Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Progress report:

Second day at 245. No cravings whatsoever. Not even a passing thought. Very sleepy, tho. May go home and take a nap.

[Sunnyvalenting]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Phoenix, this sounds very promising. I hope the cravings stay away. In spite of almost 7 months of abstinence I do still occasionally "miss" the time out that alcohol abuse gave me. It is sort of like missing an abusive friend or family member. I had gotten accustomed to it. I am training myself to enjoy other things and not glamorize the alcohl effect. I too never honestly wanted to drink like a normal person. I only wanted to get f****g drunck so one or 2 isn't what I want and isn't worth risking a relapse for.
best of luck
sunny

[hopefulspirit]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Oh, wow... I just typed the longest response and lost it!!!
I was saying...
I'm sorry that my 1 glass of wine caused such a rumble. I didn't meant to come across as reckless with Bac. I was simply overjoyed that one drink didn't have me obsessing about the next. I couldn't believe it and I wanted to share that here.
I also wanted to say that the few days ago when I think this "switch" happened was when I went as high as 240 -- It was too much too fast and I was manic, anxious, paranoid and had intense vibrational tinnitus (if that's a medical term: ) I jumped way down since (now at 160) and am kind of dosing as needed at night. I read a dosing instructional sheet from yet another Psychiatrist that I engaged in this whole ordeal and just realized that his recommendations with Bac were similar to TSM. You take it before you know you're going to drink. I wish I had my hand on it now but I don't. I just thought that was interesting.

Anyway, I've been strictly AF since my one discretion.

Phoenix... I'm rooting for you!!!!

~HS

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Well, I was so sleepy that drinking wasn't an option, lol.
I can't believe I haven't had anything to drink for 2 weeks and the scale hasn't budged. I thought I'd see it plummet. Could it be the bac??

[hoping4better]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Phoenix,
First, congratulations on your success! That is amazing and you must feel so good. I admire your tenacity with the bac.

Regarding the weight, I have heard that female wine drinkers tend to have lower body fat/weight -- but that probably applies to someone who has 1-2 glasses, not a bottle! I gained a lot of weight while I was on bac. Went off it about 3 weeks ago and I think my stomach is shrinking but I'm still afraid to step on the scale!

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

I am now almost certain that I forgot to take a 50mg dose a couple of days ago and that's why the cravings came back. I am at 245 now (3.6 mg/kg same as Dr. A) and I have absolutely no cravings at all. I don't even think about AL. I came home (this is only the second Friday in recent memory I have not gotten drunk) and just plopped on the couch and fell asleep watching tv (which is why I am up now!) What a difference the dose makes. I am amazed. I was so close to giving up.

Hubby is away (huge trigger) and didn't call today (another huge trigger) and I still didn't feel the pull. I am beyond ecstatic. If I can do this, anybody can. Bac is not for the faint of heart, tho!!!

-P.

[houtx]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Congratulations, Phoenix! No, BAC is not for the faint of heart. I couldn't get past 120 - so glad you were able to hang in there! Hope "Plan C" works for me :-)

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Thanks!

I am on my way down now, down to 235 today. I went to the grocery store at 5:00 and walked right past the wine. Not even a twinge. This stuff is a miracle. It's amazing how I can be out of my mind with cravings at one dosage and indifferent the next. Unreal.

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

I am in Philadelphia now, on vacay with my s-i-l. We went out to eat and it didn't open till 4:30 so we sat at the bar and sadly, I ordered a drink. I only had the one, and I can't even say I enjoyed it. I think tho, if I had been going home afterwards and had had some AL at the house, I would have kept going. So, my counter is back at 1 (2 actually - we went to a beach part where everyone was drinking and I didn't have a drop. Helps that s-i-l is not a big drinker) I think I will keep the day I last had a drink at Friday the 13th. Apt, wouldn't you say? So, I am sorry that I blew the 3 weeks I had under my belt, but it's good to know that I didn't enjoy it and didn't order a second. I just don't trust myself, so I dare say I won't be trying this again.

