Sweet success! (with baclofen)

[bleep]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

I did find this, which is about as close as we'll get to OA's switch post.

A Cure for Alcoholism? Video

Originally posted by beatle, back in Sept '09...

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

I edited my first post with this:

I dedicate this thread to Dr. Olivier Ameisen, without whom none of us would have found this way out!

[Guest]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

neva eva;1057547 wrote: I edited my first post with this:

I dedicate this thread to Dr. Olivier Ameisen, without whom none of us would have found this way out!

Perhaps I shall too since I have over 6 days AF so who knows.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

Here's the one that clicked for me:

PhoenixRising;921204 wrote: I was not going to go higher than 250, but thanks to Tip's nudging I took it up to the next level; 262.5 (10.5 25mg pills) Oh my, I just calculated it, and I am actually only at 237.5 - I counted them and am taking 9.5 pills DUH! Dang, I can go even higher. That makes me 3.49 mg/kg, squarely in Dr. A's range.

Anyways - I successfully passed Day 4 which has been my stumbling block forever. I keep track of my workouts and my drinking in a spreadsheet (I know, strange bedfellows...) and I have not gone past Day 4 in 5 years (that's how far back the ss goes). The longest I have gone is 6 days, and that's since I started drinking at age 18. So this week I have another funeral to go to (hubby's aunt and uncle died the same day, the uncle was getting ready to fly to his sister's funeral and dropped dead) so I will not have the opportunity to drink until SUnday, (and Lord knows I'd rather not drink than just have one - a total tease!!) and I am hoping by then I will have a grip on it as I will be more than a week sober by then. I would usually have had a bottle of wine last night, as I get into the mentality of "this is my last change to get drunk until Sunday" but I thought of how tired it makes me, how much I had to do with packing and all and just said "nah". !!!! This NEVER HAPPENS! I will brave snow, sleet, ice, angry mobs, hordes of locusts, you name it - to get to my beloved alcohol. but this one time, it was just too much hassle to pull over and go into the grocery store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unreal, huh???

So, the SE's I've had (and I will copy this to the SE thread as well, and the whole lot of it to the Bac progress thread so if you see this more than once don't think old Phoenix has lost it (tho my orbit is a little off-center anyways!!) :H

The worst:
Extremely shallow breathing (this scared the shit out of me so badly back in December that I got off Bac entirely, only to cave and give it another go in Feb).

Visual hallucinations - usually just a couple milliseconds in length - the scariest was seeing someone at my bedside, the least scary having a brief visual clip repeat itself. Not bad unless I have driving! This usually only happened when I was tired.

Tiredness - I have literally caught myself from falling out of my chair at work. I've taken to napping on my lunch hour - just closing the door to my office and lying on the floor. !!

Once I took 50mg too much by accident (!!!) and had HORRIBLE spasticity - so bad I looked like I had cerebral palsy. I just cut back on the back and it went away in 24-36 hours.

The easiest:
Spasticity - the irony of which is not lost on me. Also, crampy muscles, but this could be because I'm at the gym hitting it hard.

Slight nausea. Not bad at all.

Parentheses (you read that right!) I now enjoy parentheses more than before I started the Bac; my love of semi-colons has remained constant throughout.

Positives:
I am kickin' it at the gym. My strength has increased more in the last 2 months than it ever has.

My drinking slowly decreased. I went from 25-35 drinks a week (and sometimes higher) to 13.5, then 12, then 4 and now 0.

Self confidence is through the roof.

Energy - since I now have evenings, my house is cleaner and my gardens are weeded. I am making bread and jam regularly and reading a lot more.

Clear headed - I am usually a morning person anyway, but now I am 100% every morning. It rocks!!


The alcohol voices have stopped. No more good angel/bad angel on my shoulders. "You deserve it - get a nice bottle of wine" "But you've already gone 3 days, you're on a roll - stick with it" That kind of crap is gone.

I never had the bad hangovers on Bac of which others spoke. I also was never able to just quit as others seems to have been able to. Road to Recovery encouraged me to, and said the Bac would be more effective if I did, but the cravings were just too intense.

