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[GettingSerious]

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Oh, and dear diary: i had 6 drinks last night.

[bleep]

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I personally don't think there is anything wrong with jumping the gun a little. It worked for me, although I jumped too many guns too often, so exercise a little caution!

Remember though, as you increase your dose, that it's important to remain on various levels for long enough for baclofen to seep into your brain. Don't let the SE's be your only guide, they are only SIDE effects. The main effect is happening behind the scenes. Three days seems to be enough at any given level before leaping along. If you really must leap up, make your jumps bigger, rather than shorter in duration.

Instant gratification, poor impulse control and little self restraint. They got me here too, and they got me out of it - you seem to doing well Serious.

[GettingSerious]

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Day 3 (15 mg today so far) - 2.5 alcohol units

huh, that's helpful to know, bleep. i didn't know that the plateaus were the most important part. i was considering going up 5 mg per day just to see what happened (didn't see anyone else doing that), but i suppose i won't after all if it's probably not helpful.

also - this is weird but - has anyone ever complained that once they started taking baclofen they couldn't sing for sh*t?? I am no chanteuse, but i do sing around the house and in the shower and stuff. All day today, I've noticed that I canNOT keep on tune. I'm completely flat. I mean, markedly, noticeably, this-wasn't-the-way-it-was-yesterday FLAT. It's like I can't move my vocal cords properly.

what's the weirdest/funniest side effect anyone's ever had? huh, i think i'm going to go do a search and see if i can find anything on that right now.

[bleep]

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Bear in mind that nobody really knows what's going on regarding levels and such. It's all just theories. Yours could well be the correct one!

I couldn't sing on baclofen, but I couldn't without it either, so it didn't alarm me that much. What I did notice is that I was a little short of breath, so when I did tonelessly join in with someone, I would run out of steam before the end of the line.

The SE's are too weird and numerous to pick one, for me. I forgot how to swallow, which was pretty strange. It's hilarious, looking back, but at the time was pretty inconvenient!

[Longshot]

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GettingSerious;1106922 wrote: huh, that's helpful to know, bleep. i didn't know that the plateaus were the most important part. i was considering going up 5 mg per day just to see what happened (didn't see anyone else doing that), but i suppose i won't after all if it's probably not helpful.

also - this is weird but - has anyone ever complained that once they started taking baclofen they couldn't sing for sh*t?? I am no chanteuse, but i do sing around the house and in the shower and stuff. All day today, I've noticed that I canNOT keep on tune. I'm completely flat. I mean, markedly, noticeably, this-wasn't-the-way-it-was-yesterday FLAT. It's like I can't move my vocal cords properly.

what's the weirdest/funniest side effect anyone's ever had? huh, i think i'm going to go do a search and see if i can find anything on that right now.

There's a ringing in your ears from Baclofen.

[GettingSerious]

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Hey guys. It is going to be a week tomorrow. It's my 3rd day at 80 mg. I am so TIRED! I can barely keep my eyes open. When I'm moving around it's tolerable, but when I'm sitting I feel like my eyelids could just DROP closed at any minute. Did I go up too fast? Is there anything to be done about this?

[ignominious]

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That's a fairly rapid increase.

Rule of thumb titration would be:
5 - 30mg/day for first 4-7 days
20-30mg increase in daily dose weekly

You do need to let the bac sink into your system. Its hard to have the patience to do it when we have so much to gain. Some people have found the switch by increasing very rapidly - if you have an enourmous amount of bac in your system then its logical that more will seep into your brain and allow you to make the 'switch'. If you go this route then you must expect there to be SEs as your body adjusts to the drug. IMO they are nothing to worry about if you can carry on functioning in your regular life but they will be more extreme than if you titrate slowly.

Also it will take the level of bac in your CNS about 5 days to level out when you increase your dose. The level of bac in your blood will level out much more quickly.

If your feeling OK with the somnolence I would highly recommend that you stay at 80mg for at least another 3-5 days and then consider upping your dose.

There are 2 things to be "done about this"
1) Wait it out
2) Drop the dose

[GettingSerious]

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Thanks Ig. I am thinking I may drop the dose a bit - unfortunately I am not functioning too well - my job essentially requires that I write the equivalent of a term paper every two days, with an oral exam every three. . . basically I have to be pretty clever on a daily basis and at the moment I am duller than dirt. Boo!

[ignominious]

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OK I would suggest dropping the dose by just a little. Maybe 10mg or max 20mg. This will take maybe 24 hours to filter through to how you are feeling and by that time your increases should have started to mellow out.

You want to get to a stage where you feel you know where you are with it. This will not happen if you wildly alternate your dose. Imagine a marble on a tray!

Hope that helps.

[bleep]

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Yep, Ig hit it pretty much on the head. Let us know how you get on after a small reduction...

There's plenty of time to do this. The key is to be consistent and thorough.

[Murphyx]

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I completely agree with Ig. This post is spot on.

ignominious;1108677 wrote: That's a fairly rapid increase.

Rule of thumb titration would be:
5 - 30mg/day for first 4-7 days
20-30mg increase in daily dose weekly

You do need to let the bac sink into your system. Its hard to have the patience to do it when we have so much to gain. Some people have found the switch by increasing very rapidly - if you have an enourmous amount of bac in your system then its logical that more will seep into your brain and allow you to make the 'switch'. If you go this route then you must expect there to be SEs as your body adjusts to the drug. IMO they are nothing to worry about if you can carry on functioning in your regular life but they will be more extreme than if you titrate slowly.

Also it will take the level of bac in your CNS about 5 days to level out when you increase your dose. The level of bac in your blood will level out much more quickly.

If your feeling OK with the somnolence I would highly recommend that you stay at 80mg for at least another 3-5 days and then consider upping your dose.

