Side Effects after titrating

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Side Effects after titrating

Okay, a bit more thought. In the post I deleted I listed what I thought might be SEs, much like what's been said. The thing is, I'm not sure that they are related to baclofen, these uncomfortable things I experience. (Somnolence in the afternoon, for instance.) I don't know what is, or isn't, baclofen, because I've never been sober and free from craving, and free from the obsession before.

Cassander;1222448 wrote:
Who else is living with "mood swings and crushing lows" post-switch, on the tit-down?

If you are, do you think its an SE of the bac? Or is it something else that bac/absence of AL has exposed?

Are mood swings and lows an SE? Or are they normal in life free of AL?

Are they often or infrequent? Does re-titting up or down address them?

Or have you found a more stable base-line mood post-switch with fewer mood swings and lows?

I don't know the answer to the first 4 questions. I haven't had any crushing lows. I've had general malaise, particularly after I stopped being completely euphoric. hmmm. Except my baseline is MUCH improved over all previous sober periods.

I think my mood swings, the ones I can sort of attribute to bac, were a result of dramatic swings in dosing. (From 240 to 100mg in a month or less and then back up again.) ***EDIT! I also think staying at the switch dose, or way up there, can contribute to severe mood swings and A LOT of anxiety. I will never understand that recommendation, or suggest it to anyone.

I have mood swings, I suppose, but nothing like the roller coaster my life was. My early post-indifference euphoria was definitely bac-related, but it's not uncommon at all for newly sober people to have a period of intense joy and clarity. ( still miss it.) Mine was accompanied by seeming clairvoyance or something. But it's called a pink cloud in AA and is very, very common. I was very bummed and completely freaked out when it wore off, but never profoundly depressed. I DID wonder what meds/things I could take/do to get it back. No easy fix there, Cass. Maybe exercise, nutrition, meditation. You know the drill.

I take naps everyday. Sometimes one, sometimes two. Sometimes an hour, mostly about 20 minutes. I think it's because I can. When I'm busy I don't think I need them...I'm not sure. Plus, I'm a napper. Always have been.
I sleep peacefully and without vivid dreams for 6 hours every night.
Sex is (MUCH!) better than it ever has been. If my libido is lower it's not missed, and there when it's requested. My trouser snake seems to be doing just fine. His synopsis is similar to mine. Sex is much better. (Yipppeeee!) He hasn't noticed anything untoward.

Bottom line? I dunno. I won't know until I go down and off...Maybe after February. And then maybe I'll decide to go back up again? It definitely has worked for me in ways other than booze. (No depression??? No real craziness? I associate these things with sobriety from past experience. Edit: Also melancholy and severe regret and remorse. I have none of these. Bac=power to choose my thoughts and destiny. For me. If a pill can cure it, I can't live in that place anymore. And a pill cured it.)

Geez. This was the short version. I need to get a grip with the words.
xo all.

[Bminor]

Side Effects after titrating

Ne/Neva Eva;1223411 wrote:


Sex is (MUCH!) better than it ever has been. If my libido is lower it's not missed, and there when it's requested. My trouser snake seems to be doing just fine. His synopsis is similar to mine. Sex is much better. (Yipppeeee!) He hasn't noticed anything untoward.

I sincerely hope you are talking about your HUSBANDS trouser snake... :H

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Side Effects after titrating

Bminor;1223450 wrote: I sincerely hope you are talking about your HUSBANDS trouser snake... :H

Yes, I suppose he might not find it very amusing that I call it my own. It is still his, by rights. sorta.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Side Effects after titrating

Congratulations on the (then) 3 1/2 months abstinent, Rangia. I hope it's 4 1/2 now!

I've just gone up from 120/140mg/day to 200mg/day over the course of a month. (Maybe less.)

