desperate newbie...my first posting....

[mondmobil]

:new:
First of all: thanks so much to all of you giving comfort and being so helpful to others! I liked the forum right from the start, everyone being so friendly and nice even when opinions and experiences differ :thanks:

As I am new here (though having read a lot of your posts) I think it is only fair to tell you a bit about myself: I am 34 years old (female) and living in Vienna (Austria/Europe), I dont get much opportunity to practice my (scarce) english skills, so please bear with me.. (I am always grateful for corrections!! English is a real nice language)

I started taking baclofen 3 1/2 weeks ago and first I had some kind of "high", feeling a lot better, strong, calm, hopeful, and was drinking less. I have been suffering from severe anxiety and depression since I was 14, taking antidepressants and tranqulizers in often enormous doses. And what is really amazing is that since taking baclofen, my panic and fear have vanished completely, I don't need tranquilizers anymore!

But right now, I feel sooo desperate and ugly and like the greatest shit on earth. I am drinking more than I ever did for nearly a week now (two bottles of (sparkling) wine) and haven't stopped ever since. I just don't have the strenght to fight anymore, crying all the time - maybe it is also because of the terrible things that are happening in Japan (how tiny are my problems in comparison!) I just cannot imagine how it feels like to lose all your loved ones: your kids, your husband, your family)

I am at 40 mg Baclofen (raising the dose very slowly because of the severe SE I suffered from) I had a lot of hope when starting to take baclofen. but sometimes I think that it just does not work for me. I would really appreciate your opinion: maybe I am one of those (few) who don't respond to baclofen?

thanks for your patience, even if I won't get an answer I will not stop reading what you post in this forum, I get a lot of helpful advice and comfort here.

I admit that I envy all of you who succeeded in going AF with baclofen, but I also admire you and am thrilled that you do so well! :goodjob:

Lots of love, mondmobil (English translation: mobile moon )

[bleep]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Hi moon, and welcome.

I too had that reaction to baclofen - I drank more when I started it. I wouldn't be alarmed, it is just your addiction trying to have a final shout before it gets killed. Don't be alarmed, it's quite normal.

I also had the emotional swings you say you are experiencing, again quite normal. You also go through periods of feeling really good, so you can look forward to those!

Good luck with your journey, post it here and we will support you through it.

There wasn't a thing to correct, your English is very good!

[Cinders]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Mobile Moon!!

:welcome:

Your post was a breath of fresh air here on MWO.

I am glad you are here.

I can't help with the Baclofen. I have bottles and bottles at home and can't take one.

I have bad reactions to it.

But, many here have found sobriety with it and that is what you are searching for. Sobriety.

Not the do all end all of life but a damned good start.

I look forward to hearing about your journey. I am glad you are here and I agree. What is happening in Japan is heartbreaking. But you can only do what you need to do and that is get sober. The rest of the world will continue.

Love and welcome,
Cindi

ps, My given name is Cynthia, which means Goddess of the Moon.

[coalfire]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Mobile moon. What a beautiful name! Your English is perfect. I only take low dose Baclofen so I cant help you but I know others will.

[mondmobil]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

ooooooooooh....

you all are so nice, you really are... :h
I did not expect answers to my thread in so short a time and it feels like there are people around ( even on the other side of the globe...) that do care for others even if they don't even know them. That's amazing really!
Thank you so much!
@cinders: I smiled reading that your name means the goddess of the moon, beautiful name!!,! I admit that I did not get all of what you said (challenging my english skills, you are.. ;-) I take it that you are sober (congrats!) without baclofen? Maybe I got it wrong. What impressed me most it what you say about the tragedy in Japan - You are absolutely right, there is not much I can do for people in Japan, just hoping the best, and me getting depressed in faraway Austria won't help them at all...
and bleep: your experiences help me so much...it gives me hope that my despair will eventually give way to more pleasant feelings........... How long did you drink more while taking baclofen?
I am the most impatient woman on earth - just want to get rid of this awful addiction once and for all and right now!
Thanks again and love, (mobile) moon

[Murphyx]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Hi Mondmobil

Like Bleep I also drank more when I started on baclofen. I continued to drink excessively until the day the switch occurred.

You need to increase the dosage. You didn't say what the side effects are that keep you from titrating quickly.

Murph (it means an incredibly handsome man with a huge penis)

[TracyA]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

mondmobil;1079041 wrote:
I am at 40 mg Baclofen (raising the dose very slowly because of the severe SE I suffered from) I had a lot of hope when starting to take baclofen.
but sometimes I think that it just does not work for me. I would really appreciate your opinion: maybe I am one of those (few) who don't respond to baclofen?

It's not "a few." There is a thread on the forum right from someone who could not tolerate the med. But often the people who tried it and could not tolerate it still post here (YAAAAAY Meds Forum!) But it seems a bit early for you to give up. Drinking on bac can make the SEs much, much worse. I think, like Bleep said, there can be a knee jerk reaction to giving up booze that makes some people increase their drinking when they first start the bac. Hang in there! I certainly works for a lot of people. :welcome:

[mondmobil]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

made my day (nearly but still......)

Murph (it means an incredibly handsome man with a huge penis)
you made me laugh really hard and this is a first today (and where I live its past midday already) so thanks to the handsome-man-with-a-huge-penis ;-))

how long did it take you to get "the switch"? I just hate it to be patient but I think you are right I should take higher doses, but my physician won't "allow" me more than 75 mg and since I take other drugs aswell (effexor, lamotrigin, sorry I don't know how they are called in the US) I am afraid of selfdescribing.

