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**RudyB** · June 12, 2011, 04:26 PM

My Baclofen Experience so far

hey there irish! welcome! it's good you've found something for yourself here, and that you've gone and posted.

i can't advise you about the topomax, but i wouldn't occupy your worry center with weight gain. i don't have a sense from reading 100's of posts that that is a major issue with bac. i'd say focus on doing what you have to with the bac and getting sober, and i bet that without the booze the pounds will come right off again on their own. eat well, drink lots of water, exercise as much as you can but don't beat yourself up about it (nor about the boozin'), think as many happy thoughts as you can squeeze in, love yourself, and trust that the bac will work its magic.

a lot of us got our first supply of baclofen from the internet. there's nothing wrong with that. you see a possible solution to possibly ages of self-inflicted damage, grab what you can. anything is better than continuing to bang your head against the wall. if you have insurance, better yet, as you won't have to pay for it out of pocket. if you don't have a dr who will prescribe it (most of us don't, sounds like you're one of the pack on that one), call dr levin. send me a pm if you want his #'s. he's very helpful and easy to talk to. he doesn't want or need your whole story or any justification. apparently, he just wants to help people heal.

we're here for you, woman (i assume you're a woman cause you call yourself fairy and you've had eating disorders). keep posting and keep us posted.

and bienvenida! welcome!
rudy b

**Murphyx** · June 12, 2011, 04:54 PM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Hey Irish

Can't advise on topamax; not a drug I know anything about. In the UK there aren't any doctors I know of willing to prescribe high dose bac, so ordering off the net is our only option. Not ideal, but what other option do we have?

I agree with everything Rudy says, except for the Dr Levin and insurance stuff. She thought you were in America. Like most Americans she forgets that there is a world outside of her country. JUST KIDDING.

So far so good titration wise. What's your plan going forward?

**RudyB** · June 12, 2011, 04:54 PM

My Baclofen Experience so far

also, irish, i did notice an immediate effect from baclofen. suddenly i was, like you, very relaxed, and i was loving everyone. my cravings were reduced pretty early on, but i ignored them. i let the force of habit keep control. i get the impression that that's pretty common, and that our struggle to repair ourselves would be a lot less grueling if we'd fight that power of habit and even white knuckle it for a bit to get through to that blessed indifference we all seek. but we came to bac as a way out of that knuckling nonsense, so i don't think there's a crime in letting go a bit of our guilt over our apparently hard-wired habits, letting go of thinking that we are somehow wrong in our problem drinking. instead, we should do what we can to support ourselves in this sometimes baffling road trip.

your not feeling much change in cravings at this point is pretty normal i think. as is oft said around here: jkttp (just keep taking those pills). i'm pretty sure it will be worth it.

when i started out on bac and read about all of the se's, i remember thinking that i must be built like an ox or something, as i've got none of those (and have managed to drink like a sailor and still look younger than my age and be healthy as an, yes, ox). but now that i'm up on the higher doses (150), i'm feeling quite whacked. i still wouldn't trade it for the desperate feeling of watching my life go down the tubes if i continued on the course i was on.

**RudyB** · June 12, 2011, 04:57 PM

My Baclofen Experience so far

aw shucks, so i didn't know that dr L can't do anything about you folks from the mother countries. darn. guess it's kinda obvious now that you mention it.

sometimes you have to ignore murph. i'm not really culturocentric (i'm sure there's a better word than that).

**Greg** · June 12, 2011, 06:46 PM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Hi and welcome,

I'd agree with advice to concentrate first and foremost on getting sober. I lost a large amount of weight when I stopped drinking and people now say I look a lot better, no longer being bloated in the face and body. Alcohol can put on a lot of weight and make it nearly impossible to lose even with exercise, and I'm sure I read it has more calories/kJ than carbohydrates (and not all that fewer than fat itself).

Topamax and baclofen together could have a strong sedative effect with cognitive slowing, but each person would have to see for themselves, since people react so differently to drugs. I have never taken Topamax so am just making a guess, based on the reported sedating effects of both drugs. If you could be detoxed from alcohol first it could help a lot, by reducing side effects of mixing alcohol with these drugs, but many people aren't able to fully quit drinking before taking medications to help with cravings.

Anyway best of luck, and you will find others here who have a lot more knowledge about this.

