This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

[winowithhope]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Redhead, I had MUCH worse side effects at 10-50 mg than ever, nausea, fogginess, etc. and unbelievably they went away at about 80 mg so hang in there i titrated like 5mg per week during the awful stage and can now add 20mg per week with only minor changes, it wasn't nearly as bad at the higher doses.

[RudyB]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

hey red,
just wanted you to know that i'm thinking of you tons lately. and i hope all's going well on your end.
oxxo rudy

[redhead77]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

No worries, everything is going fine here. I kind of expected, maybe hoped, my thread would be to paige two by now.

I went out of town for a couple of days. I took the kids to see their father graduate. He asked me to do it, and as much as I'd rather have 12 root canals, I did take it under consideration. I asked the kids if they wanted to go, as they're the most important factor here. They were so excited. I thought my daughter was going to have a seizure before she saw him. She was saying DadadadadaDADDY!!!
It was a rough couple of days for me. It is not a super long drive (7 hours) each way, but I did most of the driving in the wee hours. I figured it would be easier on me, if the kids were sleeping. We got home last night at 3 am. I'm glad the kids could see their father accomplish this. It makes them proud. I'm proud of him too. As difficult as it is for me to write, this is exactly what he needed. He is growing as a human being, and I never thought this possible. And now he's off to much farther places, and who knows when he'll see his kids again. At least he's starting to recognize what's important.

Whoever rated my thread, a 5 star thread, is very kind. I know, it seems I was throwing a temper tantrum, but my letting my thread go, does have very little to do with this. Honestly, I don't have a 5 star thread, and I can't accept it. Please change it. I think my thread deserves 2-3 stars. There are some without 5 stars (Murphy), who do deserve it. Why is it only one person has this much weight in starring threads anyway? It should take a couple of people rating your thread. Again, I appreciate you thinking of me whoever you are, but please do change it.

Rudy and Bleep. The important stuff. The interview. Firstly, yes it took place because of Ne's thread. I did contacted journalist via email. I didn't feel I had a story, as I had hit the switch (or the level of indifference), and had to come back down. I was exactly what he was looking for, though. He was concerned about Levin's 99% stuff and that the medication is like H2O. He had been lurking a bit. He knows most of us have SEs. Some to such an extreme that they quit. He wanted someone who has experienced both sides, and it turns out, I could be that person.

I had huge reservations about doing the interview. As you can imagine. My anonymity, if I were going to portray bac negatively, if my doctor would still treat me, ect. I didn't have much time, and he did have to put the pressure on. I decided to do it. I explained to him my reservations and just hoped it would work out. It was a short segment, and he only took a little bit of what he asked me. It turned out beautifully (IMO), it was balanced and he protected me to a degree. I have no idea how many listeners heard it, but I'm sure it reached some. This is all that matters.

I can attribute my ability to do this to directly to bac. I still had much anxiety regarding the experience, but I was able to push through it.

Rudy, my thread used to be exactly what I needed. Now, I feel I do it for others. I'm not sure if this will work for me much longer.

Winowithhope, I am currently on 150mg. I have been as high as 200. Thank you for offering me support, and welcome to the meds threads.

[Bruunhilde]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Hi Red,

What a great way to send him off - great for him and for your kids. I know this was a big struggle for you, but look where you are today, what accomplishments!

Regarding your thread, I agree we start our threads for ourselves and hope it serves others but at some point they are no longer needed - and that means you got what you came for, a little therapy & companionship in your journey. You do whatever you want to do, no pressure from this end. This is not a life long commitment. Being AF or moderating is! Your input here has been valued and if you don't come back much you will be missed, but everybody moves on. Including the rest of us. So go live your life! :l

[redhead77]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Thanks Bruun. :l. I'll post here till I know I'm done. I think it's close. :H I kind of thought my thread would have died, with me going out of town. And after, I'm not sayin I won't give updates. Or be around the other threads. I'm thinking my thread keeps me off the others, being I'm pressed for time.

Ftr, I appreciate and love everyone who wants me to keep it alive. I just know I can't do it much longer. I'm the open type, I have a hard time being private on here.

[Murphyx]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Sadly, I agree with Bruun. Do as you must Red.:upset:

BTW it was me who gave you the 5 star rating.

[Murphyx]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Oh, and I might have missed it amongst all the other stuff, but what's your status RE booze?

