No more baclofen for me

[Ne/Neva Eva]

No more baclofen for me

I'll leave this alone after this, okay? I am simply trying to be clear, but also to help and to help those that come behind. This is a very common side effect, and one that is very easily dealt with. I am not suggesting, DandT, that you should take more baclofen. Or even that baclofen is the right (or wrong) choice for you. I'll leave that solely up to you. As I said before, I am truly thankful that you seem to have found that it is working well at 60mg. THAT is the entire point of taking any medication. There is absolutely no need to take more of it if it is working where you are. Likewise, if it isn't working, it's not a good idea to continue.

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1160478 wrote: Well I don'y know what is making me cough. I didn't start until I started taking baclofen. lol The higher the dose the worse the cough. Since lowering my dose, my cough has lessened. I can only conclude that it IS in fact he baclofen. I read somewhere that it does effect something in the brain that has to do with your respiratory system. I can't remember where I read that though. I will make an appointment with the doctor as soon as I have the money. It would be great to talk to a neurologist about baclofen. As other people have stated on here, my coughing while taking baclofen is not uncommon. I will keep you all posted once I speak to a doctor. =)
Baclofen absolutely does have an affect on the upper respiratory system for some people. It causes nasal congestion. This means that extra mucus is produced in your nose. If you don't take a decongestant then that can be inhaled into your lungs when you breath. There's more (or less) to it than that, I'm sure. Our resident nurse is on vacation. I'll see if I can get her to respond here.
In the meantime, it's listed on the information sheet you get from the pharmacy.
I hope, if it continues, you'll be able to see a doctor just to make sure you're okay.

Bottom line? Baclofen causes your cough. It is a secondary result, probably of nasal congestion. Glad you're feeling better.

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1160483 wrote: NE - You probably already know this but Wiki is NOT a credible source.

I prefer Wiki to most other sites, including and especially the medical websites which are often paid for by nefarious sponsors. I just make sure it's properly documented. Wiki states when it's not.

Ukblonde;1160579 wrote: I thought it just dried your throat out, and that's what made you cough.

Nope.

Hope it's a good day, peeps.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

bleep;1160572 wrote: A couple of weeks.

Bleep, you got lucky. It's been 2 months and I am still coughing. =(

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Ne/Neva Eva;1160611 wrote:

In the meantime, it's listed on the information sheet you get from the pharmacy.
I hope, if it continues, you'll be able to see a doctor just to make sure you're okay.

I never received an information sheet. =( I will request one when I get my prescription filled. =)

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Ukblonde;1160579 wrote: I thought it just dried your throat out, and that's what made you cough.

Blonde, perhaps it affects everyone differently. ???? I have not had dry throat, but as I said before, I have woke up from time to time and felt like I was choking. =(

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Hey everyone! Just an update. I was doing good on 60 mg a day for awhile but the drinking seems to have crept back into my life, so I have decided to go up to 80mg a day. I am going to follow the advice of someone on here (I can't remember who told me this) and take a small amount of pills at different times during the day instead of upping the dosage at the same time. I hope that makes sense. lol Basically, I am going to take 4 pills at different times. I am thinking 5 hour intervals between pills. I will let you all know how it goes. Wish me luck! Thanks! =)

[Murphyx]

No more baclofen for me

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1171648 wrote: I am going to take 4 pills at different times. I am thinking 5 hour intervals between pills. I will let you all know how it goes. Wish me luck! Thanks! =)

Hi, I would recommend against that. It's best to leave some time between the last dose and bed, to avoid it interfering with your sleep. Also, splitting them up into as many small doses as possible will help avoid any side effects. So splitting the pills in 2 and taking them 10mg at a time would be best.

I'm not a doctor, this isn't medical advice, just my experience and that of hundreds of other bac users.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Murphyx;1171650 wrote: Hi, I would recommend against that. It's best to leave some time between the last dose and bed, to avoid it interfering with your sleep. Also, splitting them up into as many small doses as possible will help avoid any side effects. So splitting the pills in 2 and taking them 10mg at a time would be best.

I'm not a doctor, this isn't medical advice, just my experience and that of hundreds of other bac users.

How often should I take the 10mg's? That's 8 pills a day. =( It's enough to try to remember taking 3. lol I have never had problems at night with side effects. It's only been during the day, and I haven't had any side effects besides coughing since going back down to 20mg's 3 times a day.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Murph, after the craziness on Wednesday. I decided to try taking 30mg's three times a day again. So far so good. The side effects aren't too bad. I was sleepy yesterday, so I slept. It could have also been because I didn't sleep much the night before. I did have a crazy dream last night and some cold chills. I was worried that I was getting sick, but I feel fine today. I look forward to the future and hope that this dosage amount takes me to complete indifference. =)

[Murphyx]

No more baclofen for me

It might be enough, but the chances are you'll still have to continue upping the dose.

Sleeping badly and you mentioned before about waking up choking, what time are you taking your last dose? If it's near to bedtime, it might be a good idea to take it earlier on.

Anyhoo, good luck.

[mama bear]

No more baclofen for me

Drunk and Tired
I am in Florida, too...jacksonville
I had to quit the BAC because of blood pressure spikes dizziness
Good Luck!!!!

[Bruunhilde]

No more baclofen for me

Hey MB, I had the blood pressure spikes too, only the spike stayed up. And the dizziness goes without saying, I think. I still take 40mg a day and sometimes still get weird feelings. No big deal though, and the bac sure helps my sciattica.

[Otter]

No more baclofen for me

Dosage is the next big issue which needs research. I am still sure that the best advice is to take it in evenly divided low doses. For instance, 25 mg every few hours. The amount of individual doses depends on whether the dose stops the craving while avoiding side effects. The frequency depends on how quickly you eliminate it from your system. That means everyone is different, both in terms of the individual doses and the frequency so you just cannot go by anyone else's experience, or your weight. It is entirely individual.

You should take more before bed so take two doses closer in time. Take some in the middle of the night if you wake up and take a dose as soon as you wake up and then another dose fairly soon after that. The object is to keep an even level in your system which is right for you so as to avoid cravings an d side effects.

If you take three doses during the day, you are going to have a long period where you withdraw from it overnight and you will wake up with withdrawal anxiety and cravings.

[Murphyx]

No more baclofen for me

Oh Otter please will you stop peddling that line. I know you believe it but no one else does and it's potentially very harmful. There is absolutely NO need to take baclofen at night or close to bedtime. You will NOT withdraw from baclofen overnight. Please Otter, stop doing this, it really is extremely counter productive.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

No more baclofen for me

Otter;1172743 wrote: Dosage is the next big issue which needs research. I am still sure that the best advice is to take it in evenly divided low doses. For instance, 25 mg every few hours. The amount of individual doses depends on whether the dose stops the craving while avoiding side effects. The frequency depends on how quickly you eliminate it from your system. That means everyone is different, both in terms of the individual doses and the frequency so you just cannot go by anyone else's experience, or your weight. It is entirely individual.

You should take more before bed so take two doses closer in time. Take some in the middle of the night if you wake up and take a dose as soon as you wake up and then another dose fairly soon after that. The object is to keep an even level in your system which is right for you so as to avoid cravings an d side effects.

If you take three doses during the day, you are going to have a long period where you withdraw from it overnight and you will wake up with withdrawal anxiety and cravings.

please note: This is not reliable advice.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

I was told by Dr. Levin to take the medicine in 8 hr intervals. I take the medicine right before I go to bed and usually wake up 8ish hours later. I don't know what was up with the choking.