The Switch and Indifference

[beatle]

The Switch and Indifference

Have all of you people gaining weight looked into thyroid functions?

The symptoms you are describing sound identical to hypothyroidism.

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

RedThread12;1063279 wrote: UK: I gained about 25 lbs. when I first started taking baclofen. I actually didn't change my eating habits much at all, but I had to buy "big girl" jeans for the first time in decades. Fortunately, the bac took my drinking down to no more than 2 glasses of wine/day, so I decided to be fat and almost sober.

Then, while I was titrating up, I started with massive doses of l-glutamine. Really, a lot. Like 10 grams first thing in the morning, 10 grams in the early afternoon, and another 10 grams in the evening if my appetite was overwhelming. Fortunately, my doc is a body-builder and she said I could take that much and even more safely.

It totally stabilized my blood sugar. I live alone, so it was easy to start skipping meals - I just wasn't hungry - and after about 6 months I lost 40 lbs. with no effort. As a matter of fact, I have to make sure I eat well because I'm about to go below the weight I was when I graduated from high school in 1974, and the saggy skin just isn't attractive.

You may already be using l-glute, but if not, give it a try, at really high dosages. My doc says you can take it until your urine starts to smell of ammonia. Hasn't happened to me yet.

On another note: I'm self-employed. When I was in the worst phase of my drinking I lived by re-financing my house, selling my car and maxing out my credit cards. Then I got "sober" for 3 years with AA and intention, and still couldn't get my s**t together to work. I relapsed, found baclofen in Oct. '09, and almost immediately returned to higher levels of productivity than I had had for years. Bankruptcy followed, of course, because of all those years, drinking and sober, that I didn't work.

BUT bankruptcy was a breeze compared to the struggle I kept perpetuating thinking that I had to keep everything going. And it hasn't affected my life at all. I just do things the way "normal" people do now and pay as I go. Makes me realize that I wasn't very sane even when I wasn't drinking. Baclofen has had many beneficial effects for me.

I meant this to be a short post about l-glutamine. But seeing your struggle to maintain, thought I'd share my story of how not maintaining at all until after bac'ing up has worked out fine, no, actually, great for me. When you have your life you can clean up the detritus. I know. I did it.

The phrase I'm seeing around the forum is "just keep taking the pills." I'm glad you are. I'm pulling for you to get free from AL. Then you can put your life together. Who knows, the pieces that fall apart might open up something even better. You can do this. You can do it all.

Red thanks for that.

I have been bankrupt myself and I can't do it again, it did affect my life surviving in this day and age without an operational bank account is almost impossible and if I do it again it will be serious plus I'll lose my place studying for a qualification I need. I too only pay for things I can afford but it was a struggle.

You try renting a place when most landlords want a credit check!!!!!by that I mean if they see bankruptcy they won't go near you with a bargepole.

So I disagree it was an incredibly difficult time for me that hampered me right until it cleared off my record. And would be very serious if it were to happen again.

I hope it does get better because will power last year was better than this. Oh and I have used L-glut in the past thanks. There isn't much I haven't done yet.

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

Can I just say without saying too much that I would be fine with the 24lbs I've put on I've been this weight in the past - but you see it directly affects my job. If you knew me you would know why. I basically cannot hide it and it is severely detrimental to my work!!!!!

So thanks for the well wishes BUT I am not getting this out of context, if it were just a case of buying bigger jeans I wouldn't give a stuff and would be quite happy. As it is it's a lot more serious.

[Bruunhilde]

The Switch and Indifference

Thanks Red, Beatle,

I'm on thyroid meds this last year, because I thought that was causing my hair to fall out and my weight to go up so much. It has helped me get out of bed in the morning, but not much more. No weight loss, no hair gain.

I'm familiar with L-glut, have a tub of it, but what will that do for my GI problems that keep me from eating? I thought it was for appetite reduction. Are you saying it gives energy?

Thx all!

[RedThread12]

The Switch and Indifference

It supports the enteric nervous system, "a subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that directly controls the gastrointestinal system." (wiki) The enteric nervous system has been described as a "second brain." It's the gut that either produces and/or makes use of all the neurotransmitters - seratonin, dopamine, etc. If it's not working, we don't work. Do some goggling about "enteric nervous system." After I started the l-glute and All-One I naturally (meaning I didn't even think about it but just found it happening) quit taking an anti-depressant I had been on for 4 years. I'm NOT recommending that, just sayin' that's what happened for me.

So yes, I'm saying that since I've been taking it I've had more energy and been more productive, both personally and professionally, than I was even during years when I was AF. The baclofen has helped me with things other than drinking - compulsive spending being one - and the l-glute and other supplements have done wonders for my health and feeling of well-being. I ran into a dear friend I hadn't seen in a year (when I was fat on bac) and she just kept smiling, smoothing my hair, and saying, "You're so radiant!" BTW, I'm 54. Good luck, Bruun. Getting free from AL comes first, but it's not last!!!!

[Bruunhilde]

The Switch and Indifference

Cool, I'll check it out, thanks!

[LadyLush]

The Switch and Indifference

Redthread,

Good post! I have heard similar stories and will get some at GNC today.

Lady

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

Thanks I'm going to try the high dose L-Glut since I have a tub in my cupboard anyway.

