Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

[LittleLessBoozin']

Hi all,

Let's start with a warning. My parents used to buy me a diary every Christmas, and it seldom saw more than two entries. I'm not good at recording my life. That said, this being potentially the most important thing I've ever done, I hope I will be able to be a little more disciplined- discipline obviously being the strong suit of someone who frequents internet forums targeted at drunks :H

After reading about high dose Baclofen for a while, and after having ordered a bunch online I spoke to the wonderful Dr. Levin last week and shortly afterwards snagged a legit prescription from my local pharmacy. Initially, Dr. L. advised me to just go and request the stuff and offer them his phone number. Precisely per my fears, this did indeed trigger all manner of 'drug seeking behaviour' alarms in their heads, and they sent me packing, leaving me embarrassed and pissed off in my car.

That said, I called Dr. L back and he called the prescription in. Within an hour the pharmacist called me back and said "Your Doctor DID call it in and it is ready!" - and yes, she really did sound that incredulous :-(

Anyway, back I trekked, and lo and behold a big bottle of Bac and some Xanax (should I need it- I currently take OTC sleeping pills on those rare nights that I'm not drunk enough to just pass out and these may react poorly with Baclofen) were ready for me. Dr. L I shall pay by personal check, but I was mightily pleased to be able to present my insurance card to the pharmacy, paying a grand total of $15 for 80 20mg Baclofen pills and 70 0.25mg Xanax pills.

Cutting to the chase, after a long, boozy weekend with friends, I managed to scotch the excuses my booze addled brain was already concocting and take my first dose yesterday of a mere 5 mg. Dr. L told me that this is my dose for the first week, with 20 mg being my dose next week and from there onwards and upwards in 30 mg weekly intervals.

So, initial impressions? Even at 5 puny mg, I can feel a certain stoned-ness. Fortunately, Dr. L told me this was to be expected, and should only present in the first week. I'm hoping he is right, though even if he is this is a shitty week to experience said symptoms (I have 3 strategically important conference calls to Asia and a bloody board presentation in Europe). That said, I do a pretty high stress job, so I know if I don't start for those reasons, I will have similar and legitimate excuses each week until I die/get fired, so on I shall go and hang the consequences.

As for the drinking, did I drink tonight? Well, let's just say ursine mammals do indeed prefer to defecate in wooded areas. Having said that, although I've chucked down a fair whack of beer and wine, I'm about to go to bed on quite a bit less than would normally be expected after a weekend of craziness. Let's hope that I manage to sleep without sneaking down for a nightcap or 6. I have the Xanax yet, of course, but I do not wish to take it yet, or at all if avoidable, whilst I get used to this new medication. Serious kudos to Dr. L. once again, though, for at least leaving me the option in case I need it!

All in all, no real news, but 5 measly mg or not I'm pleased to say at least I've started my regime.

Watch this space, and wish me luck!

Paul.

[bleep]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Great stuff indeed.

I had the stoned feeling the whole way through my titration, but I also titrated very quickly, giving myself no time whatsoever to adjust. A new day for me meant an increase, often a big one, so perhaps with your more careful titration you will avoid this. Fingers crossed.

Something to look out for as well is an increase in drinking at certain levels of baclofen. Strange but true. Also be aware that while most of the time you'll find baclofen completely removes any trace of a hangover, every now and again, it doesn't. I had a couple of baclofen hangovers that I could not get out of bed with, despite never getting hangovers normally.

Gloom aside, there are lots of really pleasant SE's that hopefully you will experience, if any do pop up. Hopefully Dr. L's titration will not remove them!

Best of luck Paul.

[ignominious]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Luck and neurochemistry my friend!

[LittleLessBoozin']

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

MY eyes, my EYES!

Hi all,

I'm still on a boring 5mg per day per the plan, and still feeling nothing especially unusual... well except for one thing: I've always had very sharp eyesight, but as I look around today everything seems foggy/hazy to me. I'm used to my eyes feeling quite weird at the moment anyway, as my sick mind convinces me that my liver is sending poison up there in a conspiracy to turn them yellow, but I've never had this fogginess before.

Has anyone else noticed anything weird about their eyes on Bac?

Paul.

[bleep]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

I didn't Paul, but quite a few people have commented on it. Some have gotten new glasses as a result. I wouldn't go this far. All the new glasses were useless soon after as the effect disappears after a while. The only thing that happened to my eyes was redness.

It's interesting that you are seeing these effects at such low doses. What it means, I couldn't say.

[LittleLessBoozin']

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

bleep;1105468 wrote: I didn't Paul, but quite a few people have commented on it. Some have gotten new glasses as a result. I wouldn't go this far. All the new glasses were useless soon after as the effect disappears after a while. The only thing that happened to my eyes was redness.

It's interesting that you are seeing these effects at such low doses. What it means, I couldn't say.

Hi Bleep,

It could, of course, mean absolutely nothing or even be entirely unrelated. I guess we'll see soon enough.

