My bac experience by DT

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

My bac experience by DT

And thanks Neva. The check is in the mail. lol

[Ne/Neva Eva]

My bac experience by DT

Dude. This is said with affection and some measure of understanding. You haven't tried to do anything for your cough, but you're ready to throw in the towel? Let me just suggest you try to treat the cough with some very simple, two-steps-away-from-aspirin medicine.

Mucinex
Why is this medication prescribed?

Guaifenesin is used to relieve chest congestion . Guaifenesin may help control symptoms but does not treat the cause of symptoms or speed recovery. Guaifenesin is in a class of medications called expectorants. It works by thinning the mucus in the air passages to make it easier to cough up the mucus and clear the airways.

Bac can also cause headaches sometimes too. Don't take tylenol. It's very bad for the liver. Very bad.

It can also cause sleep disruption. Take a non-narcotic sleep aid.

There are many more SEs you might face. Might being the operative word. I would simply suggest you deal with them as they come up and then you won't have to drink against your will anymore.
The cough should be better in a day or two, if you take the medicine. Bac or not, you'll probably need something to dry it up. If it hasn't cleared up in a day or two you should think about a doctor, maybe.
If you have a fever or a whole host of other symptoms, you should probably see a doctor. Or at least call Dr. L who will tell you to see a doctor, probably.

I am not a doctor. I'm just a chick who is familiar with coughs and colds.
Hang in there, DandT!
:l
Edit: I forgot. You will need something to dry it up. The mucinex/guifanesen just loosens it up. I take Claritin or some other allergy med. Benadryl works and will help you sleep, but it can make you drowsy. Again, ftor, not a doc. Just a chick.

[RudyB]

My bac experience by DT

see, coughing and tired, you're getting lots of attention w your own thread! just wanted to chime in and say again that you're smart to have started your own about-you place. good luck w the cough. wear a mask at work if it helps the customers feel ok. bac will help you BE okay. good luck.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

My bac experience by DT

Hi, again, DandT. Someone was a little cranky-pants yesterday, wasn't I?
Let's start again, alright? Fer real. 'Cause I totally missed the point and I HATE it when I do that. Then I feel stupid and guilty and that just feeds the crap of a carousel that goes on in my mind when I'm not paying attention to it. SO...

What's the nature of the cough? Are you coughing stuff up? Or is it dry? Is your nose running? I ask this because the type of medication (over the counter) you'll take is based on that stuff. The nurse is around, too, so I want her to see what's going on.
Also, DO you have a fever?
At one of the last restaurants I worked at there was a guy who had asthma, and I think, chronic bronchitis. He's one of us, and way bad off. Maybe mid-50s or 60yo but looks 70. He would start coughing at the table and quickly move to the kitchen or the bathroom, where the entire dining room could STILL hear him coughing up a lung. It was excruciating and disgusting. I say this because I know it's really never okay to cough at a table. Much less hack a lung. He's not long for this world, I think. Last time I saw him he was bloated and yellow. It's heart breaking. I share that because I definitely have a bit of, "There but for the grace of something, go I." I don't want to be waiting tables when I'm 60 and I NEVER want to look or feel the way he does.

So... back to the bac. And you. The coughing thing needs to be dealt with. In addition to whatever you have to take to get better, you can also take a cough suppressant for work hours. It'll help so that people don't request someone else. Someone who sounds less like tuberculosis on legs. :H
(not a doctor, etc... I HAVE to write that, okay? So no one things I'm getting too big for my britches...)
:l
Ne

[RudyB]

My bac experience by DT

ne, if you keep eating all of that sugar, you WILL be too big for your britches! sorry, couldn't resist.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

My bac experience by DT

uurrrgh. I know. I've lost weight. Unfortunately, Lo0p has taught me well and I know it's all my muskles evaporating. :boohoo:
But bac to you DandT. Please say hello sometime soon!

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

My bac experience by DT

Hello! Sorry. Like I said I am busy. lol Anyway, thank you all for your support. I have decided to continue the bac. I went down to 25mg three times a day for a few days. As for the cough, I have had it since I started taking the bac 7 weeks ago. It went from a dry cough to more coughing to a sick couch when I hit 30mg three times a day. Sorry for my little outburst the other day too. I was just irritated by it all. I don't like drugs so much so that I haven't really been on birth control for longer than 3 months. And the last time was only because I had to be on it. I do, however, take medicine for hangovers. But drugs that I have to take all the time freaks me out. Being on bac is big enough having to take mucinex and or claritan (sp?) on top of that really frustrates me. I knew that this journey may not be easy, but I never expected to have to deal with a cough. When doing research, the research shows that bac will cause respiratory depression. I worry that the cough could be a sign of this. Unfortunately, I do not have insurance and don't have the money to see a doctor. The twitching and the fact that my head gets fuzzy sometimes are both things that I can deal with though it scares me. The coughing has gotten better. It was really bad for a week or two. I worry what might happen when I go up to 40mg three times a day which will be next week. I didn't call Dr. Levin because I didn't want to hear keep going it will be ok. Ulterior motives there. Just like when he said that there weren't any side effects. If I had some money, I would go to the doctor. For now I push on. lol

[bleep]

My bac experience by DT

Keep pushing on. I also developed a cough, but it goes away. I was hoarse for ages. It's all about levels. Change the level you are on, and it will probably disappear.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

My bac experience by DT

Dr. Levin has no ulterior motives. I would suspect that he thinks there aren't any SEs because he manages the ones that arise for his in-person patients, and that they take a long, cautious approach to titrating up with the ultimate goal in mind. This is not to say that I agree with him on most things. I don't. It is to say that I've talked to the guy irregularly for more than a year and he's never given me any indication that he wants anything from me. Never. That cannot be said for any other person outside of this forum that have an investment in bac succeeding as a treatment for alcoholism. Levin has no funding, no research, no vested interest in baclofen. None. And last I heard, about three months ago, he hadn't any interest. His field and focus is on the amygdala. Google his name in amazon and you'll find his work.

The cough is not an SE. Nasal drip is an SE. It is not going to go away until your nose stops dripping. It could, however, turn into bronchitis or pneumonia. If you think Mucinex and Claritin are expensive and annoying, imagine the doctor's bill for the xray to find out whether or not your lungs are clogged up!

There are many, many of us who are reluctant to use medications willy-nilly. That does not preclude taking care of our health and making informed decisions. I know your time is limited, but you're taking a powerful medication, off-label, to combat a life-threatening disease. It would serve you well to find out more about it. just sayin

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

My bac experience by DT

Thank you Neva. I don't think that over the counter drugs are expensive. However, I am annoyed at having to take more drugs to fix something. lol Coughing has been found in lab animals as a SE from baclofen. Strange as that may seem it is a SE. Bleep, also, experienced this. I am just saying it can't be good. Oh well up to 40mg's three times a day starting today. =)

[bleep]

My bac experience by DT

D&T, try this - You're on to 120mg's, so take it in 12 doses of 10mg's, once every hour. It's pretty simple once you get into the swing of it, and will help all of your SE's.

And any SE's were, for me, tolerable, considering what I was trying to do. Keep the goal in sight!

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

My bac experience by DT

What about depression? Did anyone notice any issues or problems with depression?