My Baclofen Experience

[RudyB]

My Baclofen Experience

well hello there john!

so glad to hear from you. my gosh, sounds like you're doing very well. i am thrilled to read that you got that book and that it's proving helpful. it took me reading your references to it a few times to realize that you found 5 HTP from the mood cure. as you may remember, i haven't read the book. (but i did send it to my ex bf via amazon. that'll be interesting, to see how it goes for him. he tends to be depressed and very emotional, crying all the time. but that's another story...)

i love your penultimate comment (i think that was its place in your narrative): "i feel pretty good about myself". how 'bout that! fuckin love reading that, my dear. fuckin love it!

i loved your description 'ripping a bong hit', or something like that. wow, i think i'll take some of that l-glut. (is that what made you feel that way? i'll have to re-read your post.)

you're so self-aware; i'm impressed with your body consciousness, how you can detect so specifically how different things (particular amino acids, bong hits, emotions) are making you feel. i can't wait to be so tuned-in again.

our timing is so coordinated! you're feeling "switchy" just when i am. how cool is that? :l

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Rudy: coordinated switching is very cool

Regarding the bong rip - it's all of the vaguely unpleasant physical sensations of being "body stoned" and none of the good. L-Glut's effects for me were quite negative, and it's certainly possible I have some underlying allergy to glutamates (although MSG never bothers me.)

One of the things about stopping drinking is that you really become attuned to your body, and all the aches, pains, illnesses, etc., that you always attribute to being drunk or hungover start having real attributable causes. It's a lot easier to be "body conscious" when you're not masking everything with mind-and-body altering substances.

[bleep]

My Baclofen Experience

I can relate to the "body conscious" feeling that stopping, or even dramatically reducing drinking can give. I can't quite believe how unaware I used to be of how I felt.

It is great to see you being upbeat about yourself John.

[RudyB]

My Baclofen Experience

these past few days waking up not hungover and, even on such terrible sleep, feeling great, makes me realize that i, too, was pretty unconscious of my body while drinking. there i was thinking that i wasn't hungover. a pint of vodka a night, no problem! i feel fine! or normal, for me. but my normal wasn't optimal, to say the least. now that it's not in my system, i am aware of the toll alcohol was taking on my daily functioning. no wonder i drank ~ i had to recover from my hangover that i didn't know i had!

[redhead77]

My Baclofen Experience

moglor;1123487 wrote: I dropped the L-Glut. It wasn't doing anything for sugar cravings, in fact I started dumping stevia packets into my tea. My stomach was decidedly queasy after taking it, and it was difficult to eat in the morning pre-workout due to the stomach issues. It knocked me out of ketosis for my low carb diet, and severely impaired my mental faculties. I also gained like 5 pounds of bloat while taking it. I haven't seen anyone else with these kinds of side effects, so it's possible that it's an allergy to a binder in the powder form, or just an atypical reaction. I'm not sensitive to MSG or other glutamates, but my experiences do have some similarities to MSG reactions.

I feel MUCH better today without it, and I can feel the effect of the 5-HTP much more as well. Mood is definitely elevated, and that numb/bland feeling is gone. Interested to see if the bloat/weight gain goes away over the next couple days.

Also, today is 1 week AF. Feeling switchy.

I had the same reaction on L Glut. I bloated up like a balloon. It was all in my abdomen. I thought I had developed ascites or something. Although, I was post switch. :H I had GI issues where, well I won't go into detail. I've talked about it more than I like already. Nobody could be within 500 feet of me, lets put it that way. It happens to me whether I take the powder or the pills. I have my own personal theory, but I won't go into it on your thread Moglor. You'll appreciate that I haven't.

EDIT: I took out where I asked if you were still AF. I didn't think you drank the 8 beers. Anyhoo (I'm stealing this from Murph cause I like it), you still sound very good Moglor. The drinking will dissipate in time. Like you said, you are early on.

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

No, I didn't drink the 8 beers, I just thought about it. Wednesday will be 2 weeks AF.

