Umm... How do you tell your wife?

[Guest]

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

Otter

I thought that a few professionals have had to quit their jobs in order to hit their switch with baclofen? A couple have posted this here quite recently, baclofen has resulted in themselves becoming free of alcohol but they've had to give up work in the meantime.

In your post you also say that Dr Chick uses baclofen to remove enough anxiety to allow people to stop drinking, and then deal with any life issues - after stating that conventional treatment is wrong in removing alcohol in order to get to a root cause.

[RedThread12]

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

Well, Otter, not everyone thinks psychiatry is bunkum'.

I wouldn't disagree, but if it helps in LLB's case, please don't discourage him from reading the reports and utilizing them if he thinks they might be helpful. Different strokes for different folks, 'ya know.

[Bruunhilde]

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

Hey Paul,

I think you've got alot of great advice here from people, and isn't it a great support group when you post such a need? This is where MWO shines.

I can't help you on the coupledom thing since all my boys always supported me, well, except one. He thought I needed to cut down, but he also supplied the scotch that got me as bad as I got. I think he just liked being able to slam me for an issue now and then, but he sure loved me drunk and sexy.

Anyways, the advice "she already knows" is quite right, and that she'll think you should be able to quit (my whole family), is on the mark.

I say you tell her when you need help, that you're doing it for your beloved family, and that it's a temporary phase to get to a point where you can be successful. You've obviously been successful through the odds in other things in life, so act with authority and ask for help and love through it.

Cheers, good luck! Where there's a will, and help, there's usually a way to get to your goal.

[LittleLessBoozin']

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

Bruunhilde;1100456 wrote: Hey Paul,

I think you've got alot of great advice here from people, and isn't it a great support group when you post such a need? This is where MWO shines.

I can't help you on the coupledom thing since all my boys always supported me, well, except one. He thought I needed to cut down, but he also supplied the scotch that got me as bad as I got. I think he just liked being able to slam me for an issue now and then, but he sure loved me drunk and sexy.

Anyways, the advice "she already knows" is quite right, and that she'll think you should be able to quit (my whole family), is on the mark.

I say you tell her when you need help, that you're doing it for your beloved family, and that it's a temporary phase to get to a point where you can be successful. You've obviously been successful through the odds in other things in life, so act with authority and ask for help and love through it.

Cheers, good luck! Where there's a will, and help, there's usually a way to get to your goal.

Hi Bruunhilde/all. Yes, I really *HAVE* received some great advice. It's like an AA support group but without all the tiresome higher power bollocks that stops scientifically trained dudes from me from even contemplating going that route. ;-)

I've also had a couple of really helpful off board PMs, for which I am extremely grateful. Especially the poster who has helped me find a path to 'legitimizing' this, and so removing one major obstacle for me :-)

Thanks again all, and I'll be keeping in touch.

Paul.

[Otter]

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

RedThread12;1100372 wrote: Well, Otter, not everyone thinks psychiatry is bunkum'.

I wouldn't disagree, but if it helps in LLB's case, please don't discourage him from reading the reports and utilizing them if he thinks they might be helpful. Different strokes for different folks, 'ya know.

LLB, hmmm, I had to edit this when I saw your job description. I know most people still "believe" in psychiatry. I don't. Plainly, you can make your own mind up. I would not want to start an interdisciplinary bust up. I take Baclofen though and it has helped with my job. In fact, I don't think I could work if I had not had it. I don't intend to use it long term, maybe. You cannot start by taking 10mg in the morning before work because you will find that it will make you appear drunk and possibly fall over. This is a very powerful drug. Take very small doses spread over the day. Imagine you want your brain to be "swimming" in it constantly but not drown. Start at the shallow end with just the soles of your feet in the water. Don't go in and out of the water. Keep your feet in until they are accustomed to the temperature. Usually you can go up by 10 mg every 3 days but go slower if you feel side effects. My wife put off going up to high dose for 18 months and hit the switch three weeks ago. She says she now feels no side effects at all and it actually makes her more alert. It does work but everyone is different.

As for psychiatry, probably the world's leading authority on bi-polar, Kay Redford Jamieson, who, herself, has taken lithium carbonate most of her life ended her book, An Unquiet Mind, by expressing the view that advances in neurobiology were showing that mental illnesses such as bipolar originate from disorders of the brain which can be charted with brain imaging. She wrote the book in the 1990s. The paradigm shift is not just something I made up. It is a movement away from traditional psychiatry as a way of treating "mental illness". The whole idea of "mental illness", has been questioned for many years by people like Thomas Szasz who wrote "The Myth of Mental Illness", in the 1960's when I was a boy and began reading books on psychiatry. (as well as Mad magazine) lol

Anyone here who is taking Baclofen is tacitly and perhaps unknowingly, accepting the paradigm shift, abandoning traditional approaches to alcoholism which involve counselling in favour of a medical approach to a biological condition. Here is something from Wikepedia on it.

The Myth of Mental Illness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Myth Of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct is a controversial book by Thomas Szasz and published in 1961. It is highly influential in the anti-psychiatry movement. In it, Szasz argues that mental illness is a social construct created by doctors, and the term can only be used as a metaphor given that an illness must be an objectively demonstrable biological pathology, whereas psychiatric disorders meet none of these criteria. Szasz says that what psychiatrists label mental illness is in fact nothing more than a deviation from the consensus reality or common morality.
He states that mental illness, madness and even many crimes are created or defined by cultural controls, morals and "real world" views of big science, religion and government, similar to heretics, pagans, and sinners before the industrial revolution. In parts he agrees with Wilhelm Reich, Alexander Lowen, R. D. Laing, Arthur Janov and Peter Breggin. All are psychiatrists, except Janov, who is a psychologist. Szasz supports his arguments by pointing out that individuals alleged to be mentally ill feel they have much to gain because by appearing to be dependent they motivate others to action. Szasz asserts that a positive, present and honest relationship is the basis of his therapy.
The book extends the arguments of Szasz's paper "The Myth of Mental Illness", first published in 1960. In it, Szasz argues that beliefs cannot be caused by brain disease, although such artifacts as visual (or hearing) defects can.

[bounce]

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

It was easy i just orded 4000 tablets and when they droped through the letterbox she asked me, Job done

[bleep]

Umm... How do you tell your wife?

Hi Paul,

I'm a bit late to this thread to offer any useful advice, most of it has been given already. However, I just wanted to let you know that I too have a senior management position, that relies on me making fairly important decisions fairly often. I went up really quickly in my dosage regimen, which resulted in quite severe SE's. I had to take a total of five days off due to SE's, although a few of these were as a result of hangovers (baclofen hangovers are to be feared. I couldn't stand up, let alone function when experiencing one). A short way into taking baclofen, I noticed my thoughts had a clarity and focus that was previously lacking, which resulted in a much improved performance at work. I wasn't imaging this, my boss commented as well.

Saying that, these SE's could easily have been avoided, or at least mitigated had I been more sensible in my titration. The worst SE for me was the appearance of being stoned, again a result of a far too rapid titration. Whilst this was not acceptable at work, I managed to work out how to take my doses so as to avoid the worst of this. Should you find this happening to you, let me know and I'll be glad to fill you in. Not everyone gets this particular SE.

My wife was extremely skeptical of baclofen, and saw it as route I was taking simply so I could carry on drinking. Within a very short period, she was convinced as to its efficacy, and now wishes I had found it sooner, as do I. The results will speak for themselves. Even if your wife thinks it's a load of crap, ask her to suspend her disbelief for a short period. She doesn't need to support you or believe you, although that will help, just allow you the time to do it.

Best of luck, I hope you are able to work your way through this.