Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

[ash13]

Hi guys,

Maybe this has been done before and I have not come across it. If so forgive me and please point me to the relevant thread. If not, maybe this is a good idea.

I have just started taking Baclofen, and I am curious as to how many of you have hit the switch, so to speak, and how many are taking Baclofen to moderate or cut down your drinking , basically using it to cut your cravings to a manageable level.

I am determined to hit the switch and go AF. It would really help if those who definitely feel they have hit the switch would post on this thread at what level dosage they did so. I know everyone's journey is different, but this might give me some idea of the range, and if there is a pattern at all.

I have read about hitting the switch at 400 mg, and seriously, it scares the pants off me to even think of going that high. I shudder to think what it would be like even at 300 mg.

So, guys, those of you who have hit the switch, could you please post your "switch dosage" on this thread. Thank you so much for reading this, and God bless.

[gyco]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

hi ash,ive never done bac,but ive done a lot of other meds,ssri' s,anti depressents,paxil,clonazapam and vallium as others,to name a few.i did do research on bac,only cause of dr anistince research,he does state a dosage that worked for him,but with all these meds theres a certain amount of risk,addiction to over the counter meds,i no from my xperience,the withdrawl is horrendous,i was very fortunate that i dont care for drugs so it was not an issue to stop,i also beleive over the counter meds are a bandaid cure,some are needed for the rest of ones life,and that is a matter of opinions to,im not a dr or writer but the research and i do promote researching all views on drug and alchohol addiction, there are means to get you comfortably stopped and safely,it isnt good to do cold turkey after years of drinking or abuse ,i picked up a book a while ago,Healing the Addicted Brain,makes a holelot of sense to me,cant fix somthinif the brain isnt functioning in the 1st palce,i wish you wel gyco

[Sunnyvalenting]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

Interesting thread.
Sometimes I am glad I didn't know much about bac when I started taking it or it might not have worked so well! I think if I had been on this forum at that time my understanding of looking for a switch might have hindered my success.
I was started on it at 30 mg/day and never knew never told to look for a switch just to not drink.
My goal was always to be AF so that is what I assumed I was looking for. And even at 30 mg it allowed me to maintain my commitment to abstinence.
I guessed that if I was AF then the med was working.
I slowly increased to 80-90 range because that is what I was told to do. Not sure if I "needed" to as I was already AF. I stayed on that level for a few months and now am tapering slowly. I am down to 15mg at bedtime. As much to help me sleep as anything.
I have no further active interest in alcohol.
If you are interested in being AF I suggest you use your motivation to that end as well as the bac to help you get there. I wouldn't look for a special dose at which you feel different. Just slowly increase and see how you are doing. When you are AF without too much fuss then you are where you need to be. Stay there a month or so to "nail it down" and then slowly taper to the lowest effective dose. (go up slowly and go down slowly. I was advised no faster than 10mg/week/day ie. if on 80 mg take 70/day for a week then 60 & so forth.)
I do not think this is a "bandaid" approach at all. It directly enhances the GABA neurotransmitter effect and therefore allows the addicted subject to use judgment they already have. It tips the balance of power from the primitive "GIMME" brain to the sensible "I don't need or want it" brain. It allows our brain to use the sensible cortex rather than the animal survival/reward midbrain.
Good luck I think you will find this a remarkably helpful adjunct to your goal.
Sunny

[Sunnyvalenting]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

another note
Recent article said that in the french trial the range was 15mg-300 with the average of 145. So quite a range of doses. So many variables. Their success rate was 88% as defined by abstinence or significantly decreased use.

[PhoenixRising]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

i think we've been using the consolidated baclofen success thread

https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...ead-35995.html

[houtx]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

Ok - will try again. My posts longer than a minute aren't going through...here are a few random thoughts on previous posts:

The meditation CDs did not interest me. I keep a journal and with small children - good luck!! You actually may need it! LOL

I have felt like TOPA really worked for me @ 100 mgs: loss of appetite, and felt ehhhhhhhhhh about wine the last few days and even hard liquor tonite, although have sipped a couple just so I can go to bed soon. I think I will still go up to 120 mgs (have a DR appt tomorrow) as I find I've gone "flat" after about 5 days...would elaborate but afraid my post will be lost. Now that I am in the "edit" mode can say: I am just in an ehhhhhhhhhh mode as far as AL and my appetite is on a slippery slope...so let's up it, I'm thinking.

I am REALLY happy and amazed at how YES successful this drug has worked for me. I seriously have felt indifferent towards AL the last few days. The only reason I've drunk anything is out of habit, need to sleep, meeting friends. But have not had any Chardonnay (think I had a glass a couple of nights ago)...in what feels like ages and it feels great!! That is the weirdest thing - it just didn't appeal to me at all!!! PLus I've gone to bed at a reasonable hour, taken Melatonin, and woken up HAPPY with all this!! But tomorrow night I am meeting up w/ my wine-drinking girlfriends so Chardonnay and Savignon will be on the tailgate...I'm sure I will be good though. I'm just kinda like ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :-))

Love it!! Hope this is the beginning of MWO -

I'm excited!! If I can dwindle this down to some AF days/weeks/months...You will hear me shouting from the rooftops. Now...to get this to post!!

