My Baclofen Experience

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

The hallucinations and incontinence (which only happened twice, both involving alcohol) are very mild, and are undoubtedly due to my aggressive titration. I don't recommend that anyone go this fast! :-) That being said, the SEs are nothing compared to the problems that arise from being drunk or hungover.

PS, went to the gym this morning for a very strenuous workout. Went well! Gonna be in pain tomorrow though..

-Moglor

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Let's see.. I went to the gym on the 13th of July, then again on the 14th and 15th. I was pretty beat up on the 16th, and everyone says a rest period is essential, so I won't go again until Monday. I'm going at 7am, which is this strange and new part of the day that I'm relatively unfamiliar with. If anyone is curious, I'm doing CrossFit, so when I say "strenuous" I'm not kidding! I tried this while I was still drinking, but it was just too hard to abstain on the nights before a workout.

I've continued my low carb diet very successfully, been low-carbing since the 10th of July. I've increased my water intake even more, per various recommendations for low carb dieting. I pee very often now, around once an hour. It's still got a weird chemical/ammonia smell that I continue to attribute to low carb and baclofen. Apparently the ammonia smell is pretty common with low-carb, and I drink a ton of selzer water (around 4L/day), plus 1L of diet soda, plus a number of .5L sparkling waters and 3-4L of plain water, so acidosis from low-carb/acid intake seems like a likely culprit. I still need to find a better beverage.

I've been stable at 200mg/day for the last 6 days, distributed over 4 doses at 0630, 1100, 1830, 2230. The SEs are pretty minimal. I experience ringing in my ears, more pronounced when I yawn. I experience afternoon somnolence, which I fend off by moving around (usually cleaning house,) and the "baclofen buzz" where my lips and arms feel a little odd, but the feeling defies description. I'm still clumsy, and have to be careful moving around.

Some people have asked about physical activity on baclofen. While my gross movements are clumsy, fine motor control is unaffected. I disassembled a laptop computer and repaired the fans with no problem. When I go to the gym in the morning, balance and muscular strength is critical. I take my 50mg right before I leave at 0630, my workout takes about 45 minutes, so I miss most of the peak bac effects. I have not had any problems with balance or muscle control/strength at the gym, and muscle soreness/recovery seems normal.

I have a new symptom that's cropped up over the last week - random joints will become warm and painful. One of my knuckles became very sore for a couple days, then resolved spontaneously. I've also gotten these very painful red bumps on my feet, which I believe are Delayed Pressure Urticaria. Since I've gone AF, I've been moving around a lot more, and walking around my (tile) house barefoot. I don't particularly suspect bac as the cause, but dehydration may be related. They have been resolving on their own without treatment.

I've had no more incidents of hallucinations or incontinence. I believe all of these to be either a) too rapid titration, or b) combining alcohol and baclofen (or both.)

My social anxiety has returned with a vengeance. Boredom and social anxiety are two major triggers for me, and it's been hard to adapt without alcohol. Therapy is still on the table as an option.

I posted this in another thread, but I wanted to repost it here in my own thread, as an update to my ongoing story.

---
I have told a very select few of my closest friends about my baclofen experiment. I've been met primarily with skepticism and worry that I'm doing something "wrong," but I don't think they truly understand the underlying extent of my alcoholism. I've always been a secret drinker, and a high functioning alcoholic, and while my capacity for drink is well known publicly, they don't know that the glasses of beer they saw me with really added up to 15 or more drinks throughout the evening, or that I stopped by the liquor store on the way home and drank another 8 when I got home. 15, 20+ beers a night was normal for me.

As I sank deeper into the pit of alcoholism, I reduced my social life to a very limited set of engagements where drinking was likely/expected: afternoon BBQs, parties, bars after work. I planned my mornings around hangovers. I'd never agree to do anything or be anywhere before around 4pm on weekend days, and tried to find reasons to be out of the office or in late on Mondays. My social life has suffered dearly because of this, and I find that I am associated primarily with beer and bad moods amongst my friends.

From 26th June to 6th July, I was taking baclofen, but not altering my social behavior. I still went to the parties, still went to the bars, the BBQs, and still drank, although occasionally I'd turn down a beer. This caused a surprising amount of consternation amongst my friends, and they all wanted to know what was wrong with me. I think I realized then that my personality had become synonymous with drinking.

On the 7th of July, I realized that moderation wasn't going to work for me, and I needed a push to get completely AF. I re-started my gym and switched to a low-carb diet, and have been AF since. I have purposely avoided social interactions during this time, because it's a recipe for disaster. Baclofen has helped reduce/eliminate my alcohol cravings, but the social pressure and social anxiety is still there in spades. I don't know how long I'll be able to maintain this, because I will need to re-integrate my AF personality into my circle of friends, and I'm no longer the same person I was before I went AF.

So, YES. I absolutely risk temptation and failure by going back to my old lifestyle. It's going to be very hard to try and fit back in once I feel that I'm ready, if I ever feel that I'm ready. I'm now in the process of seeking out new things to do that don't revolve around alcohol. This is not an easy task, but it's much better than the alternative.

Date - Units Al, mg Bac

2010-07-11 - 0 / 200
2010-07-12 - 0 / 200
2010-07-13 - 0 / 200
2010-07-14 - 0 / 200
2010-07-15 - 0 / 200
2010-07-16 - 0 / 200

Blood pressure 155/100, slightly lower than normal. Blood sugar still slightly higher than normal. Weight dropped to 265, but pants are noticeably looser.

The switch: Still can't really tell if I've hit it. Cravings are nonexistant, but still fairly regularly a beer pops into my mind and the demon tells me how good a cold beer would taste right about now. How much of this is habit? Still, I will continue moving forward with the baclofen, I've put an upper limit at 300mg/day, plus I want to stay on a high dose for at least 2 weeks, if not a month before titrating down.

