Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

[KatieSmiles]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

Hmmm...... I see now why meds is getting more viewers than general....let's call it ...drama. Yup.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

@ Katie

I call them like I see them. There is no reason why a lynch mob should be out for one person. We are suppose to be adults in a forum to help others not pass judgement and point fingers. It's ridiculous! Dr. Ameisen said that he was upset by PEOPLE. Instead of taking responsibility, I see nothing but a blame game. They might be sober, but they haven't learned a damn thing! Grow up PEOPLE!

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

redhead77;1181503 wrote: We here in Amurrica use the term the best thing since sliced bread too. I see your point Missy, but I think we're getting away from the point too. We do learn how to cope with SEs of being drunks. Well kind of, some end up with broken marriages and relationships with their kids. Some lose their jobs and their homes. Some hate themselves so much, that they turn to suicide. Since alcoholism is chronic and progressive, the worst of it isn't always seen till later. Not often at the Uni level, although there are people who are raging so severly, that they are seeing their lives destroyed at the Uni level. Maybe dazed isn't at the point, where dealing with the SEs is worth it. Maybe for him, it is better to drink and function. It's the better of the two right now. And maybe this drug isn't his way out altogether. I don't believe this drug is for everyone. Dr Ameisen did say the side effects of this drug are pretty horrendous for some. He also said not everyone will be able to take it. If you'd like I could post the a link to the newspaper article I found it in.

When I became an alcoholic, I went from 0 to 60, very quickly. I would have lost my job, most likely lost my kids, while destroying their spirits in the process (I don't have 5, I have 3, who I raise alone). I was seriously contemplating suicide, because I couldn't live with the person I was. I thought the kids would have a better chance with me being dead.

The SEs for me were no less than horrendous. I had a hard time getting out of bed and functioning. I did learn over time to cope with them. It is no different than being a drunk in that regard, except I never woke up in the morning wondering what I did or hating myself. My kids started to trust me again. My body started to heal from the alcohol abuse. The SEs for me, could be managed with careful titrations both ways and other things. I was at the point in my drinking and my life, that this was the better alternative and it still is. Even with SEs. We all have to decide where we are and what we need. Decide what's the best alternative to get there (AA, nal, campral, bac, praying, supps), and what we're willing to deal with to get and stay there.

Some literally start this drug and have immediate success with little or no SEs. You could be that person Missy. I have a hard time understanding why someone is so focused on the SEs of this drug, when they've never even tried it.


Now this is going to be out of character for me, but we have also have a term in Amurrica called shit or get off the pot. I don't care about saying this at this point, because my level of annoyance and frustration in general with MWO, is at an all time high. What I do worry about is hurting your feelings. I also don't know if I should even be responding to this post. If it was written while you were drunk, maybe it isn't what you intended. Don't know. It is a pretty accurate assessment of how I feel. And I apologize in advance if it's hurtful.

Hell, while I am at it, I might as well point out that you misspelled AMERICA not once but TWICE! Unless, there is a place called Amurrica that I don't know about that also uses the term "best thing since sliced bread" in English. Yes, people take advice from the woman who doesn't even know how to spell her own freaking country! She will lead you to "baklofen" heaven. lol

[tawnyfrog]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1181823 wrote: There is no reason why a lunch mob should be out for one person.

I think lunch mobs are nice. They share antipasto platters, foccacias, assorted dips and maybe even some tiramisu.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

tawnyfrog;1181827 wrote: I think lunch mobs are nice. They share antipasto platters, foccacias, assorted dips and maybe even some tiramisu.

Thanks Tawny! I didn't even realized that I spelled it wrong. lol I was too busy speaking my mind about what I saw. Correcting this now! lol

[nancy]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

dr. in the house?

I don't usually post here, but I have read here and there. I agree with the person who said they don't believe the Dr. himself posted this original comment. It seems odd for a doctor with the kind of publicity he has had to have posted such concern in this way. He must have handlers.

If for some weird reason he did, I agree with the other person who wrote that the thread includes some unstable people, it's the nature of the beast.

As for side effects, when he comments on side effects, he is talking about severe and also very importantly I bet the effects when you are under a physician's care are less than if you are experimenting on your own.

Two cents from someone who has never tried any drugs.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

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Dr Olivier Ameisen;1178520 wrote:
...
On this forum, you have people who fabricate facts. One of your members used to finish all her post with:

"I owe my life to having read "Heal Thyself" by Dr. Olivier Ameisen who got me cured." This same member now has changes her version:
"I owe my life to 300mg of baclofen".
I find this behavior extraordinarily cruel and irresponsible.
The reader will continue to die because, unlike that patient who used "Heal Thyself" to get personally cured because the formula of my discovery of how to reach the life-saving dose is where she read it and everybody can read it.
How sick can one be to suppress from each post the solution that helped the very person who posted to survive. Does this person wish to be one among the few survivers?