All I can say is that I've been very down. I'm totally spaced by the baclofen and have no life because of it, I'd rather drink really and have been having morbid thoughts. At least with the alcohol you know there has to be an end. With the bac it's just zombie all day and I can't do anything. I don't even have a job that I can hide in either. I also know if I stop the pills I'll just get a load of "you should have carried on" and "you didn't give it chance". Well I'm sorry but I've no life with the baclofen.

I just want to give up.

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

Got up eventually this morning and don't want to face the day at all. If I could post pictures of what I looked like before I started Baclofen, and photos of me now I'm unrecogniseable. I was fit, shining and healthy 2 months ago. Now I'm overweight(and it's not a few lbs it's 24lbs)hardly exercising, lank hair, face so puffy I can hardly open my eyes or smile. I am also incredibly depressed. If I stop the bac I'll be told I haven't given it chance, but to continue this existence of depression and not being able to do anything - well that is just an existence. I feel really down but can't even tell my counsellor because she'll question my use of a drug I'm taking off label. So I can't even talk to her during my appointment later.

Got some important personal things to do today and all I want to do is take the pills, and go back to bed to sleep and hide.

[bleep]

The Switch and Indifference

Shit UK, I am sorry to hear you are having such a horrible time. It's a short-term shit-fest though. Find your switch, then it will be okay. It may seem unbearable, but you just have to do it.

I have found that SE's completely disappear if I lower my dose even a little. It seems to take about 4 or 5 days for the baclofen levels to adjust in your system, despite having a half-life of some hours. Maybe try that?

What dose are you on now?

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

I'm on around 125mg. Been there since I thought I'd reached the switch at 100mg. To be honest I was much the same on 100 but the cravings came back so I upped it and it's just worse now.

I suppose I could just stop everything and hide in bed all week. Not a life I'd choose because this has been going on for the best part of two months.

[Murphyx]

The Switch and Indifference

Are you sure it's the Baclofen that's causing your problems?

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

What else is causing me to slow down like this?want to sleep all the time, red itchy eyes etc?feeling lethargic?

Two months ago I was almost as lean and mean as Loop here. Took baclofen and my drinking just went to everyday, lost my will to work out and diet etc almost instantly. My drinking cravings are less but I don't want to do anything else. I've quit the bac for a few days at various points and the side effects have disappeared. I've felt alive again but of course the cravings then return. So I take the bac again and the tiredness and bloating returns. I've between a rock and a hard place. Within an hour or two of taking baclofen I'm really not able to do anything but sleep. Yesterday my eyes were crossing all the time. Got 5 hours of driving to do today, and last night I had a dream that I crashed my car then couldn't remember doing it. Great one.

Perhaps my SEs are a hallucination. All I know is that I've persevered as suggested and the nightmare just carries on.

[Guest]

The Switch and Indifference

Well at least Baclofen helped me cope with somethings that went really wrong today. Firstly I couldn't find my keys for the garage and so was 30 minutes late for my counselling appointment. I then couldn't find the postcode for the place I was due to visit in an unfamiliar city to help me with another issue in my life. So I rang them and got the post code. Plugged it into the Tom Tom and set off. By the way this is something I have wanted to deal with for a while and have been ripped off by other places offering assistance, but not doing quite what they claim. So have been very excited to find somewhere that will do what I want them to.

ANYWAY

Exhaust fell off the car, just 10 minutes into the journey. Heard the scraping noise and decided to pull over, had a quick look and it's dragging on the floor. So rang the recovery people and had a cold 1 hour wait, too scared to run the engine firstly because I was using my mobile phone without handsfree and it's illegal to do so with the engine running(yes I've known people charged doing this). Secondly if there was a delay you can never tell if your battery will last either. I walked to an industrial unit to use the loo since I was right by a busy road with no-where to duck behind. By the time they strapped the exhaust back on I didn't have time, and it wouldn't have been safe to drive all the way to my appointment so I could only drive back home and take the car to the [mechanics]garage.

So big disappointment.

Can it get any worse?

Well last night I had a horrid dream where I damaged my car, driving down a road in the countryside. In the dreamitself I couldn't remember if it had happened or not, because of the baclofen I'd been taking. Whether or not it was a hallucination, such as has been suggested humorously previously. Still in the dream when I got back it was right there in the garage where it is kept and it had been an hallucination. When I awoke this morning the dream was so vivid I wondered if it was an omen. You see I have had dreams years ago that did come true, and it is reputed that women on my Mother's side of the family have second sight. It could have just been me worrying about having to drive today whilst having bad SEs from Baclofen.

I know I was a lot calmer when it did happen due to the baclofen but combine this with walking around in a fog. I only wear my spectacles for a few specific tasks, but today I've had to wear them for things that I can usually see just fine. I like the calmness but not when my eyesight is affected detrimentally, and not when I'm not interested in the sort of things I enjoy such as exercise, the outdoors etc.

[Bruunhilde]

The Switch and Indifference

Hi UK,

So sorry about your hardships, I totally relate to the SEs, I wish there was an answer I can give you. I know NE drinks a ton of coffee all day, which she does to counteract the somolescence. Could you try that, it could help perk you up.

You remind me to take my fish oil pills - my mood could use a boost, and 4 of those a day helps me a bit. You may already be using this.

Note you're probably feeling more sluggish not only to bac but due to the weight gain and associated depression (lost the battle there temporarily). I know I gained weight on bac due to not exercising, felt I couldn't. But now I'm off, and I still feel I can't, so I'm just going to walk for a while and see if that helps my mood and my body weight.

Hang in there, we're rooting for ya.