**ignominious** · June 12, 2011, 08:33 PM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Hi Fairy (boy or girl!)

Don't know anything about Topomax but I would strongly advise you not to combine drugs with baclofen at this stage. Like God it works in mysterious ways and with different SEs for many people. There maybe a time when you need to take something for sleeping, for example, and it would be better if you have a fairly uncluttered drug regime to add too.

About the weight: many people have experienced this. Baclofen along with the relaxing qualities also reduces your inhibitions and therefore your ingrained defenses to avoid fattening food. It did this for me but the consequences were that I found myself smoking more than previously. I thinmk you should just grin and bear it, it doesn't need top be permanent but keep in mind the main goal. The other thing to remember is that you will find that you can exercise harder and longer while taking baclofen.

Keep on a solid titration schedule and you too will soon see alcohol in a new light.

**tiptronic_ct** · June 13, 2011, 12:37 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

:welcome: Irish

All the best with your titration.

**irishfairy** · June 13, 2011, 01:57 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Thanks all!

I'm a girl (although can no longer see due to my rapidly expanding stomach). Titration schedule, I'm going to go up by 10mg every Saturday, in case of sleepy side effects as I've got a fair drive to work everyday and don't want to fall asleep at the wheel.

Too easy to blame the Baclofen for the weight gain, I have been eating like a hog, so will try and nourish my body with healthy foods and go to the gym lots this week.

Am feeling good today after a solid nights sleep, and lots of dreams about the most beautiful green frogs anyone could ever imagine. Must be because it's raining here in the UK. As usual....

Off to work now!

**Ne/Neva Eva** · June 13, 2011, 05:20 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Hiya, Irish lass.

I'd add my :welcome: to the bunch.

Your approach sounds remarkably reasonable!

Hope you'll stay and play for a while! Keep us posted, I mean.

:l
Ne

**bleep** · June 13, 2011, 10:41 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Hi Fairy, and welcome.

Starting is half the battle. I wouldn't feel bad about ordering online, 90% of the people here do it as the only way of getting baclofen. It sounds seedy, but there's nothing wrong with it.

I gained weight as well, but when I look back, I think it's more a function of my sedentary lifestyle than anything else! Baclofen was easy to blame though.

Your titration schedule is sensible, and as good as any around here. If anything I would suggest it is perhaps a little too cautious, but keep going and see how you feel. There's no point in looking for SE's - if they come, they come. One thing to bear in mind is that if the SE's at any particular level prove debilitating, your best bet is to increase your dose, rather than struggling at the same level for a whole week.

Best of luck with your experience!

**irishfairy** · June 20, 2011, 01:40 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Update - up to 90mg per day (3 x 30) and going well. In the last 7 days I have only drunk once, I was hoping I would only want one or two, but unfortuntately I got trashed, as soon as I had one I wanted more. Still, once in 7 days is really good for me. Am worried as off to America for work next week, which involves client meetings and therefore drinking, and will it be OK to bring baclofen?
Side effects wise, am tired and vivid dreams continue. Last night dreamt that Dr Amiesen invited me for a special Baclofen study in his house, there was a marathon going on outside in his garden and I was amused because he insisted sleeping in a shirt and tie. Strange.

**Murphyx** · June 20, 2011, 02:05 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

OK, if you're having freaky dreams about sleeping with OA you need to stop taking baclofen right away. That's just plain wrong!

Is there a law that states you have to drink alcohol when you meet clients? You could tell them you're on some meds that don't mix well with booze.

Lots of people travel across national boundaries with baclofen without any problems, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Worst case scenario, if you had the bac confiscated, you've only been on bac for a couple of weeks so you could stop it entirely without any risk of withdrawal. But that's very unlikely. Do you get your bac in blister strips? If so the customs officers won't think the tablets are anything else. they can look baclofen up and realise they're not a prohibited substance. No problemo.

**ik1966** · June 20, 2011, 02:42 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

:welcome:

**cherrabah** · June 20, 2011, 04:02 AM

My Baclofen Experience so far

Hi Fairy, I'm from the UK too and am an early dose of bac - still babysteps as I'm fairly cautious. Amazingly, this already seems to have loosened that compulsive grip at wine-o'clock and that gives me the space to negotiate fors and against that bottle (or more). And of course, being cautious means no SEs.

It seems to me there are several different members on varying amounts of bac but ultimately, it appears to work. Most of all - welcome !! Luv Cher (also female!) X

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