My Bac Journey started today

[Guest]

My Bac Journey started today

Hey Charlie

Thanks for this information, it's of great interest to me since I was essentially a binge drinker. I think this is also why I feel pretty rubbish on Baclofen, and yes apart from a 3 week period after I thought I'd switched I too am drinking to excess approximately once every 6-7 days.

I am so relieved by this you just wouldn't know, all I'd been hearing was that Baclofen works and that I should feel wonderful. I haven't I've felt like sh1t.

Possibly this is because binge drinkers have days completely free of alcohol and hangovers, including days were alcohol doesn't bother them at all. Say you are a daily drinker, then everyday is going to feel pretty crap so any let up is going to feel great. Whereas for a binge-drinker, anything that affects their AF days is going to be a big downer. One of the reasons for my depression is that every day is affected by Baclofen. I will say this though - my drinking has been daily at various points, usually when I've given up and think the glamorous way out is to quit life and drink full time.

These are just assumptions I've been making BUT something I've felt for quite a while now.

I might pm you with some thoughts Charlie, if that's ok?

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

hey

cheers Bleep, will keep u posted of course
UK Blonde - yeah, i think sorting out binge drinking is a tricky one. Baclofen it seems has more success with heavy regular drinkers, altho I know there are some bingers on here who have done well. Like you, I have been in a pretty miserable space for a number of weeks now on the Bac, ever since I went up to higher doses(which admittedly i did far too quickly and after a binge) I am quite relieved to be going down a bit in dose. Also, combining that with Nal before a drinking session may be a good double act. Who knows. Anyway, I am going to take the doctors advice and try my darndest to get back on track...again.
Feel free to PM me anytime
Thanks

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

Only took 100mg of Bac yesterday on Dr Chicks advice. For the first time in a month, have woken up witgout monster headaches, painful neck and general feeling of complete space cadet. I guess I just don't have the bod for the bigger doses! Its nice to feel more normal again, more in touch with myself. I feel I can get up and go to my offices now without wondering the whole way there in a complete daze. I doubt I will ever rise above 100mg bac again...who knows. I remember when I did my 8 days AF a while back I was on approx 100mg and i found it pretty easy. this brings me to my next point - Dr Chick couldn't stress enough that Bac is really an aid in abstinence, not in moderate drinking. I am fully aware that some of you are still drinking on Bac to totally normal levels and I think thats great, hats off. My new regimem is going to consist of taking approx 100mg of bac a day, to get that chilled, non anxious feeling(which makes it easier to say no to a drink) and then.....if i get the urge, or if i simply 'feel' like drinking, i will drop a Naltrexone(50-100mg) before I head out. At this level of Bac, I am also able to read(i could barely concentarte on the Sun bloody newspaper before...!) and most importantly meditate. Doing this twice a day has an enormous difference on my well being and in itself has benn proven to drastically reduce people's intake of booze, fags, bad foods and reduce stress levels etc etc blah blah.
So, 80-100 mg of Bac a day, 50-100 mg of Nal before i drink(I am really going to be focussing on AF days by the way) and twice daily meditation......
That's my next step. Thanks, will keep you posted.

[bleep]

My Bac Journey started today

Glad to hear you are in a happier place Charlie.

All the very best with your new method!

[Murphyx]

My Bac Journey started today

Charlie, did Dr Chick tell you to drop from 200mg to 100 in one day?

Chick worries me. I know he was the first to publish OA's results, but he's never been totally convinced by it. He refuses to prescribe more than 100mg and as a result he has a 50% failure rate. The reason why he won't go higher than 100 is because he believes higher doses are dangerous and when, in an interview, he was asked what the dangers were, he refused to elaborate.

So anyway Charlie, what's the deal with naltrexone? I've never really looked in to it. Do you have to take it forever? Is it used as a cure? What does it do?

[bleep]

My Bac Journey started today

Murph, I've dropped by more than that a couple of times now and been okay. My concern would be that Chick hasn't, and would be unlikely to know that. I was unaware about his dosage history though, I thought he was fully conversant with the routine. That concerns me a little.

Charlie, did you know this? Does it matter to you?

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

hey

hey
i think Dr Chicks thing is that he would prefer people not to go over 100. You mention he has only a 50% success rate which doesn't surprise me cos as we all know, it takes people alot higher than that to achieve their aim. Some do it under 100 i think!? Not many probably
Anyway, my reasoning is simply that over and above 100..esp by the time i got to 150, i really started losing all connection with myself. Was in a constant daze for a month, headaches, a fog blah blah. It was pretty intense and luckily seems that most people can get through this within a few days/ a week. It was starting to drive me mad and the fact that it made me desperate for booze just to 'level out' isn't cool! But hey, everyones different and the resounding feeling on here is that it works for the vast majority. When i had that binge and bumped up and basically didnt sleep properly for 4-5 nights(if at all) thats when things got realy bad SE wise - so perhaps i just fucked myself up real bad then. Perhaps the bac i was taking was not legit, poisonous possibly. thing is, even when i got the new bac, nothing changed, it did very briefly...but came back with a vengeance. It simply had to be, in my case, the high doses. Have only had 25 so far today and feeling so much better, will consume 100 today. As for titrating from 200 to 100, Dr chick suggested easing down slowly but was not to concerned by bigger drops, he knes i was on 175(altho over weekend, as I wasn't totally with it, i prob only took about 50 mg on Staurday and Sunday......with no adverse affects?!) and sugested dropping down to 125 yesterday(which actuall, was what i did)...drops of 50 a day didn't phase him. I will prob in fact take 100 today (i was at 175, not 200 for last few days, since I changed brand)
Anyway, hope this isn't confusing - I think his general feeling was that, as long as you keep a decent amount in your system, a significant drop is ok. I believe DR A did some pretty big drops on the way down?
Anyway, as For Naltrexone - check out The Sinclair Method. They encourage you to take a 50mg pill of Nal before you go out drinking an hour before. It works on a diff part of the brain than Bac. For some it hasn't worked, others have reported remarkable success stories. Research tells me that the combination of Bac and Nal can be a very effective double whammy - working together on diff parts of brain. Take the bac daily, aim not to drink at all. If you fancy a drink, take a Nal one hour before you head out.
Cheers

[spacebebe01]

My Bac Journey started today

Hi Charlie, I am just starting reading your thread.

