Daily dosing record - beatle

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Otter;1071157 wrote: No, I was in an odd mood. I just couldn't think of anything interesting to say about beetles.

ha ha (lol)

Thanks for explaining. Thought we were losing you there for a bit.

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Florieanne;1071147 wrote: Hi Beatle,

One of us on the French Forum has come to terms with insomnia with melatonin pills ( 100?/. natural) and two others are going to start with melatonin pills today..same dose as yours, same SE so far as insomia is concerned, one of them has withdrawn long ago, the other hasn't.

I was wondering if you could help me with your knowledge on ADs. I've read somewhere that SSRI Ads didn' t work well with baclofen. And my Ad is an SSRI, which doesn't work..I feel very depressed or exhausted ( not sure to be able to make the difference)..
Ne wrote me this morning that you might know...

& Sorry to hear that it's so difficult for you
Florieanne ( new on MWO, French usually posting on the French forum)

Florianne,

I wrote you a long post but lost it when I tried to explain something else to someone else on another thread. Oh well, live and learn.

Anyway, I believe the two are contraindicated (SSRIs and baclofen), but apparently this is not officially the case. See:
https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...i-s-48472.html

I know I have written about this here before, and don't recall exactly what I found out and how (thanks alcohol and baclofen). But that is what I believe.

I encourage you to do your own research (maybe even do a search on my name plus ADs on the whole MWO site?).

And, if the AD is not working for you, why continue? Of course, I don't advocate stopping an SSRI suddenly if you've take it for more than a week or two. You'd likely need to taper down.

And as I've said so many times before, the less meds, the easier it is to figure out what works and what doesn't. Of course, if you need meds, you have to take them.

There are also many natural ADs, including St. Johns Wort, SAMe and others. I'm rattling off the top of my head here. Could be wrong. But lithium orotate has been shown to be an effective AD. It is not the same as lithium; it is natural and over the counter. I recommend it personally. Also for sleep issues.

btw,I take 6 gr melatonin very night. I have done that for 4 years and will do so for the rest of my life (unless somebody shows that Dr. Joan Larson (author of "Seven Weeks to Sobriety) is wrong about it). And unless I have remembered wrong. (not unlikely).

Thank you for reaching out to this forum, and please keep coming back. You are a great asset to us.

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

PbarE;1071180 wrote: Beatle, you and I are in pretty much the same place. I am starting 260 today and my SE's mirror yours.

This is going to be the week!

I didn't know you were at the same place. And same SEs. I just hope you got here faster.

And I hope you are right about this being the week. That's what I secretly am hoping... but maybe we should be a little cautious in our hopes? Two weeks for example (but I am rooting for a week)

[Cinders]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Rooting for you from Atlanta, Beatle.

This WILL be the week. If not, forge ahead.

You CAN DO THIS!!

I simply cannot wait until I see you say you hit your switch. You will have earned it every step of the way. You deserve it.

Much love and caring,
Cindi

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Booktree;1071188 wrote: Hello Beatle,

I am suddenly experiencing massive amounts of anxiety on bac. I just posted on my thread about last night, which was a nightmare of panic attacks, nausea, and morbid thought loops. I am on 70mg of bac, a level I've been at for a few weeks now. At first, I too found bac to be very calming... so I am confused.

My doctor recently put me on Prozac, for depression, and I have taken it in the past with minimal side effects and a noticeable reduction in anxiety, so I am really not sure what is going on here. Do you think it's the Prozac somehow interacting with the baclofen in a strange way?

I'm terrified. I can't have another night like that because I need to go to work tomorrow and I have to be "on"-- it will be a busy week.

(I wrote this long post earlier today and thought I had lost it. Was in the middle of frustratedly writing a new one when I found the old one. I love search and recovered documents... is this just a mac thing?)

Anyway, this is what I wrote, plus new stuff:

Booktree,

I'm sorry I haven't been following your thread recently, although I did at first. I will get back to it as soon as I can.

I'm not going to do all the research I usually do before a well-thought out response. So I will just tell you off the top of my head.

I do think there is a chance that prozac cold be interacting with baclofen. I would google it and stop it right away if you can, to see if it has an effect. The less meds the better (unless they are necessary, of course).

It seems like, from what I have heard, or I should say remember , it will not affect your short-term state to stop it (I think prozac is one of the drugs you have to take for a while to get effects???).

It is terrifying to have nights like that, and believe me, I've had many. What can I say? But I'm even more terrified by the prospects of continuing with alcohol as I have for the past 25 years. That is not to belittle at all what you are experiencing. I'm still going through that. You can see that I am still hallucinating and having anxiety and terrible insomnia.

(btw, as you know, there is a lot of information about insomnia and sleep aids on this forum and on the Holistic Healing forum, a lot of which I have contributed. I know, that's not particularly helpful either, but I am sorry that I don't have the time to assemble it atm.)

Just an idea: If you have been at 70mg for a few weeks, and still having (or perhaps having increasing?) bad SEs, perhaps you need to start increasing your dosage? (See other posts, and especially the titration thread https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...ead-48260.html for info on this).

