managing bac side effects

[Chi]

Not having a good day for some reason.... feeling extra spacey and moody.

Did anyone notice their vision was strained on bac? A few years ago I needed to start wearing readers, but lately since ramping up the bac I seem to have worse eye strain... anybody else?

Also, I've been keeping the drinks fairly low... 2-3 range. Last night I had four beers over about 6 hours and I think I have a hangover There was a day when I would feel GREAT if I *only* had four beers... maybe bac is sort of like antabuse because I do not like this feeling. No way I'm doing that again anytime soon.

I also am wondering if I am going up too fast.... I feel the switch is coming soon, but the SE's are feeling worse.

[bleep]

managing bac side effects

Hi Chi,

Baclofen definitely fiddled with my eyesight. It played mostly with contrasts, so reading became unpleasant. That has thankfully passed though, and everything is back to normal. Except bright lights - it hurts to look at bright lights for some reason, which makes night driving unpleasant.

I also noticed the hangovers! For me it was more that the baclofen SE's increased dramatically, rather than a hangover as we know and love them, but it was horrible.

The best way I've found of reducing the SE's was to space my doses close together, and reduce the individual doses. So your daily total remains the same, but it's now broken down into 8 or so doses, rather than the standard 3 or 4.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[bleep]

managing bac side effects

Sorry - forgot to say - how fast are you going up, since that definitely increases the SE's!

[Murphyx]

managing bac side effects

Chi, I also had problems with my eyesight. Previously I used reading glasses, but my vision definitely became blurry and I was prescribed stronger readers and also regular, distance vision glasses. I ordered the glasses on the internet and by the time they arrived I was a few weeks post switch. I wore them for 2 days and then realised my eyes had recovered. That was a few weeks ago and my eyes are still fine without the glasses.

Just one of those weird baclofen side effects that don't really exist I guess.

[Chi]

managing bac side effects

Thanks bleep. I'm up to 120.

I've actually lost track of exactly when I went up, which tells me I need to start writing this stuff down. Odd that when I stayed at 50-75 during 2010 it didn't seem to bother me to switch between those doses. In early March I went up to 100.... that is when the SE's became more bothersome and now I seem more sensitive to my dosing.

I usually take 25 mg doses, but I think I will try more spacing as you suggested. Glad to hear the eye sight goes back to normal... I've also been spending more time on the computer, probably isn't helping my eyes.

Thanks for the chuckle of "a hangover as we know and love them" ..... yep I'm not liking this feeling at all. Did you notice hangovers with only a few drinks? It seriously is a deterrent. Funny how I noticed such a big difference between 3 and 4 drinks! Seriously that used to be an appetizer for me.

I just want that nice mellow bac feeling, not the anxiety I'm feeling today. I've had such a reduction in anxiety on the bac I hope that isn't going to go away...

[Chi]

managing bac side effects

Murphyx;1083029 wrote: Chi, I also had problems with my eyesight. Previously I used reading glasses, but my vision definitely became blurry and I was prescribed stronger readers and also regular, distance vision glasses. I ordered the glasses on the internet and by the time they arrived I was a few weeks post switch. I wore them for 2 days and then realised my eyes had recovered. That was a few weeks ago and my eyes are still fine without the glasses.

Just one of those weird baclofen side effects that don't really exist I guess.

Thanks for the info! I'm relieved that it is temporary! I was thinking of getting stronger readers.

edit... Murphy what dose are you on now?

[bleep]

managing bac side effects

Chi;1083036 wrote: ...

Did you notice hangovers with only a few drinks? It seriously is a deterrent. Funny how I noticed such a big difference between 3 and 4 drinks! Seriously that used to be an appetizer for me.

I just want that nice mellow bac feeling, not the anxiety I'm feeling today. I've had such a reduction in anxiety on the bac I hope that isn't going to go away...

The anxious feeling has gone and to date hasn't returned, so I think it remains.

Yup, even a few drinks were enough to accentuate the SE's the next day. It wasn't pleasant, but felt extremely good if I managed to go AF the night before. As you say, a warm-up of a few drinks was enough to so it, but not badly. I'd found on the way up that booze lost it's allure as well, starting at about the 120 / 140 level. Getting pissed didn't feel as nice, so it wasn't such a holy grail anymore, as well, which helped. Prior to that, I had known no nicer feeling than a few glasses of wine in, plenty in the fridge, and an evening ahead of me to get stuck in...

[redhead77]

managing bac side effects

Chi, I don't wear glasses but I too am having some visual problems. It's like things appear distorted once in a while. My other negative side effects are severe forgetfulness, lethargy, an aversion to loud noises, occasional nausea, feeling overly sensitive, and smoking like a fiend. Oh, and in the last couple of days my AL intake has increased (I've heard this happens sometimes, and it also may be hormonal for me, I always drink more at a certain time of the month).

Sounds pretty terrible, but it's manageable, and the outcome will be fabulous.

Most of the symptoms are better controlled for me when I take frequent smaller doses, too. I'm on 140 mg and I take 7 pills a day. I spread them every 2-3 hours. I'll go up to 30 mg a couple times a day when I go up more, but I don't know if I can tolerate much more than that in one dose.

Thanks for starting this thread. I was LMAO when I read about the prison hooch. It reminds me of when I found my daughter's sippy cup in my car, it had been forgotten and had OJ in it. The smell of that made me think what the prison hooch must smell like. The things people will do for a buzz. :H

[JohnR]

managing bac side effects

I?ve got blurry vision, lethargy, hangovers from 1-2 drinks and I am only up to 40mg after 6 weeks.
Smaller more frequent doses are helping with SE?s.

[Chi]

managing bac side effects

Thanks everyone. I am so glad I asked about the blurry vision, and relieved it seems to be a temporary thing.

I split my later afternoon dose and seem to be feeling more "normal"...

Bleep I know exactly what you are saying, holy grail indeed is losing the appeal. I do think there is a component here like antabuse. That's okay whatever works-- I do not want to wake up tomorrow with a bac hangover.

Red I'm always amazed at how often and how much hooch prisoners make. From what I hear it is nasty, but when it's all ya got.... apparently some are better than others who make it and sell it for more money. Oh the stories I could tell, lol. I do wonder sometimes if bac helps them with anxiety/cravings etc like we experience here. It must to a degree... but I've never heard a word about it. There is no taper off either. When time is up, it's up, period. Of course they are only getting 60 per day.

[Isolde]

managing bac side effects

redhead77;1083058 wrote: My other negative side effects are severe forgetfulness, lethargy, an aversion to loud noises, occasional nausea, feeling overly sensitive, and smoking like a fiend.

Thanks so much for mentioning this redhead! Lately loud noises have been REALLY annoying me. The weird thing is that I've been on bac since September! :H Maybe I was too bac'd out to really notice the aversion before. I've been hanging out on 80mgs for awhile now, and with the majority of other SEs pretty much absent (well, the bad ones, anyway), I'm finding myself getting really irritated with noise. I didn't at all attribute it to the bac, probably because I didn't notice it before. Living near a small airport doesn't help though! I swear there has been a lot more air traffic lately!! Hmph.

[bleep]

managing bac side effects

Loud noises have always annoyed me, and still do!