Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Thanks, both of you.

I am not going up quicker because like you said, I am having an easy time with the side effects, so I figured I should keep doing what has worked for me so far.

I might experiment with increasing the dose sooner than usual.

[bleep]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Fair enough, that makes sense. Certainly doing something right!

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Having said all of that, last night, for the first time in six weeks, I went to buy some beer. I suppose I was just sick of abstaining. It also occurred to me that this would be the first time since October 2010 that I would drink without Naltrexone.

I poured the beer into nice pint glass to replicate that pub feel that I used to enjoy and, expecting an electrifying response to what I had been abstaining from, I took my first sip...

Nothing.

It felt like the first time I drank a beer and thought, 'This doesn't taste very nice, but everyone else seems to enjoy it, so I might as well try to get used to it so that I can fit in'. Well, I don't feel that way anymore, so after drinking two beers (to make sure I wasn't hallucinating), I poured the remaining two beers down the sink, and that was that.

I think I can probably attribute this reaction to the three months I spent drinking with Naltrexone. I have probably at least partly unlearned my attachment to alcohol.

I am going to try 200mg of Baclofen today, and I will continue to increase the doseage until I experience indifference. Then, once I reach my target weight goal, I will taper off the Baclofen to zero and give the Naltrexone another shot. If the beer drinking becomes too much again, and I starting putting on too much weight, I will go back on the Baclofen.

That's the plan anyway...

Apologies for the wordy post.

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Well...I tapered off my Baclofen doseage to nothing and didn't drink for another couple of weeks before I started in with the beer again. I had lost 20lbs while on Baclofen and not drinking, but since I have started drinking again I have gained 14lbs back. ops:

So, I tried to start Baclofen again last week, but I was drinking at the time, and like the first time around mixing Baclofen with alcohol seems to make me really feel sick. I ended up throwing up several times during the night, and the nausea prevented me from sleeping.

I think the only way for me, is to take Baclofen and go alcohol-free. It's just hard when I find drinking beer to be such an enjoyable thing that causes any negative thoughts to vanish.

[moglor]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Oh, Persona, this mirrors my experience so much it's just uncanny. I also lost 20lbs, gained 7 back. Restarted bac, was very nauseous for a week or so. Fortunately, the nausea went away as I re-adapted to the bac. I think I could have avoided it if I hadn't been stubborn and restarted bac at a pretty high dosage, basically from 0 to 75mg/day in one day. I completely agree on the beer thing too, that's always been my achilles heel. I've been composing some thoughts on the matter, which I will hopefully get posted up on my thread tonight.

-Moglor

[bleep]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Hey Persona, good to see you again.

Hopefully you are able to push through and reach indifference this time around. You will see it makes all the difference in how you then relate to beer. Being alcohol free will make it much easier for the baclofen to assist you, but if I recall you never really had any really bad SE's the first time around?

Best of luck.

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

moglor;1112440 wrote: Oh, Persona, this mirrors my experience so much it's just uncanny. I also lost 20lbs, gained 7 back. Restarted bac, was very nauseous for a week or so. Fortunately, the nausea went away as I re-adapted to the bac. I think I could have avoided it if I hadn't been stubborn and restarted bac at a pretty high dosage, basically from 0 to 75mg/day in one day. I completely agree on the beer thing too, that's always been my achilles heel. I've been composing some thoughts on the matter, which I will hopefully get posted up on my thread tonight.

-Moglor

Yeah, it seems as though a lot of people suffer from feelings of nausea, but unfortunately I have a phobia of throwing up, so nausea is really difficult to tolerate. I will keep an eye out for your post.

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

bleep;1112443 wrote: Hey Persona, good to see you again.

Hopefully you are able to push through and reach indifference this time around. You will see it makes all the difference in how you then relate to beer. Being alcohol free will make it much easier for the baclofen to assist you, but if I recall you never really had any really bad SE's the first time around?

Best of luck.

Thanks, bleep.

What actually happened the first time was that I tried to take Baclofen whilst still drinking, and I found it made me feel hazy, and I ended up in the same severe nausea state described above. Following that, I tried to take Baclofen without drinking, and I found that I had virtually no side-effects!

[Murphyx]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Hi Persona

When you titrated down from the bac last time, were you AF during the tapering down period as well as for 2 weeks after? If so, why were you AF? Was it just to avoid the hellish AL+Bac hangover, or were there no/reduced cravings? Also, since you started drinking again, have you actually started enjoying the alcohol again (as you used to prior to using Nal or Bac) or is it just a means to an end?