Worst case, of course, is that my sight could deteriorate as I titrate up. Sadly, this is not acceptable and would probably stop my programme dead in its tracks. Let us pray that is not the case!

Paul.

[Isolde]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

My eyes actually got better, but that's due to a supplement that I started taking shortly after beginning to take bac, called astaxanthin. Great for all kinds of things, and I'll take it forever, but it's especially good for your eyes. My eyes have always been really sensitive to light, and if the sun was up at all, I had to have my sunglasses on. Shortly after starting to take astaxanthin, I found I didn't need them all the time anymore! It was pretty amazing. If you don't want to wait for this SE of bac to wear off, you might want to look into it, it's pretty cheap.

Good luck with the bac trip!

[Wintyr]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Hi Littleless my eyes are also foggy, rather foggy after having sharp eyesight, I actually think Im going to need to go get them tested! mostly far distances, Im wondering if thats from being so tired from the bac though.

[ignominious]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Here we go again on the SEs trail. No news is good news, is very true. As is, no news is boring.

Anyway I have to join in and say that I'm convinced my eyesight has taken a fairly sharp turn for the worse. Eyes have been tested with no major deterioration but I wear my reading glasses more often and have been thinking I need a bigger computer screen.

The eye testing here is probably not ultra accurate and possibly it's just me being more aware (improved perception) of the deficiency of my sight.

Worth asking Dr L about when you next talk to him though.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Change in eyesight is an SE of bac. (One I wish I'd known about bac in the day when I started.)

It's one of the ones that passes, too. Rather quickly and without much ado, in every case I've heard about. (Cinder's ... I haven't kept up, but she is having troubling things happening with her eye that may or may not pertain. anyway...)

lol, though. Hang in there, Paul. There may (or may not) be a couple of unforeseen aspects of this that you'll have to manage. I'm not making light. I'm just suggesting staying the course and managing... Love your plan. Love your attitude. But trust me, if you look for the SEs, THEY WILL COME. :H (I would know. I looked for them all and found them all and more!)

:ls and :h
Ne
(hmmm. don't you just distrust people that say trust me all the time???)

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

hullllooooo!

[LittleLessBoozin']

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Ne/Neva Eva;1106646 wrote: hullllooooo!

Hi all,

A quick update from the airport on a Saturday morning- can't beat a 6:00 EST wake up call when your body's still on PST- Yay!

I've finished my first week of 5mg, and today is the day I'm going to try 30 mg- Whoosh! Just took a 10mg tablet, so we'll wait and see I guess.

So, side effects:

- the vision is definitely a concern
- I've felt tired and moved sluggishly all week, even on just 5mg. That said, I can't rule out time zone issues/lack of sleep as the cause of this one
- on the plus side, again even on about as low as the dose goes, I have had a vague feeling of slightly less craving. Nothing groundbreaking, and still drunk plenty each day, but there was... something. Of course, this could've simply been psychosomatic, but who cares eh?
- I cannot hold my liquor! I was slurring my words after 3 Heinekens Thursday night. This is NOT ME! Is this the secret to how Bac. actually works? You get to the point where you collapse into a drunken slumber after 0.5 beers so you are physically unable to drink anymore? ;-)

Anyway, that's me signing off, will let you know how 30mg goes, and if I need to slow it down (another important week next week...)

Paul.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Hiya, Paul.
Psychosomatic or not (I think not) makes no nevermind (as my grandma says.)

Nope. That's not the way the bac works. (In terms of getting drunker rather quicker than before. More drunk, more quickly that is.) Be careful of that, though, okay? It seems to me that there could be some serious repercussions from that SE.

I think that you'll find that the vision problems resolve themselves. It's interesting (to me) that I suffered a great deal from that SE, but only at the low doses. I stayed at the low doses (meaning below 60mg/day) for about 6 weeks. It was a mistake, a big one. Keep that in mind, too. Many of us found a cessation of negative SEs by going UP rather than down. I know it's counterintuitive but it is fact, not opinion.

Good luck with the upcoming week. Use whatever tools you've got to get some decent sleep because imho that greatly increases the negative aspects of taking bac.

:l
Ne

[bleep]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

That happened to me too! I got horrifyingly plastered on two bottles of wine when just starting baclofen. About what six bottles would normally do to me. That effect soon passed though, and the effects of boozing returned to normal.

Odd that you are experiencing SE's at such a low dose, perhaps being on it for a week really allows it in to your system. I'm not sure if it bodes anything for the doses to come, but it certainly suggests a sensitivity to baclofen, and that must be a good thing.

Good luck with your increase Paul.

[ignominious]

Here starteth Paul's Baclofen diary

Thanks for the update Paul

Placebo or drug? Who knows? But I suspect it is the drug due to you getting drunk more easily. It must be hitting the spot.

The few times I've got drunk after reaching the switch I've been amazed how little it takes to get a buzz going! Titrating up I didn't notice this effect because right from the off I had no compulsion to get drunk and was happy sipping 25cl whiskey every night.

Good luck with the 30mg