I have some of those good SEs (the libido one, the needing less sleep and liking it, and maybe others.) I also have increased somnolence, maybe, and some visual issues. (Bac really affects my eyes. Weird. This time around it's the peripheral sight--I see things. Fortunately not dead things, or talking things. Just spots or something.)
I am pretty sure I've got the dropsies related to changes in dosing. And I can't use my words as well. This last is pretty concerning. I need my words! My husband has taken to finishing my sentences for me, or reminding me of what I was talking about. This isn't that unusual, even without HDB, but it's worse, I think. Very annoying.

I am also tempted to go down so that I can take adderall. It's completely ineffective, I suspect because of the HDB. I'm not worried about drinking, even with a quick titration down. I am very worried about depression. I've seen a bunch of people taper down quickly and suffer mind-numbing depression and ennui. And hopelessness. soooo...probably going to stick with 200mg for a while.

Thanks for the thread, bleep!

[moglor]

Side Effects after titrating

Bminor;1222125 wrote: There's been improvement ever since I started tapering down. The lower I get, the better it gets. But yes, at this point I'm starting to fear long term effects. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

I was on HDB (250+mg) for at least a year, and tapered off to nothing for a few months. After about a week of being off bac, there were no indications that I'd ever been on it; no SEs, no lingering effects. It did take me awhile to titrate down completely though. While it was OK to miss a dose from time to time, I'd start getting some pretty odd symptoms if I dropped my dosage down too fast, mostly paranoia and anxiety.

[Dosage0]

Side Effects after titrating

Just an idea for those of you who are experiencing a loss in sex drive. I know I have said it before, but I'll say it again just to annoying you folks, Tongkat Ali works wonders for sex drive. There are a few manufactures out there like Sd-200 by Pure Science Supplements and, my favorite, TKA 1:200 by world A.B.S. I don't own either company :H and I have to pay for it just like everyone else. It is expensive, but that is because it is truly the real deal. There are lots of cheapo manufactures out there, but you need about 1g + of the stuff per day to feel the benefits. Thats 4x the TKA 1:200 -- two in the morning two in the evening. The cheapo mixtures include a ton of other (some harmful) ingredients with maybe 20mg of what they call tongkat.

I am not a medical doctor, just a guy who was looking for something a little more. I don't have an issue with raising the flag, just wanted more intensity. Tongkat made me feel like ... lets just say I wanted to bang... a lot.

Dose

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Side Effects after titrating

Alrighty, bleep.
So I read elsewhere that you have titrated off baclofen. How's it going? Change in mood or anything else? Did it help with the afternoon somnolence?

What's news???

[AL Fiend]

Side Effects after titrating

Yes Bleep! Inquiring minds want to know!

[AmyC]

Side Effects after titrating

FYI: the Tongkat Ali that Dosage0 mentioned works wonders for women as well. Dont ask me how I know that!! lol

[bleep]

Side Effects after titrating

Hiya,

Bit of a long story, and not entirely interesting, so consider yourself warned!

After being on baclofen for over a year, the last few months at 270 with no SE's (the ones mentioned in the opening post had all but disappeared, with the exception of a reduced sex drive), I decided to see what would happen if I came off it. So I did, and nothing happened. I tried having a few drinks, and they weren't great, so I'm continuing my year of not drinking.

I've was told by a couple of people close to me, however, that I seem grumpy, so a couple of days ago I decided to go back up. Currently I'm on 150 (I tried going straight to 200, but felt goofed, and not in a pleasant way!) It's weird, getting SE's again; the somnolence is back - watching a film is almost impossible. One minute I'm enjoying it, the next I'm startled awake. Same with reading. That, and a stoned feeling are about all that's happening this time round (so far), but I'll wait to see what if the jury thinks I seem happier. I've deliberately not told some of them about going back up so they aren't biased.