My sideeffects are terrible headache (it feels like my brain is pushing against my skull and I hate it!), somnolence during the day (which is not that special I think) but what I suffer from most ist insomnia at night - sometimes I just stay awake all night even though - before taking lamotrigin - I needed at least 9 hours of sleep.
That's why I titrate so slowly.

Thanks for answering, I am still smiling.................mondmobil

[Cinders]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Murph (it means an incredibly handsome man with a huge penis)

Thanks for making me laugh very hard this morning, Murph.

Now, I just have to get that image out of my head...or maybe not. :-)

Cindi

[Seethepony]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Hi mond, ignore the runt with the tiny pecker,
There are a few people who have become immune to the charms of alcohol on 40mg/day but they are few and far between. As Mr Tadpole suggests, increasing your dose (slowly) may get you there. If you are taking other meds, I would try to lay off them, maybe they're just adding misery to the hellish mix of baclofen and alcohol.
I admit, the newspapers have done my head in as well this week. Gadaffi bombing the crap out of everyone while the EU talks about making a resolution to ban him from the school library or something, a gang-bang of nuclear disasters in Japan, on top of the tsunami - I was feeling so gloomy last night I tried getting drunk on alcohol free beer. Amazingly I found myself getting some kind of a buzz out of the stuff. I think my body just likes that bloated feeling!
All the best Seethepony (it means a gorgeous pony with a gigantic saddle)

[Murphyx]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Mond

The Lamotrigine and Effexor are strong anti-depressants/mood enhancers and it would not be sensible to stop taking them. However, some people find that they no longer require anti-depressants after using baclofen. The 75mg limit is likely to be a problem because most people require 2 to 300mg before they hit the switch. In your case I would really try to convince your doctor to prescribe a higher dose because self-prescribing alongside those other medications wouldn't be sensible.

In my case I hit the switch at 150mg in only 8 days, but I went too quickly and I was lucky to hit it at such a low dose.

Regarding the side effects: The headache/pressure thing I also had but only at certain times of ummmm excitement. I thought it might be an increase in blood pressure, but wasn't in a position to attach the blood pressure monitor at the time, so I'm not sure. The somnolence is, as you say very common. I found I could reduce it by spreading my dose out evenly throughout the day, in 8 separate doses. As far as the insomnia goes, it's not really a problem I had but many others do. I think they use some sort of medication for it but I don't know what. Hopefully one of them will come along soon and help on that one.

Murph

p.s. ignore Seethepony he talks nonsense because he is jealous of my huge penis.

[Longshot]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

mondmobil;1079219 wrote:
but what I suffer from most ist insomnia at night - sometimes I just stay awake all night even though - before taking lamotrigin - I needed at least 9 hours of sleep.
That's why I titrate so slowly.

Thanks for answering, I am still smiling.................mondmobil

Try and take your last bac dosage 6hrs before sleep.

Try the supplements lithium orodate, melatonin, and 5-HTP.

And exercise! Lots and lots of exercise. Jogging swimming whatever. Half a hour around two hours before you sleep.

[mondmobil]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

Hello longshot, thanks for your advice! This horrible insomnia is really driving me crazy, sometimes I think that it is one of the reasons why I drink so heavily right now - the only way to get tired (I know I know bad decision)
I don't know the meds you write about but I am going to look them up, and I know that you are right: exercise helps - I used to work out excessively and it helped me to find sleep.

Working out is on my list of how-to-be-a-better-person which goes something like this:
stop drinking! stop smoking! get moving! eat vegetables five times a day! (and there's more...) There's so much in my life I want to change that I don't know where to begin. So I end up doing nothing at all..

I hoped (....and now for something completely different.. ) that I would not need such high doses of baclofen because I am quite tiny and not weighing a lot, but I heard and read again and again that the dose of baclofen you need is not related to body mass. But why (not)? I just don't understand it... I know we are no laboratory rats (who had "the switch" at 1-4 mg/kg), but why does this not apply to humans aswell?

@Murph: you really do know the drugs I take? Thats amazing! I know Efexor is very common but Lamotrigin... I cannot imagine how you managed to get to 150 mg within 8 days!! How did you do that? I hope that I won't need more than that, but as you say: I also think that because of baclofen it might be possible to stop taking Efexor (at least) Anyway, it's the doctor to decide, he knows me so well that I will not risk to do anything against his advice.

@seethepony......soo glad I am not the only one.... I decided not to watch the news in the next few days, it just makes me sick... sometimes I think Gadaffi now can do as he likes just because all the attention is concentrated on Japan (sorry bad english..) And: I am just the same - I love this bloated (please give me another word for this - I could not find a translation into German but I think that I know what you mean!) feeling, problem is I crave it so often because of all kinds of troubling things (in the world, my home, my family, myself...)

all the best, mondmobil/mond/moon

ps: to gorgeous-pony-with-a-gigantic-saddle and incredibly-handsome-man-with-a-huge-penis - thanks for making me laugh so much... Always enjoying a proper peeing contest

[Longshot]

desperate newbie...my first posting....

mondmobil;1079498 wrote: Hello longshot, thanks for your advice! This horrible insomnia is really driving me crazy, sometimes I think that it is one of the reasons why I drink so heavily right now - the only way to get tired (I know I know bad decision)
I don't know the meds you write about but I am going to look them up, and I know that you are right: exercise helps - I used to work out excessively and it helped me to find sleep.

Mondmobil, I know my turning point when I started to move towards my switch is when I started to sleep. Insomnia and Alcohol were linked in my brain.

Exercise is critical, as is eating properly. The substances I mentioned, aren't drugs, they're supplements and should be available in health food stores.

Try the holistic healing forum.

I found those three combined with exercise helped beat my insomnia for a while, but then I had to take more drastic steps.