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

hey

hey spacebebe
Please read lots of other threads too....i have had a pretty rough ride since starting BAc and it seems this is highly unusual so please do not be put off
Best of luck
C

[RedThread12]

My Bac Journey started today

Hi Charlie: I'm kinda' reading through your thread, like spacebe. I am the one who originally posted the youtube link for baclofen and cocaine. Looks to me like you looked at it . . . or something kicked you into high gear around bac. Which is not a bad thing, but is a dead-on serious thing.

I'm not in any way trying to confront or be judgmental. HA! No pot here that could possibly call a kettle any color whatsover. To me (it's me, it's my interpretation, it has nothing do to with you unless it feels correct!), your posts show a pretty dramatic level of extremes of experiences and your feelings about those experiences. Kind of ADD-or ADHD-or OCD-like ways our brains can function at times.

Seems like your moving really fast in both directions at different times. That might even be a description of your life before bac? Just wonderin'. Anyway, I just encourage you to SLOW DOWN a little, give yourself a REAL schedule about dosing up or down with bac, and do THAT. Don't evaluate it all overnight or in a week. Figure out what you want to do, then do it with real commitment and regulation. I know, wet-blanket here; but if you got really good results from bac in the beginning, seems like making a good plan with that - whether according to Dr. Chick or according to your own ideas, is the best way to go.

You didn't get f**ked up overnite. You're not going to get well overnite. Breathe. Consider. Make a plan and stick with it long enough to figure out if it's going to work. From what I know of Sinclair Method, it can take many months before you know if it's going to work . . . or not.

This is your life you're talking about here, Charlieboy.

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

hey

hey
thanks for that - all i know for sure is that bac at higher doses caused me havoc. Had a horrible four weeks. Yesterday i dropped to 125 and today to 100. Dr Chick confirmed my suyspicions that I needed to do this, I couldn't carry on feeling like I was. I could barely read thorugh lack of concentration, certaonly could not meditate, found conversations hard cos just couldn't engage in anything! It had gotten to the point where I was downing drinks just to get away from the agony in the head, to 'level out' the feeling of total disconnectedness and jitteriness which was likely due to the fact i had not slept properly for a month. Today is the first day(back at 100) that i have felt good again. Chilled. Content. Have had two wonderful meditation sessions today and feel fantastically happy. AF has been easy. Now, as you may know, AF is usually easy for me...for a while. The shit usually hits the fan when I can't wait to pick up a drink and start the cycle. I want to keep BAc at 100. For me, at that level, it serves its purpose perfectly. Yes, I am sure I will drink again. I still have the determination and desire to be able to enjoy a drink(without all the consequences) and this is why I am adding Naltroxene into the mix, 50-100mg one hour every time i take a drink. the combination of Nal and Bac has been proven to be effective. They both work on different addiction centres in the brain. For some, one is enough. For others, neither. The point is, we are all just guinea pigs here. Yes, I have fluctuated. I tried hard to get up higher and higher on BAc, to reach 'the swicth' but after about 140 ish, quite frankly, the way I was feeling just did not make it worth it. I wonder whether it is just as effective for me at 100. Here, I feel content, chilled and can continue my day to day life with motivation and productivity(i know the doses react diffrentlty with everyone). Also, if I choose to abstain, I am confident I can at this level. The point is, that is still not my ultimate choice. I still have fight in me to be able to enjoy a drink. Hence the Nal. Let us see. It has been a hell of a ride, we are all guinea pigs essentially, with everyone having pretty darn different reactions/stories. Right now, the Medication(100 Bac/50-100Nal before drinking) + Meditation(this is a massive passion of mine) is my focus and is a plan borne out of all the experiences thus far on this journey. Plans always need to be refined. Right now, this one feels good.
Thanks

[Murphyx]

My Bac Journey started today

Hmmmm, that's all very interesting Charlie, but I think the question we all want answered is: who is the bird with the nice thruppennies on your avatar?

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

hands off

hands off Murph! (you'll need BIG hands too)

[Charlieboy]

My Bac Journey started today

So, last night, having consumed my 100mg Bac during day, I dropped a 50 mg Nal and headed out for a mates welcome home drinks. First thing I noticed is that after an hour I started coming up like i was on bloody E or something!! Ah, so thats how this stuff works!! Get buzzed on E and sod the boooze! Nah, I felt very chilled all night....I certainly enjoyed a few drinks and had a great time but I didn't lose the plot. I was all there and having a good time. Was far more together than some of the people i was with lol!! anyway, its early days, i know the NAL takes a while to really take an effect but I am liking this combo, its making sense to me. At 100 Bac, I feel well chilled during day and to be honest with you, if I hadn't had that party last night, wd have been most content with an AF night in front of the TV. I wasn't craving booze but I am defo a sucker for putting a few away when I am with all the lads. Gonna take an AF break now for a while on the 100mg bac and see how that pans out.
Cheers

[LadyLush]

My Bac Journey started today

Murph,

She is in Charlie's video, the one with the 'thruppennies' whatever that is
Girl Next Door..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAfMdSYo4to&feature=related[/video]]YouTube - Freeman - Girl Next Door


Lady