No more baclofen for me

[wanttobesober]

No more baclofen for me

Hi redhead77,

redhead77;1152570 wrote: He won't charge you a fee for calling him and telling the truth. Maybe part of his success rate is due to people not telling him they quit. He might be able to assume so, if people never call him back again, but not really. Maybe due to finances or circumstance they decide to obtain their script elsewhere (:H:H:H). I know, there are far and few between who prescribe. Maybe he thinks people are getting it online due to finances or whatever. I won't speak for the doctor. One thing I can tell you, unless he has concrete information via word or writing, he can't really add anything to his statistics.

He did a radio interview. It has reached some of the public, I'm sure. Do the public a favor and call him, supply him with accurate information. Let him add you to the 3 failures out of 300 (that he knows of because many aren't honest and follow up). You too havefaith, call the doctor and get brutally honest. I'm sure it makes it difficult for him to believe the handful of us who actually tell the truth, ad nauseum, regarding our SE's.

As far as L glut and all the rest of the supps? I am thrilled this is working for you. It doesn't work for me, as far as curbing my cravings. I have owned 7 weeks for a couple of years. I took loads of supps before hand, and I still do. I believe they have done much for me, but they have not stopped my cravings. And L glut doesn't work for me at all. It just causes me other issues. Alcoholism is not a one size fits all disease. It is multifaceted.

Good luck on your endeavors. I hope you continue to update us on your success and/or failures...if this ever happens.

You have a valid point about the feedback. I will call him back later on to let him know about the side effects that I have experienced. I am glad that Bac worked out for you fine.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Since going back down on baclofen (currently) 20mg three times a day, I am feeling a lot better. I am also considering staying at this level. This last week I have had such clarity. I can't say that I am indifferent to alcohol but I don't want to drink. Perhaps I will stay at this level instead of quitting baclofen altogether. Anyone else have any thoughts or insight on this? Has this happened to you? Thanks! Amy

[Ne/Neva Eva]

No more baclofen for me

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1154670 wrote: Since going back down on baclofen (currently) 20mg three times a day, I am feeling a lot better. I am also considering staying at this level. This last week I have had such clarity. I can't say that I am indifferent to alcohol but I don't want to drink. Perhaps I will stay at this level instead of quitting baclofen altogether. Anyone else have any thoughts or insight on this? Has this happened to you? Thanks! Amy

Hiya, DandT! I dunno if my .02 is worth two cents, but I'm really, really glad to hear that. Clarity is a lovely thing, though fleeting in my experience. Not wanting to drink is a life changer, and one that, for me has only grown.
Staying at a reasonable level, one that doesn't cause discomfort, is infinitely better than giving up, if baclofen is a tool that is working for you.
Thanks for coming bac(k) and sharing that with us.
:l
Ne

[DHS51]

No more baclofen for me

This is all very compicated for me. I have been under the care of Dr.L for two months. The more I know, the less I know, so this site has been a life saver and thank you al for all th post!!! I have learned sooo much!!

I think Redhead 77 once replied that Dr. L has never taken Backlofen and her recent comment that "Alcoholism is not a one size fits all disease. It is multifaceted." is extremely on target.

I cannot say this for everyone, but once I realized I needed more help to reduce my alcohol consumption than a set of Bacolfen pills and reduced my alcohol consumption the Baclofen side effects started to fall away.

We are all experimenting where medical science is leaving off. We are pioneers.

Falling asleep so signing off.

D

[Guest]

No more baclofen for me

Ne/Neva Eva;1154719 wrote: Hiya, DandT! I dunno if my .02 is worth two cents, but I'm really, really glad to hear that. Clarity is a lovely thing, though fleeting in my experience. Not wanting to drink is a life changer, and one that, for me has only grown.
Staying at a reasonable level, one that doesn't cause discomfort, is infinitely better than giving up, if baclofen is a tool that is working for you.
Thanks for coming bac(k) and sharing that with us.
:l
Ne

That clarity when you've been having a sh1t time with Baclofen is such a relief, I had thought that I might actually have underlying depression. To then have that lifted when I went back down was great. You might also look at perhaps getting some Naltrexone in incase you do have the odd urge and do drink, attack it from a different angle.

[mazie13]

No more baclofen for me

I've been on baclofen for five weeks, started at 40mg/day and have recently (as per my psychiatrist) increased it to 60mg/day. I know this is not a very heavy dose, compared to what I've read (including Amiesen's book), but I do feel less inclined to drink AS WELL AS extremely depressed.

I am thinking the drinking merely disguised the depression that was already there, and now without alcohol I am once again left to face my demons . . . anyway, keeping daily tabs on my moods and will report to my shrink at next appointment.

So glad to have this forum!

[LadyLush]

No more baclofen for me

Yes, stopping drinking will depress you.

Baclofen helps me with that. But the reaction to withdrawal sucks.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Hi all! Thank you all for your responses. =) Unfortunately, I am still drinking but not like I have in the past. At this point, I believe that I am "waiting for the ball to drop." lol I have had this clarity for a week, and I am not sure how long it will last. I am hoping that it lasts. lol I think that the only reason why I am still drinking is because I am waiting for the ball to drop. I know that makes absolutely no sense but it's true. lol I am fairly sure that if this clarity continues that I will not feel the need to drink. I am so happy with things at this point it's such a 180 from 2 weeks ago. lol I am not sure how I reached this point but it is truly wonderful. I can only assume that baclofen works differently for each person. Perhaps in my case staying at a low dose will be more beneficial than going up to a high dose. Being that this medicine "rewires" your brain, I can only assume that it is finally starting to rewire itself and the road to recovery is near. At this point, I am glad to have taken this journey and can't wait to see what the future has in store for me. =)

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Ne/Neva Eva;1154719 wrote: Hiya, DandT! I dunno if my .02 is worth two cents, but I'm really, really glad to hear that. Clarity is a lovely thing, though fleeting in my experience. Not wanting to drink is a life changer, and one that, for me has only grown.
Staying at a reasonable level, one that doesn't cause discomfort, is infinitely better than giving up, if baclofen is a tool that is working for you.
Thanks for coming bac(k) and sharing that with us.
:l
Ne

Thank you NE! Yes, I am quite happy at this level. What a nice change compared to two weeks ago. lol I am still coughing though. lol

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

DHS51;1154832 wrote: This is all very compicated for me. I have been under the care of Dr.L for two months. The more I know, the less I know, so this site has been a life saver and thank you al for all th post!!! I have learned sooo much!!