[houtx]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

Hey - I have no clue why that previous post ended up here. Can somebody copy and paste it over to the Topa thread??? Sheesh!! Thanks!

[manlooking4nothing]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

Hello Everyone

I just hit the switch on Aug 21 or 22 of 2010 or so !

AF since then ,My baclofen journey was real jerky ,had to switch many brands. since Iam from India there were many baclofen choices . Finally I got my switch with a brand called “BACLODOL “as I had problems with local shipment with BacMax and other brands.

I extend my sincere gratitude to “tiptronic_ct” & “corkit “ who personally helped and guided me through various phases of my jerky baclofen journey .Also thanking all members of this blog especially the “consolidated baclofen success thread “ members and moderator/creator.

While I was on 280 mg of baclofen (BacMax) I start to have trouble with the shipment as the agent refused to deliver the package due to some legal issues ,so I had to switch to “baclodol” rather less spoken or unknown brand of baclofen , I was a bit skeptical about this brand at 1st . I was drinking too.

I donno what happened to me one day ,I happened to jump off from the 1st floor of my building and injured myself ,got bed ridden for 2 months (very lucky that I had no fracture anywhere in my body,my doc looked at the x ray ,smiled and told that its aint yet time for you to die).so I suggest other lurkers not to switch brands of baclofen at very high doses if you are still drinking ,my experience says that its very dangerous.(switching certain brands can bring withdrawal , and if you are still drinking things are lethal )

So since I got bedridden I had to stop drinking and also my family confined me strictly at home , I continued my baclofen journey slowly up to 300 mg and then 400 mg all these because I was skeptical about the brand and I wasn’t drinking and I donno if I had switched or not .I was on 400 mg for a week and then titrated down slowly ,meanwhile I had to be in Bombay for a new job and I started to drink again but this time only 3 beer’s a day and that only in the nights (in India some beer have nearly 40% alcohol v/v ) , now I started to get confident so I titrated up to 280 within 3 days and see …………I just got switched ! I never drank since 22 aug 2010 .

Its rainy in Bombay so each time I come to my hotel after work my taxi halts in front of a bar(next to my hotel),so I have to go into the bar until the rain subsides .I couldn’t believe what was happening ……..i was the only guy in the bar eating food without ordering a single drink.

Thoughts to the Lurkers:

So my sincere advise for Lurkers is that try to avoid alcohol while you are in high doses of baclofen if you can’t at least reduce the units . don’t wait for the switch to happen if you are drinking ,just induce baclofen blindly to the maximum dose as possible (for me I just blindly went up to 400mg).baclofen works well when you don’t drink or drink less units(maintain a drinking unit diary).

Please notice that I never got switched at 280 while I was titrating UP but other way around !

Baclofen is absolutely safe if your work don’t involves driving or any other dangerous activities like working in a complex and dangerous factory environment etc. Otherwise its pretty cool. please don’t mind other problems like lack of sexual appetite, sleep disorder, scary dreams, tingling, limb numbness, enlarged puples, Disorientation ,Mood disorders, acute sleepiness, hair graying, loss of hair and things like that ……..all these side effects are just temporary and things will be normal eventually when you titrate down .

Whatsoever baclofen are not candies but proper pharmaceutical drugs which have to be treated that way. and getting to a switch is not just a walk in the park.

so I suggest other lurkers not to switch brands of baclofen at very high doses if you are still drinking ,my experience says that its very dangerous.(switching certain brands could bring withdrawal , and if you are still drinking things are lethal )

Please keep a check on mood disorder issues ,understand that it’s because of baclofen and its only temporary ,let someone dear and near know what you are doing and keep close contact to MWO forum members ,all of them are helpful and all the threads are useful .

I extend all possible help to lurkers, you can also mail on my personal ID (apparentajiesh@rediffmail.com)

Best & Good luck

manlooking4nothing

[ash13]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

good to know

Hi, good to come across someone from India who is also pursuing Baclofen therapy. I am also in India and would like to talk to you about many things ..... availibility of baclofen, how it works, and if it is ok with you, a regular contact where I can compare my experiences with you. I know there are many in India who are on the verge of this therapy. Your experience has helped me ..... if you are willing, perhaps others may be helped. Please let me know. Thanks

[ash13]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

And Congrats

And oh, I didn't mean to end my post without congratulating you on your success. Great job man! All the power to you! :goodjob: Take joy in what you have done and enjoy it in a responsible way! Way to Go!

[manlooking4nothing]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

hello ash13

i have already given my email add in the post which u can communicate
apparentajiesh@rediffmail.com

best

[manlooking4nothing]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

hello ash13

I have already posted my email in the post above (apparentajiesh@rediffmail.com)
refering to your earlier post on 09-01-2010 .

i went up to 400 mg as i wasn't drinking at all as my family confined me strictly at home and i dint know if i got the switch so i just titrated up blindly up to 400 ,I dont think that was my switch dose .

later i tapered down to 250 and then i moved to another city and i was drinking again(only couple of beer insted of large quantities of whiskey) ...........so i titrated up to 280 and found that I am switched ..................i actually donno which is my actual switch dose but what so ever iam not drinking and i know that Iam switched .

[ash13]

Hitting the switch comprehensive thread

thanks

thanks a ton! I have sent you mail on your email id. Thanks again for your post. You dont know how much of a help you have been:thanks: