Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

[beatle]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

cowgal;704332 wrote: Beatle, just wanted to say I don't blame Rhonda for my failure, she and Barry said DO NOT drink again,gave be an exercise to do before I did(which I tried and tried).

I just want to make it clear that I drank again on bac (just as I did after seeing Rhonda), and rather than re-starting that vicious cycle, pretty much saw how useless drinking was, not rewarding at all............

I, too, think, and have said it millions of times.......Dr. A is my hero!!!!!

MA

cowgal, you are way too nice. Let's get this straight-- you (and I, and countless others) paid someone thousands of dollars to "cure" you (us) of your (our) alcohol problem. They told you they could do it and had done it for almost everyone who had ever come to them. They marketed themselves and gave statistics of about a 95% cure rate. You (and I, and countless others), in our desperation, shelled it out and travelled far (for me, well over 10,000 miles). And then, after the 3 sessions, we were instructed: "DO NOT drink again"! And then when we do pick up a glass, we have failed -- and they are absolved? Hmmm...

It doesn't cost much for the advice: "DO NOT drink again"

And, btw, they also gave me that little exercise (as I'm sure they do to everyone). It is a common tool taught by therapists all over the world. It was not new to me, and it didn't work any better when it came at a price of thousands of dollars.

Anyway, at least with Bac, nobody is promising anything or taking our money on false marketing premises.

Well, cowgal, I am just so happy Bac is working for you. Although I am still drinking (at a lower level), Bac has already done wonders for me in terms of my anxiety and sleeping issues. Yes, Dr. A is a real hero.

[cowgal]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Good

I am happy it helps w/ you anxiety.......... And it WILL help w/ drinking eventually, some of us need higher doses maybe(???) or cannot tolerate the side effects......... I am only having slight confusion, just noticing it more most likely, since I am not drinking to quiet my mind too........

Hope all is well w/ everyone........even feeling like crap (too much cold medcine to try to calm this ANNOYING cough)

Lots of love,

MA

[tiptronic_ct]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Onto day 10 AF. All is well. Will start titrating down from 240 to maintenance dose from day 13. Will use PRN dose as required while doing so.

[brightlite]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

OMG Tigger! You did it! I'm so happy. It does work. I need to go up...because of my driving situation I'm scared. Still at 80mg and not drinking half as much as I would. In fact I had three glasses of wine last night and I was so tired...went straight to bed. I definitely have phsycological issues with AL. Also, cowgal, noticed today when I took my son to college that my balance was a little messed up. Moving stuff into the dorm, going up and down flights of stairs. Now, I do pride myself in balance because I take yoga so...little upset about that.

[cowgal]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Going up and I' going down.....

Bright, you probably need to go up, it is soooooooo cool to have NO DESIRE at all, I love it!!!!!! I am sttarting to titrate down partly due to feelng so out of it w/ this cold meds, and partly to see what my mantainence dose really is.........

Good luck and keep us posted!!!!

MA

[toughintexas]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Hey all, I made it to Colorado just fine! I'm starting back on the bac tomorrow, been doing fine tho, just had like 1.5 glasses, still leaving half of the second glass! I just want to be completely sure, so I'll start the 5mg in the afternoon tomorrow. I'm glad everyone is doing better, and some really great!

[Anna B]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

glad to hear you all are doing so well!!

Things are still good on my end w/ the bac. I'm slowly titrating down from 100-120mg to ~60 and my side effects are completely gone. More importantly, my cravings are also still gone.

I feel like a totally different person! I guess that shouldn't be surprising but in the past when I would white-knuckle it I would usually feel emotionally WORSE b/c of cravings, anxiety, etc. And it seemed like the longer I stayed sober, the worse I felt. Now I'm just genuinely happy and also confident that I can start piecing my life back together.

I pause almost every day and think of how grateful I am for this medication and for this board for all of the support.

[Zman]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

No one seems to have posted on this thread in a while. Is it bc the thread has been buried, or bc there have been no new success stories?

[brightlite]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Zman I just haven't considered myself a success yet. Due to driving and side effects I've titrated down to 30mgs. Still drink every 3rd day or so. Not sure what I am going to do from here. What about you? Did you switch to TSM? Are you still taking Bac? Maybe a combination...please give us an update.

[christyacc]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

I am using both TSM and Bac, and it is a great combo. It is reallt working for me. I know it isn't 100% at this point, however, I am drinking much much less.....I am having AF days 5 or 6 days in a row, and drinking much less in one sitting. I am very pleased with my progress.

[brightlite]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

That's great Christy....what is your Bac dosage now and do you only take the Nal when you know that you are going to have drinks?

[WantOut]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

First time post / Update / Questions

Hey...I was on this sight about 1 yr ago and now have recently rediscovered it. I've been reading posts for about 1 month now...I've ordered the CDs (so far each night that I've tried to listen to them I've been too drunk and have just fallen asleep!...ahhhh) Anyway I've been on bac for about 1 week...I'm up to 40mg. Side affects are: super sleepy OR crazy wide awake...it varies every minute sometimes, feeling out-of-my-body...kind of hard to explain but when I have conversations at work with folks I have to remind myself that I'm actually in the conversation...this sounds weird but basically I feel like I'm looking in on the conversation then participating in it...strange, otherwise just have a feeling of tingling all over my body.

Side affects I'm dealing with...here is my question. Do the side affects go away? I'm totally onboard with feeling tingly and weird if I know eventually it goes away. Alcohol I deal with at night and in the morning, but it is much more difficult to feel out-of-sorts and disoriented at the place where I earn money to keep food on the table.

Possibly more important...has anyone else felt a larger desire for alcohol once starting bac? Maybe I think I have to drink more because I'm soon not going to drink at all??? I don't know...I just feel a bigger obsession with drinking now.....that coming from a gal who drinks at least 3 large vodka drinks every night for 10 years...and is now thinking about it more??? Again ahhhhhh! I'm feeling a bit discouraged...please answer questions if you can...thanks.

[beatle]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

WantOut,

If you read through these threads, you will realize that everyone is different. I certainly have experienced the flip-flopping between being groggy/sleepy and manic/wide awake. I've also had that feeling of being on the outside, looking in through a haze. And tingling.

I think most people have said that the side effects abate, sooner or later. Most of my side-effects have diminished, but others have appeared. For some people, the side effects are so severe that they feel they must discontinue Bac.

I also had a stronger desire for alcohol at first after starting Bac, but I also felt the effects from alcohol more strongly, so I ended up drinking less. As stated, we are all different.

It's still very early days for you. If you really want this, I suggest you stick with it and see what happens.

[cowgal]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Gone away

Just FYI ALL my side effects (uncomfortable ones anyway) are gone..........I have nil anxiety, and for that with all that is going on in my life I am truly grateful!!!!

Best of luck to you!!

MA

[cowgal]

Consolidated Baclofen Success Thread

Gone away

Just FYI ALL my side effects (uncomfortable ones anyway) are gone..........I have nil anxiety, and for that with all that is going on in my life I am truly grateful!!!!

Best of luck to you!!

MA