So now I have the chance to go more than a week without. Next Weds hubby is out of town for several days, and that''s my Biggest Trigger Ever. So, how will I do? I am thinking I will be ok...

So, have I hit the switch? If not, I am pretty darn close. I never thought I would, I quit Bac once already. I credit all the information I have read here, all the encouragement from my wonderful friends here and from Cowgal from beyond the grave, bless her soul, :upset: and my loving God most of all.

It will remain to be seen if I can keep up the momentum, but for the first time in 35 years, I actually have hope.

So, for all those who struggle, look to me. I was about to give up for the second time. I thought the Beast had won. I now think I have a chance on taming the Beast, but I never for a minute will think he is gone. The Beast will always be lurking in the shadows, ready to take a nip (sorry, bad pun!) out of me the second I falter. I can never forget that and get too confident.

God bless you all.

-Phoenix (finally rising from the ashes)
from: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...tch-43932.html

She's still doing well!

[bleep]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

There's this thread, from a while back, which is a summary of what you (neva) are doing from an earlier time:

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

[RedThread12]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

Great idea, Eva, to put all the "successes" in one thread. The "Consolidated Baclofen Success" thread now has a few editions, and there's been a lot of activity lately.

We also have Bleep, Lowcountryman, Seethepony, LoOp, myself . . . ? Eight Days stopped posting when it all kicked in but the posts are still there, somewhere.

There's also Otter's wife and the miracle episode from Canada that got locked but needs to be brought back. This material is absolute gold. There's been some discussion on another thread about how/where to post it, but you've made a good start with these recent successes. Even a single link to each success story would be helpful. Here's a few:

Ignominious: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...w-3-46839.html
Lowcountryman: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...1-a-47275.html
Persona: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...nce-47518.html
Moglor: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...e-8-42779.html

AND btw, I am SO happy for you for getting out of that hell!!!

[Murphyx]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

I love this thread. It was exactly these sorts of stories that convinced me I could do it as well.

This is from my diary thread.
https://www.mywayout.org/community/1057613-post58.html

I haven?t updated for a few days because I wanted some time to get a handle on what?s been happening to me.

Sorry in advance for the length of this post.

I started on bac just over 2 weeks ago and I?ve spent the last week trying to convince myself that I can?t possibly have hit the switch so soon. I?ve had a glass of beer most days and waited for the oh-come-off-it-you-know-you-want-to-get-rat-arsed-so-just-give-in-to-the-desire-and-get-seriously-pissed feeling, but nothing. I don?t want a second one. I didn?t actually want the first, but it just seemed like the thing to do. After all I?m a long term pisshead. It?s what I do. Well not anymore it?s not. I would honestly prefer a good cappuccino or a nice cup of tea to a skinfull of Stella. I can?t believe I just typed that, it sounds so ?well ? normal. And that?s what I now am??normal?. I?m a normal drinker. I have a normal relationship with alcohol. I?m now one of those normal people who can have a drink?or not?it doesn?t matter. Bizarre!

While I definitely wouldn?t recommend it to anyone else, I think it?s important for people looking into using baclofen in the future to have some record of other?s experience to help them make their own decisions, So this is (as far as I can recall) how I started with Baclofen:

Day 1, 25mg, 4 evenly spaced doses
Day 2 as above
Day 3 50mg, 5 evenly spaced doses
Day 4 as above
Day 5 80mg, 8 evenly spaced doses
Day 6 as above
Day 7 120mg, 8 evenly spaced doses
Day 8 150mg, 8 evenly spaced doses (the switch!)
Day 9 as above
Day 10 until now 150mg in six doses: 8am, 10, 12, 2pm, 4, 6. Making 6pm my last dose to stop me falling asleep too early and allowing a (relatively) normal night?s sleep.

