My Baclofen Experience

[ignominous]

My Baclofen Experience

I would hold off coming clean at this time if I were you.

Wait until you're comfortable in your new skin, so to speak.

I unfortunately don't have that option as I've been telling anyone who will listen, the trouble is that they only heard the part about me admitting they were right all along, "I have a drinking problem" and that I'm now more F@#$ed up than usual because I'm taking some off label drug.

Bac gives us new hope that we want to share with others but at this stage it is only hope and maybe our aspirations don't carry so much weight with others as they do in our own minds.

Only my take, you do what you have to do. Let us know how it goes.

[guardian]

My Baclofen Experience

I see absolutely no point in bringing ones baclofen use or alcoholism for that matter to anyone's attention unless they are already aware of it. If I have wronged someone as a result of my alcoholism than I will apologize for the act, not for my disease. This beast is mine to fight. It is my business and mine alone.

[Topsy-Turvy-Tracy]

My Baclofen Experience

Moglor, I figure that everybody who matters already knows.

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Very well said, Ig. I've been holding off on telling the doctor too because I want to present it as a "done deal" and prove that I've been AF using the regimen laid out by Dr. Ameisen. I'm still weighing my options on that one.

I recently noticed a new and strange side effect. I feel like I'm slightly sunburned, although I don't appear red, and am not running a temperature. I may have just slacked off on drinking my water today. Still some somnolence, but by and large I'm cruising along with no issues at 262.5mg, and will go to 275 tonight. Still no desire to drink, although depression and bad/stressful days at work have deeply tried my resolve, I still avoid situations where drinking is expected.

-Moglor

[ignominous]

My Baclofen Experience

Thanks for the vote of confidence that all I write is not just babble. I hope your proven correct.

I can only believe we are all going to get there and the only weapon we have is our resolve. Hang in there Mog.

A lot of weird and different side effects happening, I can only surmise that due to its reaction to our brains they are psychosomatic in a very real sense.

Did any one doing the studies notice the rats shivering with terror in the corner of their cages? Ha!

[Sunnyvalenting]

My Baclofen Experience

I would be VERY careful about whom I told about this condition. I believe it is important for your doctor to know what you are taking and why (who knows it might lead to them being enlightened and helping others). Even so it would be best that it not appear formally in your medical record as that can result in problems, exclusions, discharge (rescision) or failure to cover even indirect diagnoses. Other than that remember that this information can be used against you at anytime. Even if your relationship with the confidant is good now there is no guarantee that this continues. With respect to family I would say disclose on a "need to know" basis. I wouldn't go broadcasting. If I felt that revealing this would help an important family relationship it seems with judgment a reasonable thing to do. But as much as you may feel relief in confession now it may cause very uncomfortable stress down the line.
Good luck to any who struggle with this
Sunny

[kizzy]

My Baclofen Experience

Newbir- GP thinks it's all down to willpower

:new:

Hi All. This is my first post from a complete newbie. Not too sure how you even post yet. Here goes my first try.

I'm still new to to even thinking of myself as alcohol dependent. Though for the last 20 years I haven't been able to go to sleep without drinking a bottle of wine. 'A glass of wine' as I euphemistically refer to it. So I must be. Of course I am. I've tried to stop hundred of times and have read everything on it. But I can't and the hangover kills me the next day. That's what gets me most. The opportunity cost. I function, but only in part.

Really excited by the baclofen and topamax stuff - but when I finally opened up to my GP [in UK] this morning he refused to prescribe me anything at all, apart from referral to a psychiatrist in the local NHS unit where I have professional colleagues, and where they offer the usual [well documented] pointless stuff. As far as |I can see. Most of the traditional therapies of CBT and groupwork etc have been shown not to work.

Also I am still me, even if a drunk. So in terms of the AA I don't simply do not believe in god and I don't particularly want to help others, as in their mantra. That's just the kind of shitty guy I am. I want something that works, and works on me. Obviously not yet displaying quite enough self loathing, humility and hatred to be taken seriously.

Can anyone advise on UK treatment options please?

[muchthought]

My Baclofen Experience

ig - no shivering rats, but my rat is sleeping in the corner surrounded by cookies & fudgsicles.

I posted somewhere else that I found it a huge benefit to finally tell my husband what I was doing. The day I told him is the day I started remaining on schedule with the pills. I have not told anyone else and don't feel the need to.

[ignominous]

My Baclofen Experience

I've got to agree with you there. If your living in the same house, doing important things together, have a history of openness and there's still love left. Then it would be a betrayal of trust not to tell your significant other.

