Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

[hoping4better]

Started baclofen about 3-4 weeks ago and I am up to 60mg, titrating up tomorrow. Not sure how many mg I want to go, as I have been pretty sleepy on this dose until yesterday. (Falling asleep while watching American Idol! I shudder!) I have noticed less obsession in AL and where my next drink is, or in not wanting/needing to drink as much at times. But there is certainly not a true disinterest or I could take-it-or-leave-it feeling. For those of you lucky ones who have had success with baclofen, did you need willpower to resist, or did you just look at alcohol one day and go -- bleh? My psychiatrist seems to think I want the meds to do all the work for me without using any willpower (well, hello? Of course I do!!) At the present, she has only allowed me to go to 80mg, but says she is willing to prescribe more, if need be, if she gets the ok from a neurologist.

[hangingon]

Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

Hi hoping,
I have not gotten that high on the Bac yet, I am on 20mg a day and I still do think about it, I am having to use some will power along with the bac. I am trying to keep the dose down as low as possible. sorry no great words of wisdom but wanted you to know I read your post
hanging

[eight days a week]

Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

I'm at 80mg. I think I can feel I'm approaching a switch - I can certainly see it ahead, and imagine what it's going to be like. Complete disinterest in alcohol. I'll be surprised if I need more than 120mg to get there (which will be less than 2mg per kg of body weight). But I'm extremely sensitive to all meds.

Looking forward to more answers! There's also a thread or two about when people hit the switch which include some interesting discussion, they should only be a page or two back in the sub-forum

[tiptronic_ct]

Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

Had to go up to 270 get there. It really is as simple as "disinterest" - not even take it or leave it. You just don't want it at all.

Its still very early days for you. If the somnolence gets too bad, just titrate up at a slower pace. There is absolutely no need to rush it if your body can't handle it. A few weeks more of moderate drinking is still better than what went before, right?

I was one of the lucky ones who could up my dose by 10 - 20 mg every day, until I hit 180 and had to take it slower.

The one area where willpower DID feature strongly was the period leading up to starting bac and soon thereafter. I was drinking extremely heavily and had done so for more years that I care to remember. 500ml of vodka + 750ml red wine a night. 750ml - 1l of vodka and two bottles of wine on weekends. I made extensive use of the Tool Box thread in Monthly Abstinence to taper my drinking. By the time I started on bac, I had eliminated vodka altogether and was drinking a bottle of wine a night. I strongly believe that bac works better and faster if you're abstinent or drinking moderately.

Good luck

[Henrietta]

Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

Hoping4better: Whenever I read about a doctor or psychologist only willing to prescribe X amount of baclofen, it makes me sad for their patient. This addiction is such a monster on its own, the added pressure of someone setting arbitrary expectations on how you should be responding to a med is terrible. Dr Ameisen?s breakthrough with baclofen was a success because he used dosage levels that were clearly beyond the comfort level of most in the mainstream medical community.
On my part, I am 5?-4? and 110 lbs. So I?m not a very big girl and quite sensitive to meds myself. It took me all of 130 mg to hit the switch, an amount that very few people in the medical community would have allowed me to take on my own.
As far as your psychologist accusing you of wanting the meds to do all the work, well all I can say is that?s spoken like someone who has no true understanding of the monstrous bind that we alcoholics live in. Believe me, you will have plenty of work to do once you hit your switch. I don?t know your particular situation and I don?t mean this as an insult to anyone who is trying to help you, but in my experience and from what I?ve read over and over in these pages, the mainstream medical community often seems more of a hindrance than a help to people in our situation. Once I figured that out I ordered my baclofen from overseas and armed myself with the facts and tirated up as slowly as possible. There?s lots of support here, but ultimately the choice and course of treatment has got to be your own.
It sounds to me like you?re on your way. You are losing interest in AL and that was certainly something I encountered. I would nod off in the evenings too. The side-effects could be really annoying, especially at night. I would often be fully awake in my mind, and my body was completely asleep, unresponsive to my brain for a minute or two. It would have completely terrified me except that I had read this forum and knew that it was in the realm of possibility for this drug. That went a long way to keeping me on track.
It?s been 7 weeks AF for me, and I?m back down to 50 mg per day with absolutely no side-effects and no cravings. So to answer your first question last?it was not my willpower that got me there, it was baclofen. And I know this is going to be as maddening for you to hear as it was for me when I was in your shoes, but you will know the switch when you get there. The cravings will simply be gone. Since tirating down, the thought of a wine has crossed my mind a few times, but I can easily brush it away.
Please stick with it Hoping4better.

[hangingon]

Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

Henrietta,
Your post was very encouraging. I feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel if I can stick with the bac.
thanks,
hangin

[hoping4better]

Bac users: what does the switch feel like? And how many mg were you on?

Henrietta, thank you so much for your reply. I understand your point about physicians emphasizing willpower, not medicine....this is where the entire medical community (almost) is at. Sure, they'll give you some rx's to help along, but most treatment seems 12-steps-basis. Reality shows like Intervention, Celebrity Rehab and Sober House reinforce this fact (though I still watch them, gotta admit.) I gave my dr several published studies of baclofen usage, including one by Dr. A, and she was floored when she saw the dosage levels.

Your personal success with bac is very inspiring. My psychiatrist has been willing to go along with both TSM and baclofen, and hopefully she will get some assurance from a neurologist that higher doses of bac are not dangerous. If not, I guess I will be ordering extra doses online.

I am not seeking total abstinance, I would be happy with more moderate levels of drinking. It sounds like those who have had success with baclofen actually have no interest in AL whatsoever. I'll take that, too.

Congrats to you and your success, and thank you for sharing your experience. It gives me hope.