[RudyB]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

hey there red,
i totally get it on the thread thing. mine is still a crucial part of my healing, and it serves me well. i, too, have a hard time being private, but have managed to do that to a greater degree as things get weird on my end. do what you feel is right. i think we all understand quite well.

not much of a drive! sheesh, you're a real trooper. you with three kids! omg! it was really big of you to do that. and it will leave a positive mark in their little memories.

i just sent my son off w his dad at nine pm! the iidiot woke him up. duhh! then got mad at me for saying goodbye to our son, which made him cry hard. how dare i? as if son wouldn't have noticed that i cowered in the kitchen while he left. dudes can be so daft!

good luck with all that's going on with you. check in when you want to. we are all here for you whenever you want to grace us with your inspiring presence.

love ya!
rudy b

[redhead77]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Murphy, I knew it was you. :H Someone else did too, because I learned how to check from your thread. It will remain a mystery.

Miss Rudy, I don't know what to say. Showing up at 9, and waking your son up? I'm shaking my head in dismay right now. I didn't mean it wasn't much of a drive, it was. It wasn't so long I couldn't accomplish it, is what I meant. Any longer and it would have been a no go.

Good news. I was on an online women's only recovery forum, before I found MWO. I found you guys and bac, and stopped posting there. I went back a few weeks after I hit the switch, and told them about it. I have to say, when I read my thread from December, I wanted to cry. I was really in a bad way. I needed help, I was almost suicidal. It didn't get past some of the 'senior members' who told me to get help. Anyhoo, I posted about 3 months ago, about how well I was doing (SEs aside, but with drinking). I had one lady who was very interested, and then all of sudden it got quiet. I figured she, well I shouldn't speculate, but I know I'm sure the info wasn't well received. I kinda thought she was told to be quiet. I exited quietly, but did leave with a message to PM me if anyone wants information. All of a sudden, I get an email 3 months later. A woman asking me for help. Where to find a doc, ect. I'm of course going to give her Dr L's number, but also guide her this way. I'll tell her to start posting in Newbies Nest for a safe place. Do think this would be a good start for her, if she wants to come here?

The booze? I just went about a week without a craving on 150mg. I woke up this morn and decided I needed to drink...TODAY. Why? I don't know. I have had a few very stressful days. I did miss 30 mg last night because I was driving and it was late, and I didn't dare add more bac to my system. I forgot to take it when I got home. Could 30mg one day, make such a difference?

Everything is calm and the day is complete, so I just opened a bottle of wine. Not that I want to admit to it Murph. I do have to work tomorrow, so I'm pretty sure I won't over do it. Ugh!!!!

[RudyB]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

red, wow. have you ever thought of going back and posting on that site? you could turn a lot of women's lives right around! they may not respond there, but i betcha we'd see a WHOLE LOT of new traffic here! go on w your bad self! here's one way to pay it forward, to be sure! and yes, newbies nest is the perfect place to start!

and absolutely, 30 mg can make a difference! no doubt about that! i know i've felt it at times. and i have taken 50 mg within 3 hours and the se's were insane! hallucinations (more than the usual), twitching, sleep that felt like awake. but it wasn't that unpleasant. next time, drop 'em babe. it'll be a lot better than a hangover.

enjoy your wine, drink small of that and big of water. tuck in soon, and go at it tomorrow, for it will be a new day!

xoxo rudy ru

[Lo0p]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Somebody gave you another one...

[bleep]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

Red, you're thread definitely deserves 5 stars. Everyone has something to offer re their journey, your's no less than others.

And 30 mg's will make a difference, a big difference, if you are sensitive to baclofen. I find it takes about 4 or 5 days to re-achieve indifference if your dose wobbles, so don't be alarmed if your drinking continues for a little while.

Well done on the interview. The word is slowly spreading, and you are playing an important role in helping it do so.

[redhead77]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

RudyB;1147928 wrote: red, wow. have you ever thought of going back and posting on that site? you could turn a lot of women's lives right around! they may not respond there, but i betcha we'd see a WHOLE LOT of new traffic here! go on w your bad self! here's one way to pay it forward, to be sure! and yes, newbies nest is the perfect place to start!