Not to sound like my mother but isn't she a bit old to be surrounded by sweets?

OK maybe 'shivering' is going a bit far but did anyone at least observe any plaintive squeaking.............or for that matter...........unusually low octave squeaks?

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

Sunny, I worry about getting this kind of thing in my medical records as well, and having it on paper that I'm taking off-label meds that I illegally import would be a problem. They can't exclude me from coverage due to my employer's arrangements with the insurer, but they could make life difficult for me, and they could deny me coverage if I ever changed jobs.

Until I have a better handle on this, I will just keep my head down.

I don't have a useful relationship with my doctor. I go every few years when I need something I can't take care of myself.

[ignominous]

My Baclofen Experience

Maybe time to start doing some discrete Doctor interviews while your wearing your Bac head

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

I was actually considering asking my doctor for a referral to a psychiatrist, who I think may be better equipped to handle issues of addition, depression, and pharmaceutical treatments.

Not much to report. I've kicked up to 300mg/day, which puts me at 2.5mg/kg. I take 75mg at 6am, 50mg at 10am, 50mg at 2pm, 50mg at 6pm, and 75mg at 11pm. Side effects continue to be mainly somnolence, but the impact is abating.

I have some mild auditory and visual hallucinations, mostly auditory. I have become very sensitive to noises. I was sitting in an unfamiliar office for the last 3 days, and the sounds of people coughing, stomping their feet, and machinery nearly drove me insane. I keep hearing beeps and thumps that aren't there, or maybe are there, but are just below the ordinary level of perception. Same with visual. Senses seem .. not so much more acute, but everything has a slightly harder edge, that I equate with amphetamine. Under certain circumstances, I see odd diffraction patterns at the periphery of my vision, and shapes out of the corner of my eye that I perceive as objects when they are just shadows.

These really only occur when I step up the dose, or take a larger-than-average dose.

This is now Day 10 of Sobriety MkII. I am mostly indifferent to alcohol, but I still think about it occasionally. It's a night and day difference between where I was at 150mg (drinking heavily) and 200mg (no drinking) in terms of my mindset and feelings about drinking. I can tell, though, that the link is tenuous, and another round of depression could easily derail me.

One of the things that I ran into during my September depression was that at some point, I was still on the Bac at 150-175mg but basically force-feeding myself alcohol. I didn't really want to drink, or be drunk, but I just kept downing beer until the pain abated. This was a big wake-up call to me that my problems are much deeper seated than just alcoholism. In my case, the alcoholism is truly a symptom of an underlying psychiatric disorder.

Best,
-Moglor

[ignominous]

My Baclofen Experience

Good idea about asking for a referral but also maybe ask around yourself first, after all it is your head.

Take it easy on your increases, only 36 hours ago you were going to increase by 7.5mg to 275. Why the sudden jump. I don;t really need to ask, we are all impatient. How long was your last AF period in Sept?

[moglor]

My Baclofen Experience

I am able to increase dosage relatively quickly and in large increments without undue side effects, so I do. I back the dosage off if the SEs become unmanageable.

My longest AF period was from July 10th through August 3rd, 24 days.

On July 18th I began titrating down from 200mg to to 75mg on August 14th. I remained at 75mg until the 29th and drank occasionally (always a binge,) at which point depression started to hit, and my drinking increased dramatically. I began titrating back up on Sept 12th, and stopped drinking again on October 12th.

[ignominous]

My Baclofen Experience

Iy was you who wrote this a couple of night ago?

moglor;985289 wrote: Very well said, Ig. I've been holding off on telling the doctor too because I want to present it as a "done deal" and prove that I've been AF using the regimen laid out by Dr. Ameisen. I'm still weighing my options on that one.

I recently noticed a new and strange side effect. I feel like I'm slightly sunburned, although I don't appear red, and am not running a temperature. I may have just slacked off on drinking my water today. Still some somnolence, but by and large I'm cruising along with no issues at 262.5mg, and will go to 275 tonight. Still no desire to drink, although depression and bad/stressful days at work have deeply tried my resolve, I still avoid situations where drinking is expected.

-Moglor

I only ask because you've gone AF a couple of times and I just wanted to make sure you weren't sabotaging yourself. No matter.


The main thing is that your still on course and this time its going to be permanent we hope.

The other thing I neglected to mention is: as with me I know that alcoholism is just a symptom of an underlying disease/disorder and you need the time to get to grips with this to be cured. Maybe this time when you hit your switch you should maintain the dosage a little longer and taper down slower.

Just thoughts. I'm still at a loss as to what my course of action will be.