Baclofen

[Guest]

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[taw]

Baclofen

I wish I had some advice for you...but I am only on day 4 on bac...do you have a doc you can talk to? Maybe you need to up your dose a bit more?

I am glad you came back...I am sure someone with more experience can offer better advice...

Wish you the best!

[seeking_serenity]

Baclofen

UK, I found early on that I was drinking more as well! I also found that my craving started to wane at @100-120mg. I was told by others on this forum that my desire to drink more may have been my "inner party girl" having a final "extinction burst." Pretty sure that was the case, as my desire to drink has decreased dramatically. Hang in there; you are on the right track. Don't let any minor setbacks let you down!

[anon]

Baclofen

Uk I had a few forays into taking bac and it did not stop me drinking.
This time after titrating up faster than I should I am able to kick the cravings. I thought taking the bac would replace my need for will power but it does not really but now I am able to say no without too much hardship.
I am 9st and taking 50mgs baclofen at the moment.
Good luck BTW I HATE taking medication.

[Guest]

Baclofen

Ok hmmm will power I find has no place with alcoholism, it doesn't work since it's the will power that drives you to continue drinking against all odds.

All I can say is that I've managed some very good AF periods without meds before, it was essential I stay AF at the moment and this is now becoming an absolute disaster.

[bleep69]

Baclofen

Hang in there, would be my advice. Maybe this is the storm before the calm...

Perhaps if you can definitely place the blame at baclofens door, hang off it until you get to a period where it's not so crucial to be AF? Personally, I just want to get this done ASAP.

I also seem to be drinking a bit more (also just started bac). I think, and hope, as others have said, its the last gasps of a dying beast!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen

UKB, bac can be a license to drink, in my experience. And I can at times drink a heck of a lot more. I think I shared with you that the lower doses were really lousy for me? It got better as I went up, and I'm still looking for the sweet spot I found at 120mg/day. In Low's words: Just take the pills! Rationally, though!

[mollyka]

Baclofen

UKB, sorry I know nothing of Bac but just wanted to say it's great to see you here and trying all options. I don't necessarily agree with you about willpower. I think it's essential it just gets buried when we are drinking cos the motivation is gone. Look I'm not lecturing, you're much more successful at all this stuff than I am, I just know it is very easy to lose control which you had/have in spades girl. Thinking of you
Molly

[spuddleduck]

Baclofen

looking forward to seeing how you get on uk. i know youve had differing advice about bac and were hesitant to take it. being diabetic im still hesitant to take it without a doctors supervision as ive heard reports about it affecting blood sugar levels. (though i would happily drink whatever and whenever without a doctors supervision and we all know where that leads) hope it improves for you

[paulslice]

Baclofen

Hi UK

I'm going to suggest that you please stick with it.

I started taking bac many months ago, and I couldn't believe it, but I really did hit my switch. Now, I'm 185 pounds, and I was in the midst of a heavy binge, which essentially went on until I hit the switch. I went all the way up to 360/day before I did. Not sure if that was because I was binging, my body weight or what. And yes, the SEs were almost intolerable at that level.

I started titrating down immediately- actually I dropped right away to 300, and then went down 20mg every 5 days. I'm now at 180, and I feel great. It's truly magic. I still like to have a glass of wine with dinner, and even have the odd scotch. I still like the taste and the fire in the belly. But it's incredible. One or two is enough. I really have no desire to carry on. It's not that I crave the booze at all, not a bit. Getting drunk, or even high, would be virtually impossible.

It's impossible to say what dosage you'll need to get to to reach the switch, but 50 mgs is likely nowhere near. Stick with it, it works. I would say it's safe to increase every four or five days. I also started splitting it into 4 doses a day, to minimalize the amount taken at once, and that really helped. I still do that.

I just want to tell you that there's no way that the bac is increasing your cravings. Something else going on there...

Best to you! The end of your suffering isn't so far off...

[bleep69]

Baclofen

Inspiring stuff Paul, gives me hope!

Hang in there UK, AF probably seems terribly important, but will it matter in a year or two what happened during this next couple of months? This is said, of course, without knowing your personal sitaution, where it may very well matter, but you get my drift, I hope? Hang the willpower up for a bit, it's not helping anyway apparently, and go with it. As I've seen a few times here, "take the damn pills."

[Guest]

Baclofen

Bleep

Thanks but as I've said above I have never relied on willpower for my successfull AF periods, since willpower is fairly useless against this illness, and this I have known for many years.

Err yes what happens right now is very important because if I don't get AF properly in the next few days or at the most by the end of the week my business will fail, I will not get my tax paid on time, and I will lose all hope of my physical & sporting goals. I can pick up the latter later this year, but my business will go down the pan with no other way of supporting myself - it also gives me a lot of self esteem and freedom too. Also if I get into financial trouble I won't be able to finish studying in the other career I'm training for - and I don't mean because I can't afford to study, more because to have any bad marks against me in that area will mean I will be expelled.

So as you can see I'm in a corner right now.

[CharlieBigPotatoes]

Baclofen

Blondey, I suppose that most of us are here on a kind of 'needs must' basis. I hesitate to offer this advice, especially since I am so new, both to MWO and baclofen, but being destitute and drunk is worse than being solvent and drunk. IMO anyway. To me it looks like you have to do what you have to do to save your business, then come back here and get on with the baclofen. You seem to have enough determination to stop drinking to have tried baclofen in the first place, you probably will do again.

[Guest]

Baclofen

CBP

What I have to do to save my business is be AF, I can't save it otherwise since it's my drinking that is causing it to fail.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen

CharlieBigPotatoes;1039263 wrote: being destitute and drunk is worse than being solvent and drunk. IMO anyway.

That's my opinion, too. Having done both.
UKB, what did you use to find and stick with some sobriety before. You've strung together some serious AF days. If not will power, then what? Prayer? Support? Whatever it is, tap into it. If you can't... well then, keep yourself well enough to clean the sh*t up when it hits the fan. I've done that too. It is actually doable.

What are you looking for? Bac is no easy fix and I personally have had stretches of time when I could seriously put away the booze while taking it, and feel a bit lucid at the same time. Not a good combination.

I can't tell where you are? The middle of a binge?
:h