatening side-effects if you suddenly stop taking the drug (convulsions, psychosis, multi-organ failure - the works). True this is pretty rare and is usually associated with a different delivery method for the drug, but it is also a very real danger, so you must make sure that you slowly taper off baclofen if you wish to discontinue.

[Guest]

baclofen

Yes, you must carefully work up to the formula dose, I myself started at 5 mgs 3 x per day. Thanks billy for the clarification. The formula dose is the place one may find optimum anti-craving as per Bill.P's formula.:happyheart::happyheart::happyheart:

[billyb]

baclofen

no problem.

Also, sorry for registering with a name so similar to Bill P. - I don't intend to confuse, as we are very different people (even if our experiences with this particular drug are similar).

By the way, I also think that the .45mg x body weight might be a bit too schematic. Ameisen went all the way to 270mg, and he is pretty trim. I think a better method (the one he recommends and the one that people generally use when following his model) is to just slightly increase your dose every three days. You will figure out the right dose when you get there - you simply won't need to drink anymore!

[Bill.P.]

baclofen

billyb;624865 wrote: no problem.

Also, sorry for registering with a name so similar to Bill P. - I don't intend to confuse, as we are very different people (even if our experiences with this particular drug are similar).

By the way, I also think that the .45mg x body weight might be a bit too schematic. Ameisen went all the way to 270mg, and he is pretty trim. I think a better method (the one he recommends and the one that people generally use when following his model) is to just slightly increase your dose every three days. You will figure out the right dose when you get there - you simply won't need to drink anymore!

Well we seem to have alot of similarities in more ways than one :H

We are in agreement and I have mentioned it several times and in that post. That was a very general guide for people getting started. Starting at low dose of 5mg tid and titrating up until you find the "zero craving effect" as I mentioned about everyone being different. My dose was lower others will be higher but you titrate for effect than .45/pound
I had a few caveats with that to clarify that it is a guide not an absolute rulebook on dosing. Like most medications people will need more or less depending on their biochemistry.
That's why people go to a physician afterall, to taylor fit their dosages of meds.

Thanks for mentioning that you should not stop baclofen abruptly, that is true of all psychoactive medications, they should be tapered.
I overlooked mentioning that b/c I am certain I am going to take this for the rest of my life. I just cant go back.

But I am very happy for your input and also your success at a similar dosing schedule as mine. I am sure others will find this thread very valuable and also that I am not making this "zero craving effect" up.
It really does happen at some magical point while titrating up. Thats why I have been encouraging people to keep a journal as they dose up and find that point. You dose to that effect and thats your dose. So we are definitely on the same page
Billyb! :goodjob:

[Bill.P.]

baclofen

xx