Newbies Nest! for bac

[RudyB]

Newbies Nest! for bac

heya windy, evey, everyone!

have a quiet minute here and wanted to check in with you. how y'all doin?

windy, the 'healing w/out frued or prozac' is truly gripping, even the science stuff. and it's so helpful and inspiring to me, what with all of the hypnotherapy, massaging, and acupuncture i have been doing. my next fun thing: qi gong. i highly recommend this book to everyone! think i'll order a few copies to give out.

sorry to hear about the boyfriend, windy. sounds like you've got your head on about it, though. good for you. yeah, i'd be a bit annoyed, too. let us know how that's going. and, if you wish, tell about your dad. these are trying times, indeed!

i've been at 180 for about a week, and se's are virtually non-existent, except for some severe night sweats. i have been taking 20 mg at a time, and i think that has made the se's disappear. phew! some of those were downright scary.

evey, haven't heard much from you lately. hope that means all's going just peachily.

well, i'm off to buy a new car! whoopee! and zoom zoom.

love,
rudy

[Facade]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Porgress update

Hi Murph

Won't hijack your thread (though I must say I miss your bum !)

Thanks for asking.

Yup, bac has been a life changing experience for me. I am a much calmer, less manic, a much happier version of my former self (although the mention of the word doctor or psychiatrist does cause me to momentarily switch back to my Hannibal Lecter alter ego)

I have not yet reached my switch, still drinking but less (at least now I no longer have any desire to start my day with something other than coffee - oooh I actually cringe when I read this !!!). I'm currently up to 120mg but taking it really slowly, going up 10mg every 5 days or so (the SE's are a real killer). But onward and upwards ............

[bleep]

Newbies Nest! for bac

That's great news Facade!

Are you finding the slower than normal titration to be helping? Something you can consider doing is splitting your dose up more throughout the day, I definitely found it helped with the SE's.

[Murphyx]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Facade;1149574 wrote: Yup, bac has been a life changing experience for me. I am a much calmer, less manic, a much happier version of my former self .

Fantastic news Facade!

There's nothing wrong with going up slowly, in fact I'm sure it's the best way to do it.

You do seem a great match for bac.

[windycitylady]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Hey all! As usual, haven't posted recently because there's been just way too much to say. I got up to 200 mg last week, and I felt absolutlely terrible. The nausea and dizziness were incapapacitating. I kind of had a "fuck it" moment with bac, and dropped down pretty drastically the next day. My side effects lessened significantly, but my cravings were still relatively low too, which encouraged me. I've been hovering around 125 to 150 since. My cravings have been managable, with the exception of monday where I just wanted to get DRUNK. I did drink more than I have been, but went back to my lowered level the next day. This experience highlighted for me that, yes, my cravings have been reduced overall, because that level of desire was something I previously had every day. So I'm back on the side of bac. I'd like to go up again, but I'm waiting for my next shipment to arrive. Which is making me quite nervous. I hope I don't have to go down further before it comes. I'm also waiting on more gabapentin (subject of recent thread here, and the only thing that keeps me from falling into an abyss of depression and anxiety). I know, I know, I shouldn't wait until the last minute to order such important things, but I literally did not have the money to order them when I should have. So it's nailbiting and constantly checking the mail for me. I do still plan on going completely AF on the 24th, my bday, but we'll see how it goes.
All this stuff aside, I've found myself sinking into a pretty deep depressive episode. Won't go into much detail, but I've been having some pretty dark thoughts. Ironically, I think some of it is due to decreasing my drinking. I don't have as much of a buffer against reality. Dad's cancer has spread to his lymphnodes and spine, and he starts chemo again on friday. This is really shaking me up, as it should. Real life hurts. I've got to learn that.
Thinking of you all! Ruby, I'm reading a book about 2 women in recovery who row together, naturally thought of you. Evey, I hope your situation continues to improve, I worry about you! Hope your enjoying your Anne Sexton research, but don't let her get you down. Facade! Glad to see you back. Stick with it!
Thanks all!

[windycitylady]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Actually, ruby, you should look into the book. It's called "The Long Way Home" by Gail Caldwell. Great stuff about recovery, friendship...and rowing. The cancer aspect of the story is getting me down (duh), and don't know if I can finish it right now, but I highly reccomend it.

[bleep]

Newbies Nest! for bac

All stressful stuff Windy and without the cushion of booze, even more so. It's a false cushion though, as you're no doubt aware.

