my overdue update

[panda farts]

I'm currently @ 190mg a day pacifen from inhouse.

as some of you may recall.. I hit my switch @ 150mg

at some point before thanksgiving I decided to skip my last dose and drink that night... then again the next night... then for a week. when I raised my dosage back up to 150mg the urges stayed.

Over Thanksgiving I stayed with family and kept at 150mg each day and had no problem staying effortlessly AF.

but, as soon as I returned home and had nothing to do each night the cycle started back up.. regardless of taking the whole 150mg by 8pm.

I am now up to 190mg and even though the craving is definitely muted I definitely don't feel like I did when I first hit my switch.. In fact I may leave any minute to go buy beer.

190mg is pretty much the most I can afford to take every day.

This kinda sucks, but on the positive side I do kind of feel like I did just before I reached my switch before .. as if I could not drink if I really wanted to.. but I don't really want to at the moment... Just like before.

We'll see... still working at it... I'll try to update more.

[beatle]

my overdue update

Thanks, PF. I appreciate your checking in and keeping such a good record of your experience. Please definitely keep us updated. This is very interesting.

[tiptronic_ct]

my overdue update

Hey, PF

Thanks for a brave and honest post.

Please hang in there... and then hang in there some more.

I can only repeat what I've said before: baclofen is a tool, not a cure. It is not a silver bullet.

But it has saved your life and mine, and can continue doing so. We just have to remain determined.

[tiptronic_ct]

my overdue update

Hey again, PF

I've been thinking. Clever use of p.r.n. doses might be an option you want to look at.

I'm not sure how many of you will remember, but my approach in finding my maintenance dose after going AF was to keep it below the point of absolute indifference. The method in my madness (because I could make it really easy on myself by just taking more) is that I need to resolve the underlying reasons for my drinking. Hence undergoing psychotherapy & learning to understand my triggers better. It is my belief that that is the only way I'm going to beat my alcoholism in the long run, and eventually be able to go off bac entirely (although I am prepared to take it for the rest of my life if that is what it takes to remain sober).

My maintenance dose is 120mg. When I experience a trigger, I will typically think about having a drink. An "I can drink, or I can't" moment. That is when I take a p.r.n. dose and give it an hour to do its work. These doses range from 10 - 30mg, depending on severity. Recently, on one particularly bad day, I took 20, 20, 20, each an hour apart, after what would normally have been my last dose for the day. The next day, I went back to 120mg and have remained there.

Also try to think back to that experience of exhiliration you felt when you became AF. The freedom it gave you. The sense of achievement.

Best of luck, and shout if you need support. Don't allow AL to win.