The reason I wouldn?t recommend this sort of titration pace is because from about day 5 to day 9 my head was seriously messed up. If I wasn?t self employed and was able to set my own work schedule I would be in all sorts of trouble. I can?t imagine going in to an office, or operating machinery or driving for a living if I was that spaced out. I?d have been fired, at best, and responsible for a hideous accident at worst. I think a more steady titration would be sensible for most people; allow yourself time to adapt to the changes and get over the side effects. Having said that, I do get the feeling that the quicker you get to your level (the level that works for you) the better to some extent. But then again, what the feck do I know? All I know is what worked for me. We are all different. There is no fixed path, whatever anyone says. You can?t say you need to be on 3.7mg/kg/day, or that everyone will switch on between 210 and 270mg. It just doesn?t seem to work that way. I switched on 1.2mg/kg/day. Others have switched on as little as 30mg or as much as 600mg. I think it?s going to take years and years of different clinical trials to get to the bottom of this and in the meantime people are just going to have to experiment on themselves, like we do. Not ideal, but we don?t have much choice.

Side Effects wise I think I?ve been fairly lucky. Having said that, some people seem to suffer next to no SEs except a little somnolence. Apart from that seriously messed up period of 4 days when I thought my brain was melting, I?ve had:
dizziness - seems to be easing now
nausea - never too bad, but I?ve never been a puker
somnolence ? falling asleep in the middle of dinner and ending up with vindaloo all over my face, but taking my last dose at 6pm has helped with that
insomnia ? I?m still waking too early but I think that is improving
electric shocks in the hands ? was completely crazy for an evening, but less each day since
problems in the trouser department ? 100% cured!!!! In fact now much better than before I started on the baclofen (being constantly pissed doesn?t help Mr Happy?s performance).
Feeling stoned/foggy ? fun to start with but it got old really quickly. Fortunately also reducing each day. I no longer feel stoned but I am a little concerned that I may appear to others to be.

I won?t be updating this thread unless something changes; Baclofen has done it?s job, it cured my illness so there?s nothing more to say. But I will be sticking around and adding my tuppence worth in others? threads because it was so important to me when I started, to hear from people for whom Bac had worked, even though I feel like a bit of a fraud because it was so easy for me compared with most other people.

Oh yeah and while I remember, I have discovered the joy of alcohol-free beer. If someone had said to me a month ago that they enjoyed the tasted of Becks Blue as much as real beer I would have laughed in their face (and probably given them a quick dig if no one was watching), but there you have it, it?s actually rather nice.

Now can someone point me in the direction of a forum that is packed with as many helpful, knowledgeable, inspiring and downright good eggs as MWO, that can help me lose weight and stop smoking. Then I really would be fixed.

[Isolde]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

I figure it's time to add my switch story to the mix as well, even though it jumped around for a little bit!

The first switch was at 155mgs at the end of November. I was AF for 4 days before I realized what had happened. The SEs were intense, and I was also going through a really difficult time in my life which caused a LOT of emotional turmoil. Both things combined made the thought of drinking sound like the worst thing in the world. Though normally the emotional stuff would have caused me to self medicate with AL.
Since I had severe insomnia at 155 (caused not entirely by the bac, I'm sure), I chose to start titrating down rather than stay at my switch dose any longer. I'd probably been at 155 for about 5 days.

Over the next few weeks, I dropped my dose by 20mgs every week, same way I'd gone up. There were still a lot of things going on around me that were triggers though. I moved, for one, and it was the holidays and then my birthday, etc., etc. Around 110mgs, I was starting to think about drinking a few times a week, and falling into a habit of having a few drinks on weekends. At one point I would have called that a HUGE success, but it felt too close to my old habits.
On my birthday weekend mid January I got really depressed (absolutely nothing to do with my birthday) for no reason whatsoever. I decided to start increasing the dose again and instantly felt 100% better. Back up 20mgs every week and back to very rarely drinking, never more than 1, usually just once or twice a week. Pondered stopping at 160mgs but figured what the hell, and pushed through to 180mgs.
I could FEEL from day 1 that this was IT. VERY intense SEs, no thoughts about alcohol whatsoever. Because of the intensity, I was only going to stay at 180 for 3 days. But decided I'd made it that far, and I didn't have insomnia (the absolute WORST SE for me), so I stayed there for a week.