Dear Dr. Ameisen,
There are several reasons that I changed my signature. The one I'm willing to share publicly is this:
On the Consolidated Baclofen Information thread there is a good deal of information about what you have done and the results of your seminal treatment and book.
I have again altered my signature to include your book, as well as the other factors that were key in my ability to take baclofen all the way to sobriety. Without one of them, I would not be sober.
As you know, the side effects I experienced were very difficult. I am still confused as to why you did not offer solutions if you have a way to avoid or mitigate them. More people die because they give up on the treatment. There is a case in point. One of our members gave up because the side effects were too much to manage. He was dead within 3 months.

Without Heal Thyself I never would have found out about baclofen. I knew from the email you sent me that you were upset that I removed it from my signature. I did not realized how much it affected you. It is still difficult to understand. I will leave the book in my signature from this point forward.

Sincerely,
Karen

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

eight days a week;1181141 wrote: I've not been a regular here for a long time now, but think while Dazed might have put things very much better, and more politely, than he or she did, there were some very valid questions in there.

I also think that Dazed's tone was no less 'respectful' than the posts of many of the regular posters on here (most of whom I have been reading, on and off, since they joined).

I originally stopped posting here because of time and lack of energy to concentrate on anything other than myself.

Now I have both time and energy, and the thing that stops me coming back is the dominant tone, attitude, and language on the forum here.

It's not a very pleasant place to dip into. I'm sure it puts many people off considering meds. An incredible shame.
Then please help. Because believe it or not, I agree that this place is not very welcoming at the moment.
However, I think the fact that you are unwilling to post is an issue. How many people are going to suffer because you don't participate? You're one of of the old timers, sober for a very long time because of baclofen. Isn't there a "pay it forward" aspect to your sobriety?

;1181473 wrote:

Ne, I still have a great difficulty with you promoting "just keep taking the damn pills". I know, I know that this medication is going to be the best thing since sliced bread (an ozzie saying I think) but people have to live, they have to , in some way, keep putting the food on the table, take their kids to school, attend work , go to uni etc etc. The side effects can sometimes take these ordinary experiences to the extent where nothing feels normal. These day to day experiences of alcoholics are sometimes the only thing they have that is close to normal.

I don't want to keep at this, my friend. Especially not here. It is not lost on me that you do not really fit into any of those experiences you mentioned, so the point is moot.

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1181792 wrote: Dazed, I, too. am in school, and I, too, can say that I functioned better while drunk. I can barely study, because I am always falling asleep on my books, and I am only taking 90mg a day. I am on this forum at the moment, because I was falling asleep while at my book. =(

The irony of the school thing is that somehow it is deemed more important than what all the rest of us struggle with in terms of life. Work, kids, all of the things pointed out in the post I quoted above.
My perception was that arguing about it was/is also a moot point. Managing the SEs is a factor when taking baclofen to find sobriety. The only way to reach the goal is to keep taking the pills. That's it.

DrunkAndTiredInFLA;1181824 wrote: Hell, while I am at it, I might as well point out that you misspelled AMERICA not once but TWICE! Unless, there is a place called Amurrica that I don't know about that also uses the term "best thing since sliced bread" in English. Yes, people take advice from the woman who doesn't even know how to spell her own freaking country! She will lead you to "baklofen" heaven. lol

hmmm. It was a joke, Drunk. I feel pretty confident that Redhead not only knows how to spell America correctly, but also has a lot of other technical expertise, innate intelligence and wisdom to share for those that are willing to listen.

nancy;1181841 wrote: I don't usually post here, but I have read here and there. I agree with the person who said they don't believe the Dr. himself posted this original comment. It seems odd for a doctor with the kind of publicity he has had to have posted such concern in this way. He must have handlers.

If for some weird reason he did, I agree with the other person who wrote that the thread includes some unstable people, it's the nature of the beast.

As for side effects, when he comments on side effects, he is talking about severe and also very importantly I bet the effects when you are under a physician's care are less than if you are experimenting on your own.

