Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

[Sunnyvalenting]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

at the clinic where I was started on Bac they had me take 30 mg for 3 days and then 60 mg. At first I had to take 10 mg every 3 hours to avoid somnolence at the 2 hour mark but otherwise did fine with this fairly rapid titration up. The most I needed was about 80 mg/day for a few weeks with an occasional extra 10-20 at times of stress. I think everyone is different. Maybe lite of daze you have reached your switch. I didn't even know about that concept so just assumed that the not drinking was enough of a "switch" for me.
The past 5-6 weeks I have tapered down to 30-40 range and am fine. Have been abstinent for almost 7 months. I don't know how low I can go and still be abstinent which is my goal. I went to a big family reunion at my cousin's vinyard and didn't even consider drinking despite the availability of some very good (and free!) opportunities. I didn't feel "left out" either. Such a big change for me.
Good luck to all who try this. I found the side effects have been worth tolerating to get the positive effect. The first few days I was tired a lot. After a month or so not so much unless I sat down to read or watch TV. I am now doing just fine with lots of energy and no significant side effects. The whole process has been suprisingly easy.
Sunny

[PhoenixRising]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Really?? OMG I'd go up by 10mg and I'd be almost incapacitated by the sleepies. I have fallen asleep at my desk! You gals are tough!

[Cinders]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

I wanted to report on my progress.

I am at 80 mgs/day -- 20/40/20. I had to titrate down due to somnolence and that very scary sleep paralysis thing. I am ready and willing to go back up but in the meantime, I was dealing with huge anxiety issues which were driving me up the wall.

I spoke to my doctor about it and she and I discussed options. I have gone through all the usual SSRIs, blah blah blah, meds. Prozac, Lexapro, etc, etc. They have never worked for me. Ever.

So, she put me on the lowest dosage of Seroquel to be taken at night just prior to bed.

OMG, it makes me more sleepy than the Baclofen!! I take my last Bac at 5:00 pm and the Seroquel 15 minutes before I go to bed. I sleep a full night's sleep for sure and I do wake up fuzzy headed and groggy.

BUT, it seems to be working. Once I get past the grogginess, I feel relaxed and calm. A sensation I have never gotten without alcohol.

So, as I titrate up, this is what I am going to do.

The biggest advantage for me is that I now feel very able to stay AF as I do this. I hope this trend continues. The white knuckling as I titrated back down was awful. I have snapped at my husband more in the last few weeks than in the last 35 years of marriage. Poor guy.

I will ensure I take my Baclofen several hours prior to the Seroquel so I don't get a horrible mix and end up with problems breathing during sleep.

Cindi

ps Because of my alcoholism, I cannot take Xanax, Valium or any of those drugs. I prefer to stay away from them, anyway. I don't need another addiction. My doctor assured me Seroquel is not addictive.

[tiptronic_ct]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Good going, Cindi.

It's great to see that you're sticking to your goal like this!

[brightlite]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Bumpity do da

[beatle]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

bump again... and again and again

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

bump

[Otter]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

bump

[manlooking4nothing]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Hello Everyone

I just hit the switch on Aug 21 or 22 of 2010 or so !

AF since then ,My baclofen journey was real jerky ,had to switch many brands. since Iam from India there were many baclofen choices . Finally I got my switch with a brand called ?BACLODOL ?as I had problems with local shipment with BacMax and other brands.

I extend my sincere gratitude to ?tiptronic_ct? & ?corkit ? who personally helped and guided me through various phases of my jerky baclofen journey .Also thanking all members of this blog especially the ?consolidated baclofen success thread ? members and moderator/creator.

While I was on 280 mg of baclofen (BacMax) I start to have trouble with the shipment as the agent refused to deliver the package due to some legal issues ,so I had to switch to ?baclodol? rather less spoken or unknown brand of baclofen , I was a bit skeptical about this brand at 1st . I was drinking too.

I donno what happened to me one day ,I happened to jump off from the 1st floor of my building and injured myself ,got bed ridden for 2 months (very lucky that I had no fracture anywhere in my body,my doc looked at the x ray ,smiled and told that its aint yet time for you to die).so I suggest other lurkers not to switch brands of baclofen at very high doses if you are still drinking ,my experience says that its very dangerous.(switching certain brands can bring withdrawal , and if you are still drinking things are lethal )

So since I got bedridden I had to stop drinking and also my family confined me strictly at home , I continued my baclofen journey slowly up to 300 mg and then 400 mg all these because I was skeptical about the brand and I wasn?t drinking and I donno if I had switched or not .I was on 400 mg for a week and then titrated down slowly ,meanwhile I had to be in Bombay for a new job and I started to drink again but this time only 3 beer?s a day and that only in the nights (in India some beer have nearly 40% alcohol v/v ) , now I started to get confident so I titrated up to 280 within 3 days and see ????I just got switched ! I never drank since 22 aug 2010 .

Its rainy in Bombay so each time I come to my hotel after work my taxi halts in front of a bar(next to my hotel),so I have to go into the bar until the rain subsides .I couldn?t believe what was happening ??..i was the only guy in the bar eating food without ordering a single drink.

Thoughts to the Lurkers:

So my sincere advise for Lurkers is that try to avoid alcohol while you are in high doses of baclofen if you can?t at least reduce the units . don?t wait for the switch to happen if you are drinking ,just induce baclofen blindly to the maximum dose as possible (for me I just blindly went up to 400mg).baclofen works well when you don?t drink or drink less units(maintain a drinking unit diary).

Please notice that I never got switched at 280 while I was titrating UP but other way around !

Baclofen is absolutely safe if your work don?t involves driving or any other dangerous activities like working in a complex and dangerous factory environment etc. Otherwise its pretty cool. please don?t mind other problems like lack of sexual appetite, sleep disorder, scary dreams, tingling, limb numbness, enlarged puples, Disorientation ,Mood disorders, acute sleepiness, hair graying, loss of hair and things like that ??..all these side effects are just temporary and things will be normal eventually when you titrate down .

Whatsoever baclofen are not candies but proper pharmaceutical drugs which have to be treated that way. and getting to a switch is not just a walk in the park.

so I suggest other lurkers not to switch brands of baclofen at very high doses if you are still drinking ,my experience says that its very dangerous.(switching certain brands could bring withdrawal , and if you are still drinking things are lethal )

Please keep a check on mood disorder issues ,understand that it?s because of baclofen and its only temporary ,let someone dear and near know what you are doing and keep close contact to MWO forum members ,all of them are helpful and all the threads are useful .

I extend all possible help to lurkers, you can also mail on my personal ID (apparentajiesh@rediffmail.com)

Best & Good luck

manlooking4nothing

[tiptronic_ct]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Bump for Citizen

[tiptronic_ct]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Bump for Seethesunrise & anon

[tiptronic_ct]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Mmmmmm. Almost off the 1st page again...

[Lo0p]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Can somebody shoot me a link to that French study so I can add it to the first page here?

If someone could find an English translation of it that is better than Google's then I'd give you my firstborn. :H

[tiptronic_ct]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

Lo0p;961357 wrote: If someone could find an English translation of it that is better than Google's then I'd give you my firstborn. :H

I already have a problem child, thanks! :H:H:H

[Lo0p]

Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread

I found the link thanks, and you're right...you wouldn't want my firstborn! :H

I'm going to wait until I can get access to Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries, probably later today. I just may be able to get the whole thing in English.