I know I'm posting this too late to help you before the Monday workday, and I apologize for this.

Please also remember that the insomnia with baclofen is, for some, less debilitating during the day than maybe would be usual with insomnia. Of course, Longshot will will not be impressed with that statement.

Still, it is good to remember that "this too shall pass". (I know, wtf? Beatle is definitely in lala land.).

I feel so much for you, book. It is terrifying and so very painful. We will do this, though. Right?

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

thank you!

Cindi!

What are you doing in Atlanta?

No matter... so nice to get a message. Whereever you are, thank you.

[Booktree]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Beatle,

Thanks so much for your response. I have only been on the Prozac for a week now. I'm pretty certain that it is the Prozac and not the bac that's causing these problems.

I am so sorry you are still having those terrible SEs that you mentioned. You are very brave for continuing to forge ahead.

Yes, we will make it through this--!

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

I am not brave

Booktree,

From the day I started taking baclofen 19 months ago, my drinking decreased to about two-thirds the level I used to drink completely effortlessly.

Today, it fluctuates, but is often half the level of what I used to drink and occasionally nearly AF.

Since I started bac, I have never blacked out, I have never ruined a family or social occasion, I have never been hospitalized, and I have been able to use some of my energy towards getting a life, instead of all of it towards getting sober/staying sober.

I would be a fool and a coward to quit because of the SEs. The SEs of bac, as extreme as they have been for me, pale by comparison to the SEs of continuing to drink 1/2litre vodka a day for another decade -- plus the SE of imminent, or at least early, death.

I would also probably have hit the switch long ago if I hadn't been such a coward.

When I do reach indifference, it will only be because of the help on here from others in the journey, and especially those that have made it -- who continue to give their advice and support generously and individually to others here at the beginning, middle or near the end of their journeys, and continue to discuss different paths and ideas about titrations, post-switch life, and much more.

One of the main lessons I learned was to titrate up faster, not slower, and the intensity of the SEs is not necessarily correlative to the bac dosage. In fact, SEs seem to subside after titrations (after the first 3 days at one first level.)

So you see, I have not been brave at all.

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

(And I am a real coward when it comes to writing long, passionate, well-thought-out posts, and then deleting them soon after posting because I don't have the guts to leave my opinions out there.)

[Booktree]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Beatle, you make a very good point. It's so important to keep things in perspective. I totally get what you're saying, especially about not expending all of one's life energy on staying/getting sober. That is what I found so discouraging about the whole 12-step approach. I did not want my life to be given over to neverending meetings, steps, etc., which, for me, only kept me locked into a cycle of periodic relapse, shame, and guilt. The baclofen has given me a way out, and a new life not chained to dogmatic ideologies that don't work for me. I am continually referring friends in the recovery community (for whom that doesn't seem to be working either) to this site and in particular the meds threads, but no one seems to be taking me up on it... Oh well, maybe someday they will find it, if/when they decide to try something different.

The collective wisdom on this site, yours being a big part of it, has been a lifesaver! I am glad to hear that the baclofen, for you, has allowed you to reduce the drinking and the consequences of such -- that's worth a tremendous amount and very inspiring.

[TracyA]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Beatle, I just wanted to let you know, I noticed the quote on your sig lines and saw the 60 minutes interview where he said that. I'm a big fan of Hitchens, have a couple of his books, and have been watching him walk bravely towards death. I get to see him debate next month!!! He's coming to a local university (okay, local means 300 miles away). I'm going with my son and daughter-in-law, and I'm very excited. Just wanted to tell you that.

[ignominious]

Daily dosing record - beatle

OK Beatle. Times up. 'Fess up.

Its been a week now since your last update and I really must hear how you're doing.

[beatle]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Daily dose for past 3 days:
280-290 per day, spread out in doses of 25-35mg every 2-3 hours.
This seems to be working for me.

(I was travelling for 2 days, and before that not able to post much (reading a lot, though), and for the last couple days I have been trying to catch up on my life (and using my time and energy unwisely on other threads)).

Most SEs have been more tolerable, although insomnia continues. Like Bleep, I am trying to enjoy the benefits, rather than dwell on the downsides, of little sleep -- although I am no stranger to how insomnia affects, and can ruin, one's everyday life.

Thank you Ig, I have sent you a PM.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Daily dosing record - beatle

You are remarkably brave


that pretty much sums it up.

Glad you are focusing on returning to some sort of normalcy. I can't imagine trying to help with something more difficult than simple multiplication, especially bac'd out.

Glad, too that you're at a whopping, gulp, 290.

It's much easier going down, ftr. And soon you will be.

And you are venturing into the uncharted waters of long posts. Always thoughtful and succinct, regardless of your perception of them. But I understand, as you know.
Just keep it up, beatle. Your voice is strong and wise and lovely. Even at levels of bac that would treat 4 spasticity patients!:H

xo
K

[bleep]

Daily dosing record - beatle

Good to hear beatle, keep it up.

How are the SE's?