[redhead77]

My Baclofen Experience

I read it again Moglor. Sorry, I feel like crap tonight. I'm all burned up. You know sunburns peak at night (for me). 2 weeks AF? That is fricken AWESOME! :goodjob: Are you officially switched?

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

I'd say so. Other than the occasional want out of habit, I've had no cravings to speak of, and the depression seems fairly controlled at the moment. Last time I was AF for 5 months, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I am taking a small vacation this weekend, so there will be a lot of temptation. I'm debating kicking up my dosage a little just in case.

I have the same thing with sunburns at night. Ugh!

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Oh, I also just ordered another batch of bac. I am going to stay at 225 for awhile. Last time I switched was at 250 (went from 200 to 250, so 225 could be it both times,) but I only stayed at 225 for 2 weeks before I started going down.

[RudyB]

My Baclofen Experience

moglor, you are an inspiration. i'm psyched to say 2 wks af. soon, i think, i will.

y'all have heard of sunscreen, right?

[RudyB]

My Baclofen Experience

i'm not saying two weeks, yet, but i know i will. i keep taking those tic tacs and they're doing something, to be sure.

how ya doin', mog?

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

I'm doing well, last drink was 5/24. Been really stressed out at work lately, but haven't really had any cravings. Lots of temptation this weekend at a music festival. My goal is to remain AF, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I slip. I will, however, beat myself up if I get smashed. :-)

[ignominious]

My Baclofen Experience

AF time is great Mog and good luck with the festival.

If you're anything like me then don't beat yourself up even if you get comatose. Beating yourself up is not constructive. If there are any positives then you've already done enough of it to get several lifetimes worth!

Lastly, allow yourself to navigate your life.

[RudyB]

My Baclofen Experience

hey john,

just thinking of you. i wanted to say hi and see how things are going on your end. i'm feeling a bit lonely and totally bac'd out; i'm so tired during the day. did you go through periods of total physical exhaustion? like you 'ripped a massive bong hit,' to quote you, without the positives? i think i know the answer, but i'd love to know if for you it passed.

are you exercising? still feeling better about yourself? still not drinking?

i'm winding down the school year, and thrilled about that. in a week i'll take a day-long intensive in rowing a shell, and i'm totally psyched about the prospect of this new exercise and social experience. not to mention, it'll be healing to be on the water, on this glorious hudson river.

i am in a salty state of mind, focusing on the negatives. i'm totally pissed at some of my few closest friends. my ex is a nightmare in his sometimes-subtle ways. (like when my son says i didn't pack enough lunch for him -something his father never ever does- and the ex empties his son's lunch box in my kitchen, as if to inspect what i've (not) packed.)

anyway, just checking in here. of course i hope all's well, and would love to hear from you. keep me in your thoughts. i like knowing you're here with me in my struggles.

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Finally back from holiday and have gotten a bit of a breather. Work has been very stressful, life has been stressful. I don't really like going on vacation! Especially to loud crowded noisy places. I need quiet time, reflective time. Maybe I am better off alone, ya know? I do like me some privacy.

Now that my travelling obligations are over, and a big stressor at work has concluded, I feel like I can finally decompress.

While I was travelling, it was very difficult to keep up on my bac dosing, so my levels were all over the place. I drank some beers, got a little drunk with friends one evening (nothing major). I've allowed myself beer as desired this week as I ramp my dose back up, but I never really got back to experiencing anything like serious cravings. Sure, I still drink way more than most people would, but my tolerance is still there. Not a bad experience, and unlike times past, I'm not at all down on myself for the minor sidetrack.

Rudy, yes, I get a lot of that exhaustion. For awhile "exhausted" was my "Mood" here. Stress + Bac + struggling with being AF really takes a lot out of you. Additionally, dropping the calories from all that booze gets your metabolism, insulin and blood sugar all messed up too, which can really add to the exhaustion and negative feelings.

I took a week off from the gym to go on vacation, but I am looking forward to getting back into it. Between the mental stress of work and prepping for holiday and the physical stress of working out every day, I needed the break.

You're always in my thoughts, Rudy! I haven't had much time or ability to hit MWO for the past week, now I am up to my eyeballs in new posts..