just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

[CoventGarden]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

susanna;844373 wrote: Thank you for this comment - it's making me think that Paul should take more than 15 mgs in the first day since he is suffering so badly. He is about 172 and strong built so I would think he could handle it and possibly get some relief sooner.

Susanna

I am no kind of expert in this - and my wife's dosage was prescribed for her by someone fully qualified - but personally I would be inclined to stick with your doctor's dosage - to start with at anyrate.

CG

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

ok - I am taking the group's consensus advise on this

We will not take more than 15 mg first day. Maybe even stop at 10 - and will call Dr. Levin tonight. Will keep posting on what he experiences - he is definitely still drinking which is making it a little difficult to ascertain which symptoms are from what.

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

I watched the HBO video - really helpful!

[QUOTE=tom4now;844309]Have a look at this video....clip of a HBO documentry called "addiction"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byain0Vo5mo&feature=related[/video]]YouTube - Baclofen dramatically reduces cocaine craving


Thanks for the youtube link - just sent it to family to see as well.
It's a really useful piece for those who are sceptics.

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

Canadian experiences

Hoping for the best;844393 wrote: Hey,
good luck and I am sure your brother will be fine. I too am on bac, I started with the 5-5-5 does for the first 3 days. This dosage and the slow titeration is more to reduce the risks of Side effects more than anything. Dont be in too much of a hurry or he may get discouraged by the side effects. Please continue to post and let us know what he is experiencing. Try not to give up on Bac because of the side effects. Others that have had bad side effects just backed down and went back up slowly and the side effects were not as bad.
Fingers crossed for you! I am in Canada too.

Hi - I guessed you were Canadian by the icon. Did you get a Canadian Dr's script for the medicine? I would like to locate a Canadian Dr. so we don't have to do the cross-border shipments. Dr. Levin had not heard of one yet. I know that the pharmacist that Dr. Levin uses in Chicago has another Canadian customer who has the meds shipped to a border town then drives it across. A lot of effort when it's perfectly legal and available in Canada. We just need one Dr. to start working on this as Dr. Levin does.

That should be another thread here - tips and best approaches to educating a doctor about baclofen for addiction.

[tiptronic_ct]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

Hey, susanna

Best of luck to you and your brother. I agree with the others on taking it slowly at first.

However, if he suffers from minimal side-effects and needn't go to work or outside much, I would consider titrating up a bit faster after a week or so.

At lower levels (up to about 160mg), I had little or no side-effects and could increase my dose by increments of more or less 10mg daily, even faster if I increased over a weekend.

I managed to become AF in less than 3 months, including having to titrate down to zero after running out of bac on my 1st attempt.

Again: best of luck and you've come to a good place for support

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

tiptronic_ct;844427 wrote: Hey, susanna

Best of luck to you and your brother. I agree with the others on taking it slowly at first.

However, if he suffers from minimal side-effects and needn't go to work or outside much, I would consider titrating up a bit faster after a week or so.

At lower levels (up to about 160mg), I had little or no side-effects and could increase my dose by increments of more or less 10mg daily, even faster if I increased over a weekend.

I managed to become AF in less than 3 months, including having to titrate down to zero after running out of bac on my 1st attempt.

Again: best of luck and you've come to a good place for support

Thank you for your encouragement and perspective.

As soon as Paul is able to contribute to the assessment a little more I will get him to read all these posts. He's right now still mostly in bed and moaning a lot. I wish I could make it all better for him. It's killing me to see him suffer like this.

He mumbled to me that he had somehow got himself down the street to a bar, while I left to get food for about 20 minutes. He had 2 shots and can't believe how much that knocked him down - he is barely able to get words out again - other than to say terribly critical things about himself. So it's hard to assess symptoms of any sort - other than he is feeling miserable, dopey, sleepy and really stoned when he does wake for brief stints.
Oh man I wish this cycle would come to an end for him.

[tom4now]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

Hi Susanna

Hi there me too Canadian I live on the west coast of Canada Nanaimo Vancouver Island...your folks live in Vancouver and sound like there great people...my doctor who's is a younger is all for me trying this out so I'm really lucky for prescriptions and support...like you said the doctor told you my doctor prescribed 5Mg 3 times a day for three days, with a step up to 10mg 3 times a day for three days...in steps of 5mg for me at the start...she said if I was feeling to many side effects to stretch the 3 days longer till side effects deminish....sounds like the doctor pretty much prescribed the same more or less formula as mine here did...detoxing I have been through so many times and I know how your brother must feel...its very painful physically and emotionaly...personaly I found only benzo's would ever be the way I would detox ever...though I do know being on a Baclofen it makes the effects of benzo's stronger so I would think one would need maybe less and judge it on how they feel nerve wise...just my thoughts I'm still on the start up too and just thought how good is to hear you helping and understanding your brothers illness...most folks kick us to the curb I'm afraid and when inside we are in so much pain of the losses particularly family relationships....money things I could stand to give that all up but it pains me of the people I loved I have lost....my thoughts prayers are with you both!!!

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

tom4now;844473 wrote: Hi there me too Canadian I live on the west coast of Canada Nanaimo Vancouver Island...your folks live in Vancouver and sound like there great people...my doctor who's is a younger is all for me trying this out so I'm really lucky for prescriptions and support...like you said the doctor told you my doctor prescribed 5Mg 3 times a day for three days, with a step up to 10mg 3 times a day for three days...in steps of 5mg for me at the start...she said if I was feeling to many side effects to stretch the 3 days longer till side effects deminish....sounds like the doctor pretty much prescribed the same more or less formula as mine here did...detoxing I have been through so many times and I know how your brother must feel...its very painful physically and emotionaly...personaly I found only benzo's would ever be the way I would detox ever...though I do know being on a Baclofen it makes the effects of benzo's stronger so I would think one would need maybe less and judge it on how they feel nerve wise...just my thoughts I'm still on the start up too and just thought how good is to hear you helping and understanding your brothers illness...most folks kick us to the curb I'm afraid and when inside we are in so much pain of the losses particularly family relationships....money things I could stand to give that all up but it pains me of the people I loved I have lost....my thoughts prayers are with you both!!!

Hi Tom4Now:

My heart goes out to you for your family losses - but maybe you can get them back once you are further along here and are on your feet. I think when your people learn what has been discovered by Dr. A it will change how they treat you, and in fact they will be the ones who will feel terrible for how they treated you, even though it was due to mis-information about addiction. I know that my own family, have found Dr A's book so helpful in terms of how we react to the situation now, as well as how we feel about our father's alcoholism which was a major source of trauma in our lives. It's like someone turned the light on in a very dark and painful place and it's healing our past memories. Perhaps give them a copy of Dr A's book and ask them to read it.

Great to hear there are docs in the west cost too - my uncle lived in Victoria - and died from complications due to alcholism just six months ago. If he had had access to baclofen perhaps his life would have been spared.

Sister Susanna.

[Guest]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

Susanna,
I replied to your post on another thread. BTW AL hits u a lot harder while on bac. be patient and he will come around. Let him know he has a whole new family now with him

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

Hoping for the best;844520 wrote: Susanna,
I replied to your post on another thread. BTW AL hits u a lot harder while on bac. be patient and he will come around. Let him know he has a whole new family now with him

That is so nice to say - thank you i will let him know that.

Group hug.
Sister Susanna

[FallonsMom]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

i'm going through slight withdrawal myself u and your brother is in my prayers

[susanna]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

FallonsMom;844541 wrote: i'm going through slight withdrawal myself u and your brother is in my prayers

back atcha
are you using anything to help you through it?

[hopefulspirit]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

I think withdrawals and Bac are tricky. I haven't concluded yet whether you should start the regime completely AF but it's in my thoughts. If you're withdrawing you need to do it intelligently:
1. Benzos/valium
2. Librium
3. Slower tapered drinking patterns

If you've been drinking heavily, you can't just stop. That's not safe and counter-productive.

I think it's documented that Bac can slower you while titrating down. That could be a plan but a better plan, I think, is to go AF before starting.

Jen

[tiptronic_ct]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

hopefulspirit;844569 wrote: I think withdrawals and Bac are tricky. I haven't concluded yet whether you should start the regime completely AF but it's in my thoughts. If you're withdrawing you need to do it intelligently:
1. Benzos/valium
2. Librium
3. Slower tapered drinking patterns

If you've been drinking heavily, you can't just stop. That's not safe and counter-productive.

I think it's documented that Bac can slower you while titrating down. That could be a plan but a better plan, I think, is to go AF before starting.

Jen

I drank extremly heavily before starting bac. 500ml of vodka + 750ml red wine every weeknight. Up to a 1000ml of vodka plus wine over weekends. I tapered my drinking slowly, eliminating 75ml vodka at a time. I would never have been able to do it otherwise.

[birdy02]

just starting out on baclofen today-urgent questions

I also could not quit drinking before taking bac. I couldn't even quit while taking bac even though I tried because I read on this board that it would be better if I did. I managed 5 days in a row AF on my way up and that was it. And trying to quit set me back probably about a month in reaching my switch. I finally realized it was okay and I drank right up until I hit the switch. The night before I hit the switch at 270mg I drank 10 beers. It is NOT imperative to quit drinking to take bac. It is true that maybe some people can't tolerate it but many of us can and have. If I would have waited until I could go 2 months AF I may have died an alcoholic. I certainly would still be drunk right now instead of sober and free. No doctor anywhere that I have heard is screaming that bac should not be taken while drinking. In fact, Bernard found this paper:

Acute Interaction of Baclofen in Combination with Alcohol in Heavy Social Drinkers

Yes, it was done with heavy drinkers, not people who are alcohol dependent, and yes they only went up to 80mg, but it is the best we have right now that I know of, and to sum it up, it basically says there are no adverse effects to drinking alcohol and taking bac at the same time.

In fact, I believe Dr. Levin has not been telling his patients that they must be AF before starting baclofen, PLEASE someone correct me if I am wrong. I do not want to spread misinformation.

I appreciate that fact that everyone is different, that is why it is important to take it easy and see how you are going to react. Alcohol and bac may cause a bad reaction for some people but for many of us it did not and again, I would not be here, indifferent to alcohol and ecstatically sober if I had listened to people say that I could not drink and take bac at the same time.

I don't want to hijack this thread but I don't want Susanna to think that her brother must be AF to take bac. Yes, he may react badly and have to be AF and certainly AF is ALWAYS better based on the fact that it is what we are all going for, but it is possible that he, like others, by nature of the illness may not be able to go AF for the months it may take to reach the switch. Should he be denied the chance to try? Based on my and others experience, I think not.

We can discuss this further on another thread if any one wants to:

https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...ine-41912.html

Jen, please let me know where that documentation is. It needs to be out here on the forum. But, even if it slows it down, I'm still so grateful that I am here and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I was seriously alcoholic dependent and by nature of being an alcoholic, I couldn't quit no matter how bad I wanted to. It is the main symptom of the disease.

Kelly