-Moglor

[PhoenixRising]

My Baclofen Experience

Very interesting observations, Moglor. I am at 250mg and my SE's are almost exactly as yours are. I also get VERY sleepy in the early afternoon, have to get up from my desk and walk around a bit or I WILL fall asleep.

I have had the least to drink this week than I have all year. (13 units) I was able to actually put back a bottle of wine I had in my hand. After my workout today, I was tempted but was able to easily let it go.

What I've noticed is that my strength has increased dramatically on the Bac. Have you noticed this as well? I am up to 260 on the leg press at the gym, not bad for a 53 year old woman of average size. I am not doing the low carb thing as I don't eat meat. Why did you decide to do it? It seems like a dual stressor for the kidneys.
Focusing on my workouts seems to give me purpose. And yes, sobriety is boring!
I actually cleaned my pantry tonight. Living life on the edge. :H

Keep up the good work, you are giving me hope!!

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Phoenix: Regarding low carb .. yes, I am very concerned about the kidney stress, but low carb has worked very well for weight loss me in the past, and it's got a lot of benefits for the type of workouts I do. It's also good for blood pressure and diabetes, both are problems I face. It's also a fantastic excuse for not drinking when at a social event. :-)

I haven't noticed any particular increase in strength. Maybe you're just healthier all around if you're drinking less? I know my performance suffers greatly up to several days after an alcohol binge, so abstaining is a big performance enhancer for me. Of course, if you're going to the gym regularly, you should be getting stronger!

Glad I can bring some hope your way! Two months ago, I didn't have any hope at all, and now I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am thinking, for the first time since I was a kid, about my future. I would love nothing more than for this thread to eventually become a testament to the miracle of baclofen, but until I can call myself "cured," I will keep updating this. :-)

I just reviewed my log, and I realized that I started this grand experiment on May 28th. On July 7th, my drinking tapered down to near nothing. On July 9th, I had my last drinks (4 beers.) A couple months ago, if someone told me that I could take a pill and be rid of a 15 year addiction, the last 7 of which have been 12+ drinks/day, in UNDER TWO MONTHS, I would have laughed in their face. The power of Dr. Amiesen's book and the support and information on this board are the only things that let me take the first step. Granted, the side effects have been.. interesting, to say the least, but have been worth every penny.

-Moglor

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Well, I'm considering starting to titrate down. I still don't really know for certain if I've hit "the switch," or if I'll need to stay on a maintenance dose or what. I still feel the pull of the cravings occasionally, but I can dismiss them easily now. My concern, of course, is that as soon as I start dropping my baclofen dosage, the cravings will become overwhelming again.

I guess there's only one way to find out?

-Moglor, 13 days Alcohol Free

[PhoenixRising]

My Baclofen Experience

Yes, I wonder - have any of you AF people who have gotten off Bac completely had NOT had the cravings come back? Inquiring minds want to know...

[tiptronic_ct]

My Baclofen Experience

PhoenixRising;918028 wrote: Yes, I wonder - have any of you AF people gotten off Bac completely had NOT had the cravings come back? Inquiring minds want to know...

I was going to wait for my 1-year AF milestone (21 August) before titrating down further from 120mg, but have already started.

I'm currently on 80mg per day, taken as a single dose (with thanks to Lo0p as my guinea pig). Still feeling comfortable. Going to stay there so that I can "test" how a new brand will affect me when it arrives from Goldpharma. The idea is to then titrate down very slowly (around 10mg per week) to zero or as close to it as possible.

[PhoenixRising]

My Baclofen Experience

I will be sitting here watching closely.

[mama bear]

My Baclofen Experience

me too!!

[tiptronic_ct]

My Baclofen Experience

A watched kettle never boils... :H

[OZboy]

My Baclofen Experience

..me three!!!

AF one week at 60mgs of bac...

..always been at 30mgs with no reduction in cravin's..
..i'm glad I've found this forum...:thanks:

[SoFlo1]

My Baclofen Experience

PhoenixRising;918028 wrote: Yes, I wonder - have any of you AF people who have gotten off Bac completely had NOT had the cravings come back? Inquiring minds want to know...

YES - I white knuckled the first 10 days of being AF waiting for my shipment, felt immediate relief on Bac up to 20x4 doses and stayed with it craving free for about 5 weeks, then tapered down and quit completely without a return to the cravings I originally had. It really helped me get over the hump of those middle weeks and I'm not sure I could have done it wihtout Bac, at least not comfortably.

[hopefulspirit]

My Baclofen Experience

I was told that Dr. A is currently back up to 270 mgs. I don't want to spread rumor but if anyone knows his current status, it would be interesting to know.

[konbrot]

My Baclofen Experience

moglor;917777 wrote: Well, I'm considering starting to titrate down. I still don't really know for certain if I've hit "the switch," or if I'll need to stay on a maintenance dose or what. I still feel the pull of the cravings occasionally, but I can dismiss them easily now. My concern, of course, is that as soon as I start dropping my baclofen dosage, the cravings will become overwhelming again.

I guess there's only one way to find out?

-Moglor, 13 days Alcohol Free

Like you, I was not certain I had hit the "switch". Wishing you well with your downward titration. I trust it telling will be as entertaining and descriptive as the upward titration. If the cravings get to much, go back up. I did. You are right, it is an experiment and there is only one way to find out.

[terryk]

My Baclofen Experience

hopefulspirit;918490 wrote: I was told that Dr. A is currently back up to 270 mgs. I don't want to spread rumor but if anyone knows his current status, it would be interesting to know.

Hi HS, Could you please tell us a bit more about your source for this information? Thanks, -tk