BAC not worked for anyone?

[taw]

Hi

I just received confirmation that my bac just shipped...but I was wondering if anyone bac and it didn't work for them....I am afraid of putting too much hope into this and it is not going to work like everything else...

Just wondering...

[Isolde]

BAC not worked for anyone?

Hi taw. I can only speak as to what I've read here, as bac has worked for me. I'm sure others will come along and respond as well though. But keep in mind, that if there are people on this forum who bac hasn't worked for, they might not still be reading the meds forum. Don't let that deter you though! It seems that only those who haven't been able to tolerate the side effects are the ones who have to stop taking bac before it was able to work for them. That could be due to a myriad of reasons. Of course for every medication there will be someone for whom it's not a good match/not well tolerated, etc. But from my perusings here, I believe that everyone who has stuck with it and been able to continue to titrate up (and some have gone up VERY high in dose) have had success. The information on their continued success is still coming in all the time, but I also have not yet read an account of someone who has hit the switch falling back off the wagon. Not that it maybe hasn't happened, but I haven't seen it posted here.

Good luck on your bac journey, make sure to keep us posted! Take it slow, listen to your body as you titrate up, and use all of the great resources that you have here to help yourself as you go!

[tiptronic_ct]

BAC not worked for anyone?

Hiya, taw

I've been on the meds threads for over 18 months now.

Yes, there are cases where bac didn't work out for people. As Isolde mentioned, it was mostly due to SEs becoming intolerable. There are a few who are not yet abstinent despite having been on bac for long periods of time. For the most part, it at least helps them to control their intake.

I also know about a number of cases where people started drinking again. Almost without exception, it was due to them discontinuing bac, taking it sporadically, or tapering down too fast. I don't feel it would be right to mention usernames, but I know of at least 6 individuals.

HOWEVER: the success stories far outnumber the "failures" (if you can call it that).

How about taking your bac journey one day at a time? I'm sure you're familiar with the ODAT approach to sobriety. The same mindset can work for you here - don't try to look too far in the future and guess at what it might hold.

Good luck!

[taw]

BAC not worked for anyone?

Thank you both so much! I just feel so desperate and guess I am looking for reassurance...I have seen MANY success stories....I have been an alcoholic for over 20 years...guess it is not going to get fixed overnight! This is the only thing in my life I have REALLy had to work and and continue to fail...looking forward to sharing this journey with you all!!

[Seethepony]

BAC not worked for anyone?

I haven't been here anything like as long as tiptronic but I also got the feeling that the only "failure" cases were due to unbearable side effects. While I sympathise entirely, I occasionally got the impression that people were using side effects as an excuse to return to their drinking hobby. This is of course easy for me to say, as my baclofen journey was as easy as it gets, and I didn't experience any of the more unpleasant SEs that some have reported (Bed wetting, anyone? Erectile dysfucntion?! Yikes!) But I was prepared to deal with those things as the SEs of continued alcohol abuse are even worse. I have a 2 year old daughter and I was glumly wondering if I'd ever live to see her reach college age. Now that my drinking is close to zero, I'm suddenly looking at the possibility of not being dead in the next ten years, which is a great feeling! (Understatement of the year.) (And I am aware of the possibility of fate totally taking the piss by killing me tomorrow with a meteorite or falling coconut.)

One thing is for sure. Baclofen works better than anything else out there, to the best of my knowledge. If you're sure you've had enough of waking up every day with a hangover, as I was, there's no reason it shouldn't work for you, if you give it a chance.

You might like to dig through the pages of this part of the forum and read some "baclofen stories." I read Tiptronic's and Moglor's and they both make for very educational (and entertaining) reading. Both (far as I remember) soldiered on to higher and higher levels of baclofen without getting anything in return, except for horrible side effects. Then suddenly... well, have a look yourself. I also recommend anything written by Lo0p.

Good luck and have a spaced-out, bac-drowsy Christmas!

[Sunnyvalenting]

BAC not worked for anyone?

Bac will not help someone who wants to drink without consequences stop their addictive drinking. The craving suppression can only enhance an executive decision to abstain or control the drinking. In an open label study 85% of people taking baclofen became abstinent or significantly decreased their hazardous drinking. So there is always a group in whom it didn't work. I don't know what the individual determinants were. In my case I was totally committed to lifelong abstinence. Bac helped me do this, finally, after many other attempts failed. I, too, had succeeded at everything else in my life, so I knew it wasn't from lack of will power or motivation.
My suggestion: Take your your best motivation and go for total abstinence and allow bac to enhance your ability tof achieving that goal. In other words be ready to use all the tools in the tool box.
Will power, medication, social exchange(MWO and others), exercise, good diet, whatever helps you feel good and appreciate life should help.
IMO the sooner you get complete relief the more likely you will be to make that change permanent. Don't dither around with trying to mod on this. It just wastes time and cheats you out of the best possible result. In my case the change has been phenomenal. I look and feel 10 years younger after 11 months of abstinence. I remain on these boards to encourage others along these lines.
Good Luck What a great holiday present for yourself and your family
Sunny

[Greg]

BAC not worked for anyone?

I stopped high-dose bac due to insomnia as a side effect but I would have pushed through that if I hadn't been able to get sober without it. I would also still highly recommend it to friends who have an alcohol problem. I have taken it in smaller doses (up to 25 mg) during sobriety and found even that small amount to help with cravings and anxiety. Dr Ameisen says (in his book) that he was taking 180 mg per day for almost two years prior to his increasing it up to 270 mg, and he obtained benefits but not complete sobriety during that period. It seems that it only fully helps a person acquire total freedom from alcohol once they get above a certain dose level per day, which some people call their "switch" dose, and quite a few side effects can happen before getting up to that dose. I still think it is likely to be more effective for most people than alternative alcoholism treatments, which all seem to have quite a low overall success rate.

[Elisedd]

BAC not worked for anyone?

:welcome:
Welcome Taw! I have not yet hit the switch but have been reading the posts on this site since I started baclofen. Due to side effects, I have had to titrate up very very slowly but have read enough to know that, if I stick with it, I will hit the switch. Don't be discouraged if you experience side effects as low doses, I experienced side effects at low doses and have very very slowly gotten to 150 mg per day (going up again tomorrow) which has made it so much easier not to drink. The worst side effects have gone away, my body just took longer to get used to baclofen. I am so glad I did not quit. Stick with it, there are numerous success stories on this site. When I felt hopeless, I turned to this site and it kept me going. Good luck and keep us posted. Would someone please teach me how to "bump" the threads that were put together like the consolidated baclofen threads? Thank you.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

BAC not worked for anyone?

Taw, It works. Period. It's not overnight, it's not particularly easy, but undoing lifelong addiction never is. I certainly suffered more anguish, for a longer period of time, working the 12 steps. And withdrawal from AL abuse is also fraught with emotional and physical landmines. But this time, you won't have the anxiety and the craving to contend with.
Can't wait for you to get your medicine.
Hi, Elise! The side effects were worse for me at the low doses, as well. Hope you'll keep us posted on how it's going!

You can bump a thread simply by replying to it. If you have nothing to add, just write bump.