I don't have an exact date for the "big switch". Maybe Jan. 31st of Feb. 1st. I can't remember if I bumped up to 180 on Saturday or Sunday. Anyway, I don't think it matters much. I think it was more the time frame that I spent at 180mgs that did it for me.
I went to 160mgs for 5 days before deciding that I wanted to go down more quickly this time, so I'm dropping 10mgs every 2 days now and hope to be able to rest for awhile at 80mgs, which was a real sweet spot for me coming up.

Like bleep, moderation is my goal. If I ever have to increase the dose in the future for awhile again, I have no problem with doing so. But I think I'll try to do it more like OA did on the few occasions that he tested his indifference and had a few drinks - I'll bump my dose up for a couple of days afterwards and go back to maintenance.

[_serenity_]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

I've gone ahead and added my own! :h

I was going to wait and write this on Friday. But I am absolutely positive, after today, that the switch has truly occurred. I'm crying as I write this. My whole life is beginning. I can't fucking believe it. (Warning: lots of gratuitous cursing in this post!)

When I realized that it had happened yesterday, I was so dumbfounded and joyful that I couldn't find words to express it. When I did find the words, they came to me in the form of a Pulp Fiction quote, and Jules was talking to me:
We should be fuckin' dead now, my friend! We just witnessed a miracle, and I want you to fucking acknowledge it!

So Jules, thank you for giving me the words I wanted to say. I am here to acknowledge it, my friend. It is real. :h

A little bit of back story:
I've been drinking 3-4 beers a night for some time now. When I went up to 190 last Friday, I was having a hard time adjusting to the dose. I felt "bac sick." Nausea, dizziness, the whole works. I haven't been as active on the forums for a few days because of this. Anyway, on Monday, I could only bring myself to drink two beers. They tasted absolutely toxic to me, like I was drinking poison. But I forced my way through them.

Yesterday, I felt absolutely awful all day. Nauseated, dizzy, headache-y, the whole works. Every time I imagined the taste of beer I wanted to throw up. I kept thinking, "Wow, this bac-sickness sure feels like a bad hangover." When I got home, I still had two beers in the fridge, but I had no desire to touch them. I felt awesome, because I felt that the switch was happening. Anyway, I got through the night AL-free, effortlessly. I'd occasionally ask myself, "Do you want those beers in the fridge? and my answer was always a resounding "Yuck! No!"

So this morning, I got up and went to work. The first thing I noticed was that I didn't feel sick for once. Then it occurred to me: all the time I thought I was "bac-sick," I was suffering from hangovers. My hangover yesterday was from TWO BEERS the night before! My body was truly rejecting alcohol! When I got off work today I felt like I was floating on air. No desire for alcohol, not a single craving for those two beers in my fridge.

I've never really fought the bac, nor have I ever wanted to quit. I've suffered relatively few SEs, other than the dizziness/nausea (which I now realize were hangovers). I always figured the switch would just happen. I hadn't planned on it happening so soon! I have so much in common with Neva Eva, including the fact that we both had an almost bottomless limit for alcohol. I figured I'd probably have to go up to 300 or more.

The "switch dose" really is a genetic thing. NE and I weigh the same amount. For whatever reason, my body just gave up my alcoholism without a fight at 190 ml/day. I don't know why, nor do I care much at this point!

So here I am. Two months to the day after I started on Bac, I quit being an alcoholic. I am still trying to wrap my brain around it. It's a fucking miracle! THANK YOU, DR. AMEISEN AND DR. LEVIN!!! If anyone has any questions about the efficacy of bac, feel free to message me. I can say, without a doubt, that this stuff works.
I HAVE MADE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE!
And things are looking wonderful from over here. I really can't contain myself. I've been vacillating between crying and jumping for joy!

I am no longer an alcoholic. What a fucking blessing. I can't even believe I am typing those words. Thank you SO much, MWO, for all your support. I promise to stick around and testify for Bac. That drug, and Drs. Ameisen and Levin, and all of you have saved my life. I cannot possibly be more grateful :l :h

[help4me]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

Hello. As I write this I am now 12 days sober. A feat that I just cannot believe and happened so swiftly after my body got to that magic dose of the BAC! I feel blessed.... and am still in awe.

My journey with BAC started last October after reading all about the success stories here and Dr. A's book. I had to give this a try. It couldn't really work, could it? Well, I ordered my first batch of pills from Rx2.com and they arrived. I started taking them slowly and began titrating up.... my schedule was never spot on or methodical, I did not do it correctly.

My side effects were horrible and all over the board. massive weight gain, terrible twitching, light flashes, nausea, gagging, overloaded flem in throat, crusty red eyes, etc...
In December shortly before Christmas, I gave up. I did not want to go through the holidays feeling like this.

However, I kept coming here and checking in. Still astounded by all of your stories. I began researching the titration schedules of those who had "got there". There was one particular lady who just hit home with me. It was Kelly aka. Birdy and her story here has been my true inspiration:

How High Dose Baclofen Cured My Alcoholism

In January I decided to go for it again and keep to a very regulated titaration schedule. I decided this time that I was going to fight my way through all the side effects and go for this magic switch I kept hearing so much about. My titration started at 20-20-20 and I worked it up over a month to the following ultimate schedule:

7am - 50
10am - 25
12n - 50
2pm - 25
4pm- 50
6pm- 25
8pm - 50

The night of Feb 17, 2011, I drank. Nearly 1.5 bottles of wine. I remember feeling like I didn't have to drink, but I did. That night I thought, this is just not going to work for me. My drinking is so much more than just a physical craving. I am completely insane. *sigh*

I went to bed very numb. Very flemy & coughy and my husband said I was snoring like a bear through the night. I woke that next morning feeling a bit lighthearted & nauseaous. However, I started right in with my regular dosing...

That afternoon, something hit me. I had no desire for a drink. I chalked it up to "I got hammered last night, must give body a rest today". Took the 275 that day as well ...and went through the same feelings the next day. Would have normally been a drink night especially since my husband & kids were away and I was home. BUT... NO DESIRE! I had a salad and diet gingerale and plugged away at a work project.

HMMMMMM!!!!! Next day, same thing. OMG. Did I possibly hit this magical switch?!! I wasn't going to get excited or elated, but these feelings of indifference continued and are continuing, 12 days later (!!!!!!)

I have not had 12 days sober in nearly 14 years. This BAC and these pills are truly magical people. I am completely beside myself and keep waiting for my "self" to say "what the hell.... have a glass of wine", and it's just not happening. Holy crap!!!!

I am greatful to all of you. Especially Kelly/Birdy and Ig, who told me on another thread to "Just keep taking the pills" .... when I was complaining about the SE's. He was right. I am thankful for that advice.

Good luck to all who are contemplating this, who are struggling through the side effects now, and to those who have made it to the other side. I wish you all the best of luck. Keep it up.... IT WORKS!

[gyco]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

hi it s the figuring out tht kills us sit back and try try to relate is what your doing rite

[gyco]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

all get chastised for this ahhhhhhhh

[bleep]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

Brilliant stuff Help. Well done!

Are you planning on never drinking again? I love reading posts like this!

[help4me]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

Hey Bleep, Thanks and, you know, I'm not sure. The other night I went to a friends birthday dinner where, normally, I'd be the one glugging away while everyone else had a couple. I did have a couple sips of wine when she poured me a glass, but I was truly happy to switch off to flavored selzer after. In fact, I wanted it.

SO BAZAAR!!! :rays:

God, if I"m able to do that at all events, then by all means, bring it on! Right now, I'm just going with what my body is telling me and, so far it doesn't have any desire for anything alcohol (!!!!) .... or coffee for that matter. At the same time I lost my desire for wine, I also lost all desire for coffee (which I normally drank all morning).

Has this adversion to coffee also happened to anyone else?

[bleep]

Sweet success! (with baclofen)

Ya, I hear you - after years of trying to moderate, knowing I could never actually do it with any degree of success, suddenly having the option available to me was very strange, I still don't know quite how to respond.

What a dilemma!