Finally, do you think if you had remained on the bac you would have been able to stay AF?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just want to get a handle on where you're at.

Murph

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Murphyx;1112478 wrote: Hi Persona

When you titrated down from the bac last time, were you AF during the tapering down period as well as for 2 weeks after? If so, why were you AF? Was it just to avoid the hellish AL+Bac hangover, or were there no/reduced cravings? Also, since you started drinking again, have you actually started enjoying the alcohol again (as you used to prior to using Nal or Bac) or is it just a means to an end?

Finally, do you think if you had remained on the bac you would have been able to stay AF?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just want to get a handle on where you're at.

Murph

Feel free to ask away.

I was AF the whole time, to avoid feeling sick, but it seemed very easy to me. I thought that might be due to the anti-anxiety effects of Baclofen.

Yes, I have started enjoying beer again. Particularly when the weather is warm. I have never been someone who has been able to go to a blackout level, because I am afraid of being sick. For me, the main problem with alcohol is that it makes me put on weight and that it gives me an irritable bowel the following day.

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Urgh.

I tried taking Baclofen again, but found myself wanting to drink beers, and this led to the same awful multiple vomiting episode hangover that I had experienced before.

I want to try going alcohol free and taking Baclofen, but I am going to be in the Czech Republic in early August, and I don't know if it's a problem to take Baclofen into that country.

Does anyone have any idea?

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Awfully quiet around here these days, Persona.
I'm glad you've come back. I'm sorry you had to, though, you know? And ugh. The vomiting thing. That sounds dreadful.

I haven't heard of anyone having any problems with traveling. And there are quite a few around here who do travel internationally. I would suggest you do what you would normally do when traveling with meds. It's not controlled, meaning a narcotic etc... So no reason for anyone to get antsy about it. Make sure it's labeled. Take some in your carry on so that you have it... you know the drill. Good thing it's not a liquid or in your shoe, though.
Sounds like a fun trip! What're you doing?

[Persona]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Hello again, Ne.

I normally wouldn't be worried when travelling with medication, but I do not have a prescription for the Baclofen. I'm just worried that the customs people might give me problems over something they don't recognise.

I am going to be doing some shooting over there, and if I'm not taking Baclofen, lots of beer drinking.

On second thoughts, maybe it's better that I wait until after my trip to start on the Baclofen again...

[Murphyx]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Personally I'd just stick some in an aspirin bottle. The customs people are hardly going to go looking into every little thing and even if they did empty the bottle out, they're not going to know whether the tablets are aspirin or baclofen.

If it were confiscated then you just go see a local doc and explain to her that you're visiting the country, you have Restless Leg Syndrome, you forgot to bring your baclofen and you need a prescription. She won't check (probably won't be able to) and they won't be worried about doling out bac scripts; it's not exactly an opioid or some abusable drug. Don't sweat it,

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Hello, everyone - My Baclofen Experience

Hi, Persona!

In my experience (including my present experience) there are lots of reasons to postpone taking bac. I tried it twice before I decided to do it once and for all, no matter what.

In that way, I understand.

But the truth is that for most of us, there won't ever be a time when life just stops and we get to get on the bac-train and ride it out without complication. I can't think of a time in my life, with the exception of when my parents were supporting me, that I had that luxury.

But of course, you've got to weigh the risk/reward ratio for yourself.

As to the drinking beer while shooting? (Shooting meaning animals or shooting meaning photos? :H I think I remember that you are a photographer?) I think the whole point is that you'll be able to make a decision as to whether or not you want to drink. You've had some success doing that on very low doses of bac, right? That might be a solution.

I think Murphy is spot on about traveling with bac. It's pretty innocuous. I can think of 3 people off the top of my head who travel internationally who haven't had any problems at all. None. And even the overseas stuff comes labeled with what it is and how much and looks like what it is: Medication. (Maybe you'll be able to get some cheap in CZ? I can't remember if they're EU or not. shame on me.)

Finally, I think you're in the states, right? You can always get a rx from Dr. Levin. If you're not, you could probably get one for a low dose from a doctor for muscle spasms. It really is that innocuous. Getting a 'script shouldn't be too hard.

Best of luck, Persona! Let us know what you decide and how you fare!