I don't know Rudy. If I keep trying to push the bac thing over there, I might find myself kicked off altogether. As it is, I made sure to bump my very sorry thread with the bac news, so if anyone forgot who I was, they could remember. The whole tone of my thread was different. Only one person asked about the bac, it was crazy quiet, and later she deleted all of her responses, so it looks like I'm going on and on about it, for no reason. The woman who found me, was doing a search of the site for bac. I know there's not much on there, I had done a search before I posted. There was one thread in which someone brought up bac and Dr A. The thread turned into one where the ladies were all discussing how to popping a pill for addiction, is rather ridiculous. Not their exact words, but I'm sure you get the gist. I will say, if I get kicked off, it might be harder to find pertinent info in a bac search. I'm not sure how to get around it at this point. I was browsing through the introductions page the other night. It was so sad. So many of the posts start with "back again", "I've been trying to get sober for years, and maybe this time (this white knuckling time), will work". I know, I myself, tried to white knuckle 3 times with this site alone. I am no different from the others...until now.

The woman who found me is already a registed user here. I hope in the future we will hear more from her. Maybe once she is able to fill her script.

bleep;1147979 wrote: And 30 mg's will make a difference, a big difference, if you are sensitive to baclofen. I find it takes about 4 or 5 days to re-achieve indifference if your dose wobbles, so don't be alarmed if your drinking continues for a little while.

I drank for 2 days in a row. Did I over do it? I'm not sure. I drank enough that I could feel it for sure, but this isn't much for me these days. I wasn't hungover in the morning. I do feel I was drinking against my will. I'm glad you told me it can take a few days to get back on track. I seem to have my footing back now. I screwed up my dose again yesterday, though. I was working and realized at 8pm on my way home, I had only taken 60mg that day. Part of it has to do with me being back at my old job. I'm scared to appear out of it there, and I was taking care of a real sickie. In case you don't remember, this was the job I quit because of bac and some issues in performance. The other part, would be I was busy. I had the plan to take a dose around 5:30 so it would peak as I was leaving. I had a lot of catching up to do with the bac last night, and I fell asleep without taking my last 30mg. I woke up, and took it at 4am. I try like hell to maintain some semblance of a schedule on most days. Yesterday, was not one of them.

I was due to go up to 160mg this past Friday. I didn't go up because I was sleep deprived and I screwed up my dose on Thursday. I am nervous to increase it this week. I am having a battle in my head. The one that says, you are doing well on the dose you take now, when you take it properly. And the other that knows there may be something better out there. I just don't want to deal with the horrible SE's again. Reading Murph's thread today, takes me back. I'm aware it is not always as bad the second time around. Still. I'm worried. I guess I'll decide on Friday.

[bleep]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

I've had similar issues, posting on other sites. The whole "swapping one addiction for another" debate drives me insane. To the point that I've given up, entirely, trying to convince other people. Someone with a subtler approach would probably reap more benefit, but I can't be bothered to spend weeks gaining people's trust in that way. I just think that eventually it'll make the news, as it should, and then it'll be okay. I hope.

Have you tried really splitting your dose Red? Taking it every hour, for example? I realise it may not be practical on the job, but give it a bash and see where you end up SE wise?

EDIT: to add - it doesn't work for everyone, but it certainly worked for me.

[redhead77]

This Redhead's Baclofen Thread

bleep;1149728 wrote: I've had similar issues, posting on other sites. The whole "swapping one addiction for another" debate drives me insane. To the point that I've given up, entirely, trying to convince other people. Someone with a subtler approach would probably reap more benefit, but I can't be bothered to spend weeks gaining people's trust in that way. I just think that eventually it'll make the news, as it should, and then it'll be okay. I hope.

Have you tried really splitting your dose Red? Taking it every hour, for example? I realise it may not be practical on the job, but give it a bash and see where you end up SE wise?

EDIT: to add - it doesn't work for everyone, but it certainly worked for me.

Yes, Bleep. I, too, can't be bothered. I just don't have the time to post in multiple places. My time is short and precious as it is. Doing so will only make me crazy, and it wouldn't be healthy for me. As much as I know it could help others, and I wish I could do it, I've got to put me first. This would be growth on my part.

I used to split up my doses when I was home. There is no way I could do it, whilst out and about. I can't/wouldn't (due to work) set my phone to go off hourly, and honestly even if I could, I wouldn't be able to get to water that often. Case in point, would be yesterday. I had the plan, but then couldn't do it because my patient was so sick. I couldn't leave the room. Some days peeing is difficult! I have and will eat the pills without water, but it isn't easy and not something I'll due regularly.

Thank you so much for bringing it to me. If I can ever find a way to eat these pills and not swallow them with fluid, I AM there, Bleep!!