I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

[kabeck]

Yes, I hit the ?switch? at 400mg. After years of battling my AL problems, finally BAC made it for me!!!

I am a lurker, and barely post, but I want to let you know that baclofen REALLY works!

First of all, many thanks to all of you in this forum; your posts, mean and have meant a lot for me!!! It?s been loads of help through this process!

I started this fight against AL back in 2007 with Campral, then in 2008 with MWO program but couldn?t handle the Topamax SE?s (extremely pain in my stomach, severe depression, etc.). BUT I found this forum through MWO book and that was wonderfull! Through this forum (in 2009) I found information about Naltrexone and TSM (The Sinclair Method) that I followed for 9 months all of them with NO success.

In my desperation, I came back ?once again- to this forum to look for information and I read here about Baclofen. Immediately, I bought Dr Ameisen?s book and started his method on March 2010 and since then, I?ve kept reading all your post about BAC and the SE?s.

Regarding BAC SE?s?I had ALL of them?like many of you on high dosis, nodding when I shouldn?t (office, middle of a coversation!, red lights, etc) and of course insomnia, twitching, tangling, etc, etc, etc and the WORST, I gained +25lbs in the process?HORRIBLE!!!... But ALL totally worth it because now, after years of fighting this terrible illnes, I?m finally FREE of this demon!

Why 400mg? because I gained +25 lbs and saddly because I was drinking while taking BAC. I deeply think that I would hit the switch at a lower dose of baclofen if I couldn?t stop drinking?but I couldn?t.

I was totally afraid to level off at a lower dose but I read somewhere here that it was safe to titrate up to 5mg/kg. Well, I said by myself that if I don?t reach my goal of quiting @ 400mg I?ll drop it. Thank God, @ 400mg the miracle ocurred for me.

At 400mg suddleny I just felt the indifernce that Dr A?s explained in his book (he got this feeling @ 270mg, though) Anyway, suddenly, I was not interested in AL anymore?I was (and I AM!!!) craving extremely cold WATER with a lot of ice!!!...that?s my drink now instead of my rum with coke (diet!!) that was my drink of choice. Thank God now it?s ?ice water?!!

I now can see my husband and friends drink rum and coke and I am TOTALLY indiferent!!! I prefer WATER?..that for me, is something AMAZING!!!

Oh, by the way, I never suffered for depression or anxiety or nothing in my entire life, my only problem was the alcohol.

OK, that is my story, but now I have a problem?.I am completing 2 weeks at 400mg (Dr A?s said in his book that he stayed at 270mg ? his ?switch? level- for 12 day but I?ll stay 2 weeks) and I have NO idea how to start titrating down. In the book Dr A?s said ?I progressively reduce my baclofen dose?? but he?s not clear in how he did it, and unfortunately I can?t find a post here that can help me with this issue.

So I am asking for the people that already reached the switch to explain how slow they titrated down. Now, I am aware tham I am probably the only one in this forum that hit the switch at this high of a dose, but tomorrow Friday Aug. 20th I will finish my 2 weeks at 400mg and I have NO idea if I have to start tirating down by 10mg or 20mg per day or evey 2-3 days. HELP PLEASE!! Besides I can?t wait to start titrating down so I can stop having this terrible SE?s.

Sorry for this long post but this is the first time that I?m posting something about me.

Thanks for reading my story, I look forward to hearing yours.

Best wishes to all,

Kabeck

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UPDATED 9/25/10

Hi all,

It?s been a little more than a month when I first wrote telling you that I hit the switch @ 400mg of BAC.
I just want to update how I?m doing now. I started titrating down by 20mg every 3 days, and then when I was on 300mg I decided to go to 250mg to see what happen?nothing bad. I stayed @ 250mg for 3 more days and titrating down another 50mg.

I am now @ 120mg, no cravings back, no SE?s at all!!!! And I lost tons of weight!!!
I will continue to titrating down, but slowly?my plan is to go up to 80 or 75mg approx. I will titrate down approx 20mg every 3 days.

The great news is that I have no cravings at all and on Oct 1st I?ll be 2 months AL FREE!!!!
I just want to let you know that BAC really works, and once you hit the switch and start titrating down, the cravings don?t return! This pill is a miracle, seriously!

Thanks a lot and good luck everybody!

Kabeck

[kabeck]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Hi Reg, Thank you!! I am definetely OK!!! without AL in my life!!
Tomorrow will be 2 weeks at 400mg and on Sat I will start to titrating down.
I am not drinking alcohol at all since August 1st.
Before that I used to drink between 5 to 10 glasses of rum & coke (almost everyday!!!!!) OMG!!! (I don't count units, etc because never couldn't figure it out how to do it!!! hahaha! so I just counted the glasses that I drink!)
Of course while I was titrating up, the less glasses I drink...before going to zero I was drinking 2 or 3.
But abstinence was always my goal, anyway.
And my SEs are not THAT BAD anymore....only the weight (that I already have 10lbs less!!) and the insomnia that I HATE!!!
Thanks for your reply!

[Bruunhilde]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Thanks for the inspiration Kabeck, I have Dr A's book and the MWO and lots of other books, have not yet read Dr A but bought the bac, and just started 10mg/day for a couple days then upped it by ten one day, felt nothing, so upped by 20mg the next, and was unable to function so I'm back off it and wondering if I'll ever be able to use it. The Topa made me lose hair but helped with cravings at low doses, so I'm thinking about doing both. I know I need to read the Dr A book but I don't even know where I put it. How fast did you titrate up? Bac seems to linger with me, more than just a day or two, so I think I'd need to up it by 10 mg every four days or so, which means this will be a very long project.