Two cents from someone who has never tried any drugs.
It was Dr. Ameisen.
By unstable people are you referring to the same kind of people that post all over MWO? Or were you referring specifically to the post made by the doctor? I feel pretty confident that the people who post in the meds sections are no more or less stable than the rest of the forum.
The side effects are real and pervasive. They are less when under a physician's care. I wish I understood why so that I could offer that solution to help people who post here.
Add to the conundrum that I was under a physician's care, and corresponding with Dr. Ameisen when my side effects were terrible. It didn't help. What helped was taking the medication until I reached the goal of indifference to alcohol.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

Otter;1180931 wrote:

Some of the comments here leave me speachless. If someone does not respect a person for initiating that, what does it say about them? Who can one respect?


Sometimes you have to step back from this site and think about what is going on here and what role you/we are playing in all this and what kind of an impression things we say give to others, not just about ourselves, but about Baclofen as a treatment.


Agreed and right back to you, my friend.

Otter;1181573 wrote:
...
It is not a case of people recovering and that's that. Enter the poll. If you stop taking Baclofen you relapse.
...

Not so, Otter. In the study you linked to the patients were not taking baclofen regularly after 23 months.* The treatment center in Atlanta (based on the last I heard) does not recommend staying on baclofen forever.**
Dr. L recommends staying at the switch dose in part based on the fact that (he thinks) that OA went back up to his switch dose. Dr. Ameisen has just posted that that is not the case.

Otter;1181573 wrote: Hmmm....
...
The actual posters, like us, are relatively few. Probably we are the more attention seeking ones.

Or perhaps those of us who found support and solutions here feel an imperative need to help others.
I have struggled mightily with my own conflicting emotions about continuing to post here. I don't have time for it. I don't particularly like it. I am certainly tired of being attacked because I continue to do it.

Without this forum I would not have made it. I would have given up several times. So I return to offer what I wish was help in the form of suggestions based on my own experience, my extensive reading, and the sheer amount of time I've spent here. Clearly this is not very effective or welcome.

All of the information is here, folks. The empirical, the rational, the research, the personal stories. Everything you might need to fuel your own path, or to give up altogether. It's all here.

*based on self reports without much guidance from physicians from what I can tell.
**based on hearsay.

[Otter]

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I think the point of the study from this side of the pond is that these are the most reputed doctors in Scotland in this field. The NHS Glasgow and Clyde covers a huge area, including the second largest city in the UK after London.

If it becomes the case that doctors of this calibre jointly come to the conclusions set out in the report and it is supported by the National Health Service, it is something that other doctors have to consider. There is nothing precluding doctors from prescribing Baclofen here at the necessary doses to achieve sobriety. Doctors have to weigh the risks and benefits of a particular course of medication. This report lends comfort to doctors who might have been reluctant to prescribe. It may not mean that those doctors who do not prescribe are negligent; I would say that they arguably are if they do not investigate and do their own risk benefit analyis for each patient.

Anyway, that, in my experience is how it will work here. All the debate in the world really means nothing. If the government here decides this is a medication that should be used then that is what will happen and I don't see anyone in the country standing up against these doctors.

[missyabby1]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

Totally agree with you otter. Onwards and upwards. How is your wife? Would be so lovely to hear how she is going? From her?

Missy x

[help4me]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

My frustration with Baclofen, which is shared by Dr. Oliver Ameisen, is that because Baclofen is an off patent medication there is no profit motive for drug companies to support clinical trials that would demonstrate its efficacy in treating addiction.

THIS has to be the most frustrating part for me. I am a perfect example of how this drug DOES work if taken properly and consistantly. Anyone can do this, it is just frustrating that it almost always has to be done on one's own, with self medication (especially if the patient requires the higher does to hit their switch). I switched to indifference (twice...trial & error people!) at 275mg.

[DrunkAndTiredInFLA]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

NE, no one is saying the school is more important. I don't recall saying that or seeing that anywhere on this thread. However, school IS important and when you are trying to study. It's not easy when you are constantly falling asleep. And not that it's any of your business, but I work full time as well as go to school full time. The only thing that I don't juggle right now is kids. But as you and everyone else have pointed out in this forum, the way to get rid of the drowsiness is to get up and move around. I can only assume that one "chasing" after kids is getting up and moving around. If this is the case, the having kids part and dealing with the baclofen side effect of being drowsy is moot if you ask me.

As for Red purposely misspelling America.... If what you say is true, she is a bigger ass than I thought she was. Either way, GROW UP PEOPLE!

[Otter]

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The great thing about the study in Glasgow is it has the NHS name on it which is the employer of all doctors in the country, since we have a state run medical service. So if they say it works...well the whole NHS will follow suit. It is very exciting. And prescriptions here are free. Pinch me.

[gratitude]

Dr Ameisen: I will no longer post on MWO!

drunkandtired,
perhaps you need a nappy? calling someone an ass, correcting their spelling in a joke you don't understand, and telling "people" to grow up? interesting.