There are 2 things to be "done about this"
1) Wait it out
2) Drop the dose

[GettingSerious]

Let's get it on

Update

If anyone's still interested. After my aggressive up-titration to 80mg by Day#5 (4.30.11), I dialed it back a bit to 60 mg for three days. By the end of my third day at 60mg (5.5.11; day #9), I had anxiety through the ROOF. I was also working on a huge project (which is partly why I reduced), but i was having other types of anxiety such as, oh my god, i'm a fool for trying baclofen, etc. etc., even if i switch i'll have to take a med the rest of my life, blah blah blah and boring.

The more positive aspect was that I felt absolutely no side effects whatsoever from the bac, other than the tendency to get a bit more loopy from drinking. This to me signaled that if I take it at the right speed and plan it right with work, I *should* be able to function at least 50% of the time. that was encouraging.

Anyway, optimistic once again, I increased to 100mg on 5.6.11, (Friday) for an overnight increase of 40mg. The general loopiness was back in force, but the anxiety gone. It is hard to explain how it feels exactly - i describe it as tired, but it's not as though I actually want to go to bed. It's better described as "dragging with prominent elements of i don't give a sh*t," if I were going to describe it properly. As you may or may not have read in previous posts, The Shrinker has diagnosed me with OCD, and my OCD takes the form of uber responsible, super high-functioning I Am Going To Fix Everything disease. Maybe this is what normal people feel like on a day to day basis - i wouldn't know!

So, after 2 days at 100 mg, still pretty loopy. Didn't have to leave the house today, which was good, but didn't get anything accomplished in the house either. I have to say, I felt a lot better, psych wise, on the Lexapro. more calm, centered. Unfortunately, the Lexapro was turning me into Lindsay Lohan drinking-wise. I am debating between not telling The Shrinker that I discontinued the Lexapro and have her continuing to write me scripts for it (while I stockpile it in anticipation of hitting the switch) v. telling her I discontinued it and seeing whether she wants to try me on something else.

Other SEs that I have noticed:

1. increased interest in the cuteness of my cats. This was a stoner-type feeling I experienced in the first two or three days that has now gone away. I found myself cuddling and caressing my cats excessivley and admiring the intricate wonders of their tiny nails, the perfect contours of their noses, etc. We are all three of us glad this SE is gone, as I think I was frightening the poor things with my excessive attentions.

2. changes in perception. This SE occurs when I go up in dose. The best way I can describe it is that movie Crooklyn. Remember when the girl goes to live with that rich family and everyone looks elongated? It's like that - but everything isn't thin - it's glassy. It's like I tell my eyes to go to a certain place and they just take 0.25 seconds longer to get there. Weird.

3. increased interest in bread and meat. I typically eat a lot of vegetables and very little red meat. I have been eating GARBAGE since i started baclofen. Seeing as how I am petrified of gaining weight, this is not encouraging. French dip sandwich? YES! Filet mignon? YES! Mashed potatoes? YES! A nice garden salad? NO!! Broccoli? YES!!! (provided you cover it in cheese)

4. increased willingness to get food delivered and to order anything and everything I want on a given menu. I have probably gotten food delivered to my house twice in the past 8 years since I've lived here. I have now ordered delivery twice in the past WEEK. last Friday, I ordered three pizzas and two orders of bread sticks. THREE pizzas. I am a 115-120 lb female. I live ALONE. On one of pizza, I got DOUBLE THE MEAT. This is absurd.

5. eating like a pig. No, not like you're thinking. Not eating a lot (although yes, that too). ACTUALLY eating like a pig - like, I will get food and start eating it rapidly and obsessively. of course, I have to breathe whilst eating, so I end up making those unattractive heaving and grunting noises. Case in point: last Friday, I was mildly hungry and decided to get something delivered. For some reason, I was decided i wanted filet mignon. I cannot tell you when the last time I had a big piece of meat was (haha, keep your comments to yourselves) - probably December when I went to a fancy steak place and got a $48 prime rib. Nothing against red meat, I'm just more like a beef splurger. anyway, last Friday ONLY filet mignon would do. So, i ordered it. WITH a side of mashed potatoes. AND a side of broccoli. AND a side of mushrooms marsala. AND a side of mac and cheese. Oh, and a salad (which I didn't eat). I cannot tell you how good that filet mignon tasted. It was like stoned eating x 10. I was literally lying on the floor (couldn't keep my eyes open at that point) groaning and grunting with pleasure as I forked it in. WTF? It's not that I'm especially hungry - if anything i'm LESS hungry because I'm eating MORE. I am finding this particular SE v. v. bizarre and unattractive. I do not want to end up like Gilbert Grape's mom.

oh, and no effect on the drinking schedule as of yet. I am not going to be bummed about that. It has been

[GettingSerious]

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oh, two other SEs I forgot to mention -

early morning wakening - I seem to be unable to sleep as long as i should. hopefully this is not the precursor to the insomnia I've seen others are experiencing.

possible increase in sentimentality - currently manifesting itself as a watching and rewatching of the Susan Boyle audition from Britian's Got Talent. I am always about 5 years behind everything - I had no idea who this woman was. now I can't stop watching this damn youtube video of her coming out all schlumphy then wowing everyone. Like an 80's movie! I have seen this increase in sentimentality manifesting itself in other ways. I cried at a McDonald's commercial the other day. Not sure what that all means.

[ignominious]

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Fascinating stuff GS. A lot I can relate with and some just plain bonkers ( I mean who only orders delivery twice in 8 years - really!).

No idea who your people references are or the film but still great reading. Watch out for the MacDonald's crying bit and don't answer the door to any salesmen!

[GettingSerious]

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uhhhh, Ig, I gotta ask. Where do you live you haven't heard of Lindsay Lohan?