It's quite strange, having a drink after so long. You sort of expect a great fanfare and ringing bells, but you have a sip and nothing happens. I remember doing this before, after quitting for a bit without baclofen years ago, and there was a definite difference this time around. Last time, I could feel the thirst come rushing back with every sip; I wanted more, more often, and quicker. This time, despite no baclofen, it was calm; I was conscious of the taste of alcohol, and how it's quite harsh. That's obviously not to say that a few more drinks might well have tipped the scales, so for now I don't think it's worth the risk and bother. It's cool having that as a choice though.

I think (caution - IMHO) that baclofen sorts out the chemistry in our heads for us. Not drinking then sorts it out further. There's no doubt in my mind that if I drank like I used to for a couple of weeks, it would screw the balance, that seems to be there, completely, and I'd be back to square one. What's nice is that square one has moved considerably forward, now that baclofen is available. And I think that that's why people can drink normally on baclofen, because the chemical base that they operating from isn't quite so screwed any more. and as long as you continue to take it, you'll be okay. The irony is that once your chemistry is square, the goal of moderating (so precious before) quickly falls away, and you're able to realise that drinking isn't the be all and end all. In fact, it's not even that - there is no realisation, or at least there wasn't for me; time just goes by, and you notice you haven't drunk, or thought of drinking, for a while. You'd think the epiphany would need to come before the action, but for me the epiphany was that were was no epiphany; just normality at last.

Sorry, I started rambling! I was going to delete it and stick on topic, but decided to just leave it in. I suppose there was a disclaimer at the start...

[AL Fiend]

Side Effects after titrating

First of all bleep, never delete one word you write. I may not speak for all, but I'm guessing I speak for many when I say you (and Ne) are guiding lights on this forum. It is so helpful to hear about your experiences, and your interpretations especially to those of us just starting to find our way. It's very affirming to hear that baclofen may utlimately provide a choice about drinking.

From what I have read, I think you are accurate when you write that baclofen helps "sort out the chemistry in our heads for us." The question is, does it do it only as long as we take it, or does it actually rewire the brain so we can eventually get off of it and still have that choice about drinking. Your post gives me hope that the later may be possible.

And yes, excessive alcohol over an extended period of time will rewire a person with normal brain chemistry to "need" alcohol, so it would certainly do the same to anyone who has previously had such a problem! I'm sure vigilance is the order of the day when making drinking decisions, assuming we are granted that choice.

[MusiciansMallet]

Side Effects after titrating

Just a side note: i've experienced *quite* the opposite w/ baclofen in respect to sex drive. Being a GABA-B agonist, it usually induces & exasperates sex drive.. This is common among most GABAergic drugs w/ affinity for affinity for the -B subtype receptor (much more so than those w/ selectivity of the -A subtype, i.e., benzos & barbiturates), most notabley: GHB, GBL, GHV, GVL, 1,4-butanediol, phenibut, progabide, GABOB, & lesogaberan (which is similar in structure & efficacy to baclofen). And to mention other pharmaceuticals suspected of possessing GABA-B agonist activity: the carbamate anxiolytics (carisoprodol, meprobamate, & methocarbamol), methaqualone, kavalactones, valproate, valpromide, aceburic acid, valerenic acid, & propofol, etc etc (there's much more).

With that said, my issue is with barbiturates (specifically butalbital) & attempting to titrate down (w/ the help of baclofen). I've never had an alcohol dependency, so therefore its withdrawal symptoms & long term impacts may be different. I still don't see after this much time, however, baclofen hasn't driven up your sex drive? But, everyone's neurophysiology & neuropharmacological makeup is different!

[RedThread12]

Side Effects after titrating

Hey, Ne: Popping into Bleep's thread to say/ask? Have you tried Ritalin? I've never taken Adderall, but my sister and my niece both have prescriptions for ritalin, and you know, when the girls get together, we try stuff. I found it fully effective, despite my daily maintenance dose of baclofen, which moves between 120-160mg/day (depending upon whether or not I remember to take all doses :new

Or is this just another case of something working perfectly for me, but not so much, for others?