Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

[beatle]

Please enter your questions -- general or specific -- regarding baclofen, and then each one that follows, please copy and paste the previous one, so that we have a comprehensive list at the end. Thank you.

[redhead77]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

Beatle,

This morning I get a call at 8am from Dr L. He asked me via voicemail if I wanted to come in today instead of next friday because he has openings. Uhm NO! We had a blizzard here yesterday and I couldn't have gotten to him this am if I wanted to (I would have wanted to, I want my bac)! I just called him back and left a message and he actually went in to work. Very dedicated. He must live close to his office, because many of the roads were closed here.

If I can assist in any way with this process, I want to help. I can tell him at our appts what's going on. That way, no one has to pay out of pocket for it. The only thing is, I'm sure I'm going to have to give him only a certain amt of questions each week. Unless, we get this going and when I go in, I already have the list. I would be willing to ask him to do that.

[bleep]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

beatle and red, thanks for doing this, very good idea.

I'm curious as to maintenance doses, so obviously mine can go near the bottom of the list, or even skipped if there is no time. What sort of dosage is he finding to be successful. I'm assuming if there is a golden dosage regarding curing people, the same would apply to maintenance?

I have many more, but I'm sure everyone else has equally as many, so that will do for now.

[Greg]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

bleep;1053294 wrote: I'm curious as to maintenance doses, so obviously mine can go near the bottom of the list, or even skipped if there is no time. What sort of dosage is he finding to be successful. I'm assuming if there is a golden dosage regarding curing people, the same would apply to maintenance?

1) Has Dr L found any relationship between the daily dose of baclofen required to reach indifference to alcohol and the average daily amount the person is drinking?

2) Has he found any real benefit (apart from health in general) in a person being already alcohol-free when starting baclofen and working their way up?

A few of my friends are in bad shape from alcoholism and have failed all other treatments, so this would be of great interest.

[ogel]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

POSTED BY BLEEP
I'm curious as to maintenance doses, so obviously mine can go near the bottom of the list, or even skipped if there is no time. What sort of dosage is he finding to be successful. I'm assuming if there is a golden dosage regarding curing people, the same would apply to maintenance?

POSTED BY GREG
1) Has Dr L found any relationship between the daily dose of baclofen required to reach indifference to alcohol and the average daily amount the person is drinking?
2) Has he found any real benefit (apart from health in general) in a person being already alcohol-free when starting baclofen and working their way up?

POSTED BY OGEL
I would like to ask, and I am sure that all going through the Bac experience would like to know also, if Dr L has thoughts on the way forward for those who have found the indifference we all seek on Bac and are now on very low - 10mg to 20mg dose daily. As he has already said, that 18 months on, we should be back to a stage that we were before starting to drink, does he have thoughts on a maintenance dose thereon or is it ok to stop taking bac after the 18 months?

*please note that I have cut and pasted the previous two post Qs and hope this is a start* Many thanks to you B for starting this and your invaluable help to all of us in doing so - :l:h Ogel

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

Is there a relationship between how much and how long a person has been drinking (drinking history) and the level at which the switch will be reached?

My personal note: I'm guessing that there is a strong relationship between the two, and that a person who has been drinking heavily for a long time will have to go higher to reach the switch...
My reason for believing this (aside from the obvious) is that Dr. L said the switch had nothing to do with weight, ? it is all genetics and chemistry. My take on this is that genetics give us the propensity to respond to alcohol as we do, and for our bodies to become addicted, for neurological reasons beyond our control. But the chemical part is that the alcohol has also affected not just our bodies and our brains, but our whole neurology ? I mean that our neurological systems were already wacko from when we were born, but drinking heavily over a long period of time changed our chemistry further.

Ok, I swore no editing.

The list so far will be in my next post...

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

POSTED BY BLEEP
I'm curious as to maintenance doses, so obviously mine can go near the bottom of the list, or even skipped if there is no time. What sort of dosage is he finding to be successful. I'm assuming if there is a golden dosage regarding curing people, the same would apply to maintenance?

POSTED BY GREG
1) Has Dr L found any relationship between the daily dose of baclofen required to reach indifference to alcohol and the average daily amount the person is drinking?
2) Has he found any real benefit (apart from health in general) in a person being already alcohol-free when starting baclofen and working their way up?

POSTED BY OGEL
I would like to ask, and I am sure that all going through the Bac experience would like to know also, if Dr L has thoughts on the way forward for those who have found the indifference we all seek on Bac and are now on very low - 10mg to 20mg dose daily. As he has already said, that 18 months on, we should be back to a stage that we were before starting to drink, does he have thoughts on a maintenance dose thereon or is it ok to stop taking bac after the 18 months?

POSTED BY BEATLE:
Is there a relationship between how much and how long a person has been drinking (drinking history) and the level at which the switch will be reached?

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

btw, redhead-- thank you SO much! Can't believe I neglected to say that until now. (I'm not known for my social graces.) Let's collaborate, ok?

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

So, my last post on this thread was written at 5 a.m., and although there was nothing wrong with the content, the context was all off.

Mainly, I wanted to bump this thread, as it was at the bottom of the page

In recent months, it seemed to me that the threads were full of questions -- types of questions that maybe Dr. L. could answer. This thread was meant as a place to consolidate those questions so we could somehow ask Dr. L. in an organized way about our concerns.

Then, redhead came on and said that he/she will be seeing the doctor soon and offered to take a list of questions with her/him.

So far there have not been many, although the ones posted have probably been on the minds of many.

So, I'm shamelessly bumping this thread again.

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

bump again (sigh)

[taw]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

I too am interested if hitting the switch as more to do with time and amount drinking vs body weight...I am tiny but have been a heavy alcoholic for 20+ years...I have a long history of ALism in my family...does that weigh into the amount of bac I will need?

And also if being AF really helps you hit the switch sooner....

Thanks so much Beatle for doing this!!! can't wait to hear some answers!!

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

taw, I think Dr. L. has put to rest (in his opinion) the idea that weight has anything to do with the switch point.

I have a similar history to yours. I'd also like to know if the time one has been drinking, and how much, is relevant.

Does being AF help hit the switch point sooner?... is a question we are all wondering about. I'm not sure if Dr. L. can answer that.

[taw]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

ok....did not want thread to get lost again....whatever you do find out from any of these questions will be helpful to many!!! I am sure!

[taw]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

sorry could not come up with something more useful....

[beatle]

Questions about baclofen -- for Dr. L. and beyond

so very useful taw!

I'm sorry if my post was such a downer.