[PhoenixRising]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

I got up to 245 (3.6 kg/mg). I have been titrating down 25mg every 4 days and I am fine. When I got to 200 I had a craving pretty strong, so I just took an extra 10mg and it was fine.

I say go down the same way you went up. Congrats on your success. I was also drinking all the way up to the switch and also felt I could have gotten there with a lower dose had I been able to quit. (But hell if I could quit I wouldn't have needed the bac!)

I gained about 10 pounds on it, but have gotten 3 off already. Try taking L-Glutamine for the sugar/carb cravings and try not to eat so much sugar if you can.

You're made of stronger stuff than I if you got all the way up to 400mg. :wow: What do you weigh (if you don't mind saying). The switch is a wonderful thing, isn't it? :h

-P.

[FallonsMom]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

wow congrats to you!!!! I am so glad BAC worked for you

[Doggygirl]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Congratulations kabeck! It is so exciting that there is new hope with Bac when other things haven't worked. I hope you will share how things go as you titrate down.

DG

[tiptronic_ct]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Kabeck,

Huge, huge, huge congrats! Your post is written with such emotion - its quite inspiring! :goodjob:

I titrated up very fast, since I experienced relatively few SEs until I reached 180mg and upwards (came very close from 240, completely hit the switch at 270).

At first, I titrated down quite fast as well, but soon realised I had to take it much more slowly than I had been. Initially, I started off reducing my dose by 10mg a day in an attempt to mitigate my insomnia. When the cravings returned and I slowed down, I reduced it by only 5mg every 2nd day. That way, I could gauge my reaction to it much more carefully.

I've now settled on 80mg and have been there for several months. I'm planning on titrating down further once I've reached 1 year AF (in two days' time - yeehaw). I intend taking it even slower, and going down by 2.5mg every 2nd day. I'm not going to take any risks, but need to see how I feel after all this time.

I really hope we'll be seeing more of you as you continue on this journey!

[Sunnyvalenting]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

The clinic where I get my BAc told me to titrate down very slowly-just 10 mg/day/week. It would take you 40 weeks at that rate! I think you could go down a little faster as recommended by phoenix to get to a "more typical" dose. But I would also stop if your cravings reared up. I would then stay at that dose just above that level for a few weeks and then try again to slowly taper down. It takes awhile to "rewire" the brain for permanent abstinence. This is what bac is allowing you to do. I am abstinent for 7+months and take 30/d in divided doses. Congrats to you and others
Sunny

[Sunnyvalenting]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Reason they titrate down so slowly is that one of their clients had a seizure when tapering down.

[wort]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Congratulations Kabeck!

I hit my switch at 380mg/d; for me this was 4.6mg/kg.

I stayed there about a week, then titrated back down fairly quickly. I was at 200mg/d within a week, and 120mg/d the following week. I am currently at 80mg/d with almost no SE's.

Everyone is different. If you feel cravy, go slow.

Best,
-wort

[Im Almost There]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

I am so inspired by this thread. I haven't posted in a long time. I have been taking topa for a couple of years. Initially it helped and I drank less, but with time I just drank through it. It did help me lose weight though. My husband finally got fed up with me and I came back to this site. I ordered the bac and just started taking it this week. I am going to be patient and titrate up slowly. There's no way I can be AF, but I think I am drinking less. I can't wait to reach the switch. At this point I'm hopeful, but it seems really far away.

Congrats Kabeck. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.:goodjob:

[kabeck]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Thank you all for the replies and for share with me your stories! As always, your information is very useful! Thanks a lot!!

For Phoenix, let's say I was size 6 and went to size 12!!!!!!!!! Now I am in size 10 and soon to be size 8

I am taking L-Glut and trying not to eat carbs (only carbs from veggies, like lettuce, tomatoes, etc)

Again, thank you ALL for your kind comments!

Kabeck

[Sunnyvalenting]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

I was already fat but chose not to worry about my weight gain (about 3-4 pounds and lots of sugar) until I had been abstinent for 5 months. I didn't want to loose site of the most important thing. I am now able to eat healthfully. I have been exercising more and have lost 17 pounds in 2 months in this manner. I know that in past if I lost weight and exercised it was always with the thought that I would eventually start binging again and gain it back. This feels different. Let's hope that stays that way
Sunny

[hopefulspirit]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Kabeck,

Congratulations! I think I hit my switch at 240 but backed down due to side effects to my normal 180 mgs. I have not been that gradual between these numbers and have not had an issue. I too, was looking for the titration down schedule so thank you for bringing that up.

HS

[buddabelly]

I HIT THE “SWITCH” @ 400MG OF BAC

Thanks all of you

Af since started Bac. Thank the Lord.

Very confused about se's.

I am awake ALL the time.

I got jittery legs, so bad felt like torture. I am laid on the bed, my mind and my body iscreaming out for sleep, but I twitch so bad it's not possible.

JESUS I am so muddled, I am af, I am sat here as I am every night, wide awake. But guess what I feel wonderful. I suppose if it aint broke don't fix it.

What's me what's the bac ? When I started it I felt tired, I expected that. Got the munchies,
always do when I stop alc, put on loads. Now I don't feel like food at all. I've lost about half a stone last 2 wks.

Now I feel so good, I want to know why ?

I am now' leaving the building ' Wont bother trying to sleep. For me its now 2.50. am. I'm goin to have a cup of tea.


Thanks to you all out there, whatever timezone your in.