As regards your dose, you'll probably find more success, whatever level you choose, if you remain on one level consistently for 5 or so days. If you find cravings intolerable at that level, try adding a bit more to the mix, but try and be consistent with your chosen level. Jumping about the place will make it very difficult to determine what level does what for you!

[Texie]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Hi all, I'm new here and am talking to the Dr. this afternoon and getting started with Baclofen. I'm a little afraid to be really excited as I don't want to be disappointed and I'm a little afraid of the SEs but we'll see where this goes. I'll keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed for me that this works!

[Seethepony]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Go for it Texie. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Doctors are notoriously ignorant about baclofen, though, so don't expect too much help from them... nine times out of ten they'll just look at you and go "huh?"

[bleep]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Hey Texie, welcome to MWO.

As Pony says, don't be surprised! With a little luck you'll find a slightly more thinking type of doctor, and he'll be open to the idea.

Don't get too caught up in the side effects. They're just that, and the main effect is something wonderful. Best of luck, let us know how your appointment goes.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Hi, Texie! :welcome:

STP doesn't know you're speaking to the doctor who is most definitely on board! Good for you. It was, for me, a really tough call to make. For no reason, as it turned out. Looking forward to hearing more.

Hiya, WCL! I'm really, really sorry to hear about your father's health. I am so glad that you can be there and fully present to it, though I'm sure it adds to the stress you're under. :l
I did the whole, "I can't take another minute" quitting bac thing. Several times. :H sort of. I'm glad you are back on track. Honestly, from my perspective, it's not necessarily a bad thing to go down if the circumstances require it. It can be of benefit. But I wish I'd not done it so dramatically!
Hope the rest of the climb up is easier. The book you're reading? One of the few about the disease, peripherally that is, that I actually liked. Profound, poignant and moving. But, um, given the circumstances, maybe Calvin and Hobbes is a better choice? That's my go-to when I need some laughs. That and Murphy's thread.
Who is studying Anne Sexton? Evey? I just wiki'd her and Wow! I'm rather excited to look into her poetry.
Facade! I said this elsewhere too, I think (?) HI! I'm glad it's working and I'm so sorry about the SEs. They really, truly suck, but aren't necessarily insurmountable and I'm really glad I pushed through. Good for you! I know what it takes...

Hope it's a good day everybody!

[here.i.am]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Hello all -
I have a question about mixing Baclofen. I recently got a script from Walgreen's but had already started on some from a different source, had been on this at 50mg/day for about 2 weeks. On Dr advice went up to 70mg/day using both sources. I'm wondering if what I now feel is an expected SE or could it be mixing the two. I feel lethargic, sleepy during the day, clumsier than usual, butterfingers....
Otherwise, no cravings, and no drinking dreams, which always happened on my many previous dry-out attempts. Today is 30 day AF! I'm still a little afraid to be too optimistic but I continue to be inspired.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Newbies Nest! for bac

That is so fantastic, Here! Congratulations! And good for you on the 30 days!

It's hard to say whether it's the mixing or the bump up. I would guess the bump up. It's just my opinion. I used to be very superstitious about mixing, and have since found that I can take any and all of it without repercussion.
From what I remember mixing is what is recommended when you're switching brands.
Good luck!

[bleep]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Hi Here,

When I started baclofen, there was only 1 place in the country to get it, so I was on the same brand for ages. Then, suddenly, they hit me with a new brand, and I remember being quite worried. Initially, I thought there was a difference, in fact I was convinced there was. Now, however, I have about 8 different brands in my drawer, and pick and choose from them at random. I'm convinced there is no difference, but others will argue, so you'll want a couple of opinions.

If there is a difference, then definitely the best way to mix them up is to slowly introduce the new one, taking more and more of it, until you are taking nothing but new when your old supply runs out.

I've just read through this answer, and I realise how unhelpful it is in light of your question, so sorry about that. Most likely, your new set of SE's is more attributable to your recent increase though, rather than mixing the brands, imho.

Extremely well done on the 30 days!

[here.i.am]

Newbies Nest! for bac

Thank you! I'm going to stick to 70/day for another 2 days then according to new schedule go up to 90 if I'm still doing OK.
Also adding in 30 minutes on the old dusty elliptical starting today, I've heard exercise is good for me. ;-)
Maybe sober it won't be so difficult to keep it up.