Philly has been nice. S-i-l-, however did not do her homework and did not have any idea what she might like to do. We took the time and $ to get over to the LIberty Bell only to find out she had no interest. (The Liberty Bell, like Plymouth Rock, is one of those "WTF! That's [I]IT[I]?" sort of experiences. Sorta like hubby #1, snark)

So, one more day here. I wish I'd have decided to go home today instead of tomorrow. I miss my dogs and the hubs and my home and my back is KILLING me, as in EPIC kill. I could hardly get out of bed this morning. Not sure if it's the bed or what, but man oh man...

Miss y'all :h

-P.

[Lo0p]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Don't beat yourself up Phoenix. If I counted like that this would be day 1 for me. Granted I only had a couple of sips of a beer yesterday before I decided I didn't want it and passed it off to my best friend. Then the day before I drank beer ALL NIGHT LONG!!! The final count: 3/4 of a beer. I had to keep putting it back in the ice chest so as not to waste it. I went camping this weekend. I stocked up too! I bought a six pack of Pyramid Apricot Ale, but I gave the rest of it away.

Now if I were counting from the last time I got drunk that's a different story. I couldn't tell you because I don't even remember.

After I "thought" I hit my switch I still got wasted once every week or two. You can see that in the graph in my sig. I ended up increasing my dose and all of that just went away.

You'll be fine! :goodjob:

[Lo0p]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Before someone misinterprets this as a mod vs AF thing, I am not involved in that kind of stuff. I am practicing The Sinclair Method with baclofen. My personal rule is to drink as much as I want to drink whenever I want to drink it.

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

I had thought about modding, but I was doing that about 9 years ago and I got myself back into full swing. Thing is, I really don't enjoy drinking, i just enjoy getting drunk. And we all know how much fun THAT ends up being, lol. No, I'm not beating myself up, Lo0p. I had one drink and quit, and that for me is a success of sorts. Just pissed I ruined my perfect score.

You are doing the Sinclair method and Bac, too?

[RedThread12]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Phoenix - re the scales: I gained quite a bit of weight when I first started taking baclofen. I even bought "bigger" jeans, which I haven't done for decades.

Heavy won hands down vs. drunk, for me. Then I started in with serious amounts of l-glutamine, and today I'm at the weight I've considered my "target" weight but haven't seen for . . . oh, say 15 or 20 years.

I read LoOp's post about fasting (don't remember exactly what it's called) and found that it is similar to where my own eating patterns have landed with the l-glutamine. I eat a couple of times a day, never before mid-afternoon.

Beloved coffee disappeared from my life (never decided to quit, just quit wanting it!) and without it my blood sugar stays incredibly stable and my appetite minimal. I eat whatever I want, but between the maintenance baclofen and the l-glutamine, I don't crave anything.

It's pretty amazing. Now I can have both a bottle of red wine and a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the house for weeks or months. It's weird . . . I like it.

BTW, I take 15-20 grams of l-glutamine a day, divided first thing in the morning and again in the early afternoon (before I eat). My doctor is professional body-builder and she says I can take l-glutamine until I start to smell like ammonia. So that's my guide and so far my friends say I'm doin' okay.

So well done on hanging in with the baclofen to get liberated!!!!! It is SUCH a relief, no? And that, IMO, is the most important thing. Take on the weight when and if it doesn't disturb your balance with the baclofen and booze. This is just to say, I was there . . . now I'm not. You can find your way, too.

[PhoenixRising]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

Wow, Red. That was just what I needed.

How many teaspoonsful is 15-20 grams of L-glut? (I am assuming you buy it in powder form).

I'm starting this week with Lo0p's daily 16 hour fast thing. I started part of my lunch at 10:30, so I can eat until 6:30 if I choose to. My sugar cravings since AF have been thru the roof. I am addicted to Freeze Pops. :busted:

[RedThread12]

Is it possible that Phoenix has hit the switch???

I order from VitaCost (big tubs, cheap), and for that product 1 tsp. is 4500 mg, which means that 2 tsp. is 9 grams. I'm not a very precise measurer, but that's probably close to what I take, twice a day.

I mix my morning dose with All-One. Yumm . . . .

What else . . . oh yeah, I stopped taking an anti-depressant I had been on for years - BONUS! I didn't intend to, but it just felt right and has continued to feel right.

I Luurve L-Glutamine!!!

Onya', Phoenix. You're doin' great!