I think Redhead 77 once replied that Dr. L has never taken Backlofen and her recent comment that "Alcoholism is not a one size fits all disease. It is multifaceted." is extremely on target.

I cannot say this for everyone, but once I realized I needed more help to reduce my alcohol consumption than a set of Bacolfen pills and reduced my alcohol consumption the Baclofen side effects started to fall away.

We are all experimenting where medical science is leaving off. We are pioneers.

Falling asleep so signing off.


D

Keep your head up DH. Literally. lol I know how baclofen can make you sleepy. I cannot agree with your repeated statement of "Alcoholism is not a one size fits all disease. It is multifaceted." We should all keep that in mind when we are thinking of others with this disease. Though, I refer more to it as a chemical imbalance. =) I can only hope that in the future that researchers find a medicine that truly works for everyone (without all the crazy side effects, lol).

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

Ukblonde;1154867 wrote: That clarity when you've been having a sh1t time with Baclofen is such a relief, I had thought that I might actually have underlying depression. To then have that lifted when I went back down was great. You might also look at perhaps getting some Naltrexone in incase you do have the odd urge and do drink, attack it from a different angle.

Blonde, glad to hear that your depression also went away once you went down. I didn't think that I had underlying depression. I knew it was the damn medicine! lol I was thankful to have this clarity come almost instantly after I went down on my dosage. I really was ready to give up. However, if this clarity continues than I see no reason to get off of baclofen. I am perfectly fine at 20 mg's three times a day. =) As for Naltrexone, I don't feel the need to put another "drug" into my system at this point. lol Naltrexone doesn't have a very high success rate anyway not to mention that its an optiate. The last thing I want to do is walk around "high" all the time. lol I like this clarity!

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

mazie13;1155250 wrote: I've been on baclofen for five weeks, started at 40mg/day and have recently (as per my psychiatrist) increased it to 60mg/day. I know this is not a very heavy dose, compared to what I've read (including Amiesen's book), but I do feel less inclined to drink AS WELL AS extremely depressed.

I am thinking the drinking merely disguised the depression that was already there, and now without alcohol I am once again left to face my demons . . . anyway, keeping daily tabs on my moods and will report to my shrink at next appointment.

So glad to have this forum!

Mazie, glad to hear that you are working with a psychiatrist. However, being depressed on baclofen is a serious issue. Both UKBlonde and I have experienced this that is the reason why I started this thread. Thankfully, I have found that it is just the amount that I was taking. I am doing a lot better taking 20mg's three times a day. Before this, I was taking 40mg's three times a day. Clearly, the high dosage was too much for my body and brain to handle. Things are much better back at 20mg's three times a day. Just a thought. =) Good luck on your journey and keep us posted. =)

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

No more baclofen for me

LadyLush;1155325 wrote: Yes, stopping drinking will depress you.

Baclofen helps me with that. But the reaction to withdrawal sucks.

Lady Luck, Sorry to hear that you are depressed and going through withdrawal's. I hope that you don't have to suffer much longer. =)

[Bruunhilde]

No more baclofen for me

What kind of withdrawal symptoms do you all have going AF? I have the white knuckling and sometimes after a few AF days I get a headache which I've read is withdrawal related. Its a constant headache, just goes on and on. A nice side effect of going AF is a more even mood for me.

Feel free to ignore this if I'm hyjacking.

[JohnR]

No more baclofen for me

Hi guys,
Some of you know me and some I see are new. I lurk and post when I can which, due to my occupation is not often possible but I feel I have something to say here.

If you look back through my posts, I have complained as much or more than most Bac SE sufferers. It was almost a deal breaker for me. Even more so was the thought of titrating to 200mg or higher when I was struggling at 50 or 60mg. I knew there was no way I could ever go up much more to reach ?the switch? so I reached a fork in the road. I either had to quit bac all together and go back to my life that for me surely meant an untimely death, probably in a year?s time if not less -OR- see if I can find a tolerable dose that could reduce my al intake but where I could still function despite the nasty SE?s.

My first day on Bac was 2/18/11, that?s 5-1/2 months ago and I have not been intoxicated once since. This is a huge success for me considering that my life before 2/18 consisted of being drunk EVERY SINGLE day for more than a decade (at least 10 years, maybe 15, I don?t remember exactly).

For me, the key has been not taking more bac than my body could stand in order to reach a switch that I may or may not ever reach but instead to titrate to the dosage that my body COULD tolerate (keeping in mind that everyone is different), and stay there indefinitely. At this point, I don?t feel like I need to go up or down, especially considering that once one reaches the switch they have to titrate back down and stay on a maintenance dose anyway so what?s the point of putting your body through more hell than necessary? I don?t want to make it sound like it?s been easy. I will always have a potential problem with al and I know I will need to stay on bac in order to maintain success but with the right dosage - which for me is just 75mg - I have so far found a way to reap the benefits and moderate while tolerating the SE?s.