Drinking on Bac

[hopefulspirit]

I'm close to one year on Bac and while it's helped me reach levels and periods of sobriety that I never had before, I still do drink. Bac has become such a regular part of my daily regiment at 160 mgs per day (prescribed by my PCP) that I convince myself that drinking here and there on it is OK.
But it's not.
Something about Bac gives me the sense that I'm not drunk when I am and I've found myself in more and more embarrassing and even dangerous situations as a result.
I'm also experiencing pretty severe cognitive problems which in part, may be Bac or the combination of both; although, I think some of this started way before Bac.
I also could never get higher than the 160 dose due to SE.
At this point, I have to stop or I will lose my family and any respect they still have for me.
A couple of days ago, I thought I should titrate down since I'm an official "failure" but coming here, makes me think that I should try to go all the way since I'm at the point that I have little to lose.
I'm also contemplating AA since a good portion of my challenge is lack of support. My husband is a heavy drinker and I have not "confessed" to any of my friends although at this point they probably know.
I strongly advise doing the Bac regime alcohol free. I think it's the only safe way despite what Dr. A says in the book.

I'm going to start all over but completely AF
I'm going to post here more often
I'm going to seek support
I'm going to make this work

Thank you for listening... I'm at one of those super low days which I think you all can relate to.



--HS

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Drinking on Bac

Hey, HS.
I'm really sorry that you're going through such a tough time. I can certainly relate.

I think it's great that you're considering going up to find indifference. It really is a whole different experience for me than when I was just drinking less or wanting to drink less often.

I don't think that OA ever asserts in his book that drinking is a part of the protocol. He did not, in fact, drink at all once he started the experiment to find indifference. I find that telling. Prior to the titration up to indifference he was on bac, but still found himself binge drinking.

I hope you'll stay close. I came to realize that mwo was the social support and network that we can find in other places for abstinence. This, as far as I know, is the only one that has some history, and is related to doing it with bac.

*I also remember reading that OA used the tools that he learned from AA, CBT etc... to abstain in the face of craving until a prn dose of bac kicked in.

:ls

[Seethepony]

Drinking on Bac

I also drink occasionally, maybe once every 10 days or so. Now this is a huge improvement over drinking 9 days out of 10, but I don't get the feeling my body enjoys moderation any more than it enjoyed full-on abuse. Whatever buzz there used to be in drinking is gone and I too am contemplating going the whole hog and moving to Mecca or something to escape from alcohol entirely. Cos it sure as shit isn't the buddy it once said it was.

So, while I think baclofen can be a 99% cure, I reluctantly concede that there is some psycho-nonsense crapola to be digested too. (But I'd sooner go to Mecca than AA...)

[Topsy-Turvy-Tracy]

Drinking on Bac

You go, HS. It sounds like a solid plan.

[edostan]

Drinking on Bac

I agree that drinking on baclofen sucks. That's what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks. But, the whole point is to achieve a high enough dosage that your desire to drink disappears. You're not there yet, and neither am I. I hope the side effects don't keep you from continuing up. I've gotten the idea from being around here that the side effects are generally more debilitating for women, so I can't just tell you to "grin and bear it". But I sincerely hope you can fight through to a higher dosage.

In AA, they say "Don't quit 5 minutes before the miracle." Spending years in AA, 6 consecutive being the longest, I never got "the miracle". Maybe it came 5 minutes after I quit (went back out in AA speak)? But, spending time here. I can see "the miracle" every day. And, if I think that it is not going to happen for me, I can reread those threads which inspired me to start in the first place.

I like your plan, especially posting more here. You get the encouragement and sense of community that you need. Go to AA if you must. There are some great people there. But your goal is not consistant with their message, as they cannot accept that there is any real cure for alcoholism. Here, we know that there is a cure and that we can be former alcoholics. I'd much rather be here.

One part of your plan with which I disagree is to "start all over". You are on 160mg per day, that's probably more than halfway to "the switch". You're almost there!

Hope to see you on the other side.

Jeff

[Chi]

Drinking on Bac

HS how much/often are you drinking?

I've also been on bac for a year and I still drink. I've drank less the last year, in fact 50% less but it is still there. I'll be following your progress and offering my support, I'm at a strange place with bac too. At 75mg a day I'm somewhat afraid to go up unless I know I can give up the AL I'm still drinking.

Good luck and keep posting.

[bleep]

Drinking on Bac

I am using baclofen to (so far) successfully moderate my drinking. I hit the switch about 6 weeks ago, and find that a lot of evenings pass where it simply doesn't occur to me to have a drink. Other nights, I'll have a glass, occasionally two. I haven't been drunk for I don't know how long, and can't see it happening any time soon. It just doesn't seem worth the effort.

I can actually see that a life without booze could end up happening, just by default, and it in no way terrifies me like it used to.

It's definitely worth going for the switch, IMHO.

Good luck.

[craving]

Drinking on Bac

From what I have seen about other members it seems that drinking on Baclofen works on the short term.
You have a very powerful tool with Baclofen. Use it, and have it erase your need to drink :-)

[ignominious]

Drinking on Bac

HS. Very pleased that you are giving it another shot, from the sounds of it you are well on your way. Are you still at 160mg/day?

I found all the support I needed right here on this forum. Without which I'm sure I wouldn't have made it. My thanks again to all who helped me.

It does help if you post regularly so that people can follow your progress.

Wishing you success this time.

[hopefulspirit]

Drinking on Bac

Chi;1069361 wrote: HS how much/often are you drinking?

I've also been on bac for a year and I still drink. I've drank less the last year, in fact 50% less but it is still there. I'll be following your progress and offering my support, I'm at a strange place with bac too. At 75mg a day I'm somewhat afraid to go up unless I know I can give up the AL I'm still drinking.

Good luck and keep posting.

I was drinking every few days. Earlier in this process, and on bac, I went weeks. It seems that once I slip a little.. I go on mini binges. I've even had controlled stints.
The bigger trigger is stress... if I get upset, I don't know how to quell my sadness.
All in all... I've drank much less on Bac than ever in my adult life.
But when I do, Bac intensifies the effects without me knowing that it's happening. That leads to disaster.

I guess I still have it in my thick skull that I can moderate.