A chef in trouble

[Augman]

I was on this site about 1 1/2 years ago, been lurking ever since. started on bac, got up to 80mg and stopped-guess I was not ready to stop drinking.
History: 54 yr old male, drink 12-16oz. vodka/day for 30years(yes you read that right). take more pills than Micheal jackson, effexor,lamactil,trazadone and a bit of xanax.
The problem; I am up to 150mg at this point but being a chef you can imagine with the se's I am afraid I may cut my hand off. Is there any real solution?

[Topsy-Turvy-Tracy]

A chef in trouble

I am no doc and have never been on either drug. But my kid bro was on trazadone and my mom was on xanax. Both mom and bro were quite compromised physically, but, from what I witnessed, the combo of just those two drugs seems like a whopper of a cocktail all on it's own! Add 150 mg of bac and, my-oh-my. Add booze and . . . holy Moses. Effexor is an AD and I don't know what the other one is, but maybe some time away from sharp knives would be a good thing for you right now.

Can you take a leave from work to sort it out?

[bleep]

A chef in trouble

Hi Augman,

I can't speak as to the other meds you are taking. The baclofen though - how are you breaking your dose up? If you can take it in smaller, more frequent doses you can reduce the SE's that way. Have you just gone up to 150mg's, or been there for a while? What were the SE's like at 130mg's?

There's a lot of knowledge here, I'm sure someone familiar with the other meds will chime in shortly.

[Augman]

A chef in trouble

can not take any time off right now. thanks bleep. I am going with ignominious on the even dosing, I take it every 3 hours or so all day and night-I am up 3-4 times a night anyway.

[bleep]

A chef in trouble

Have you just gone up to 150mg's and if so, what were you on before? How were the SE's at your earlier level? The more information you can give, the better the chances you can work around it.

Even dosing is definitely the way forward.

[Augman]

A chef in trouble

Yes, just went up to 150mg se's are not that different from 80mg actually

[bleep]

A chef in trouble

I've found if I sit at a level for a few days, the SE's tend to disappear. currently, I don't feel a thing after being at this level for about a week.

I do remember on the way up though, where I never let my body adjust, SE's were a constant companion. Perhaps try sitting at your level for a bit, see if they level off? Not the most helpful advice you've ever received, I'm sure, but I don't really know what else to suggest.

You could perhaps try dropping a bit, but that's sort of against the whole idea, and will just delay the whole thing (Saying that, I have found SE's to reduce quite a bit when I have decreased dosage. Think carefully about this before/if you do it though, you are going to have to go through this level at some point anyway). It's an option, but not first prize.

There are various supplements, I know piracetam has been suggested quite a lot for focus and concentration, which might help. I would be on it myself, but I'm unable to locate the stuff where I am.

Good luck. In the meantime, watch your fingers!

[bleep]

A chef in trouble

Augman, still got all your fingers?

[Augman]

A chef in trouble

still have all of my fingers but my brain is fried!

[bleep]

A chef in trouble

Lightly fried in a delicious batter, I hope. Glad to see you're still with us, hope it's going okay.

[JohnR]

A chef in trouble

Augman, I feel the same as you but I am only on 30mg which has taken me 16 days to reach. I am EXTREMELY sensitive to all medications so I think I will hit my switch at a low dosage but it's all relative in terms of the SE's we experience. I am so spaced out that my biggest concern is driving. I have been working from home but I cannot do it this way forever.

(Sorry my post doesn't offer anything useful).

:what?:

[oldwineskins]

A chef in trouble

No suggestion here - but good luck. I worked in a restaurant for years about five years when I was in school. Everyone drank. I too am totally zonked on only 20 mg of Bac.

[rubywillow]

A chef in trouble

Again, please be careful with the Bac. It's a muscle relaxer, after all. Talk to your pharmacist, if you trust them. They know more about the effects of mixing drugs. And DON'T drink with it. The medications are a great help, but they are NOT a magic bullet. We have to WORK with whatever we use for assistance. I've seen what overdoing anything can do. It's odd, the professions that have the most AL abuse. Chefs, doctors, dentists, pilots. Don't think there's a rhyme or reason to it. We just have to work on ourselves, not look for excuses, and it's tough. I blamed all the events in my life, but in the end, it was me. And I had to get well, for me.

[JohnR]

A chef in trouble

I think we're all working towards the same goal here.

[redhead77]

A chef in trouble

Yes, I think we. I also think many of us are experiencing these difficulties with trying to work and get well. I think some of the professions with the highest rates of substance abuse are also the one's with the most stress and responsibility. That's why were here, to guide one another.