23 days sober now a wall and New Years

[PJS]

I am 21 days sober. I am on Campral but have my doubts if it is helping. Started it several months ago. What motivated me to quit was fear due to an enlarged liver.

Problem is I am beginning to have cravings again. It doesn't help that we just got through Xmas and New Years is next weekend. (In a totally logical way I know it really doesn't make much difference but I am not always logical.)

I have been researching Baclofen for a couple of months and have been concerned about a, legality, b, dosage c, side effects d, cost. My doctor is not willing to prescribe much other than the Campral. I haven't slept well since quitting.

Any thoughts on going through a wall, sleeping and generally reducing cravings and anxiety?

Thanks, PJ

[Greg]

23 days sober now a wall and New Years

Hi PJS, Christmas and New Year worry me too. Around here, almost EVERYONE will be hitting the booze at this time of year, and it can be lonely when not drinking. I have gone to AA meetings during difficult times such as this, even though I am not into AA. At least I know the people there will be sober, rather than just intent on getting drunk.

As for baclofen, it is apparently allowed to be imported for personal use by most customs officials in various countries, even though strictly speaking it is a prescription-only medicine. Dosage is the awkward part, and the reason I think most doctors will not yet get involved with it. Most people report needing doses up in the hundreds of mg per day to overcome their alcohol cravings, although this is a very individual thing. The cost is not prohibitive when compared to drinking each day, but can be fairly high depending on who you get it from. Inhouse Pharmacy is one place I have successfully ordered medicines from.

I have not yet gone up to true high-dose levels, so cannot tell you about all the side effects. Once again, this is a very individual thing apparently. Some people get only a few side effects, but others have more trouble, especially if they increase their dose too quickly. Strangely enough, both sleepiness and insomnia can be problems. I encountered insomnia when trying large baclofen doses (e.g. 75 mg) shortly before bed.

I am wary of recommending drugs for sleep, but would say to try things that are not known to be addictive if you really need something. Rotate several differently-acting drugs if possible to reduce tolerance problems. I have rotated trazodone, doxylamine, L-tryptophan (high-dose), and gabapentin for sleep. Sustained-release melatonin is also apparently a good sleep medicine.

[Nutshell]

23 days sober now a wall and New Years

If it's sleeping you're interested in, Baclofen has been incredible in that the department for me. I have very restful nights of sleep. The only downside is that if I lay down to watch TV a 19:00 or 20:00, I will start to fall asleep, and this is earlier than I would like.

Having said all of that, some people have the exact opposite problem (as Greg mentioned).

[Cinders]

23 days sober now a wall and New Years

PJS,

I have found that a healthy, normal sleep pattern does not truly develop until about five or six weeks of sobriety.

Personally, I think the sleep issue is one of the main reasons for early relapse. We get fairly desperate for a good night's sleep.

It would not hurt for you to discuss this with your doctor. Mine gave me Seroquel 50 mgs to take prn when I absolutely cannot fall asleep. This is a terribly strong drug, though, and I would see if something not quite that strong helps.

If you can stay sober for a few more weeks, sleep will come naturally.

Love,
Cindi

[spacebebe01]

23 days sober now a wall and New Years

Hi pjs as already mentioned the first weeks of being sober tend to have sleep problems, pretty soon this should work itself out. I think baclofen seems to suit some people who have few or bearable se's and fantastic success with it and others like me who could not take the se's. I now take antabuse and campral and am about 3 months or so sober. At first the cravings on just campral where pretty bad but when I threw the antabuse in as well it didnt take all too long until I was only having occasional cravings and nothing I couldnt handle.. Now its pretty rare for me to actually feel like I want to drink. For sleep I do take sominex (phenergan) or herbal sleep aids or when I cannot sleep I occasionally take zopiclone. I do take these because I have anxiety around going to bed and starting to remember all the things I have done and has happened to me in the past so I need to be able to go to bed and know I am going to fall asleep quickly. Something else I want to start looking into is diet. I know food plays a major role in how we feel and also sleeping so I hope to start learning and doing more on this soon. I wish you the best of luck for a happy and sober future. There is lots of advice and support on here and loads to read so get stuck in

[Ne/Neva Eva]

23 days sober now a wall and New Years

Hope you made it through, PJs. Baclofen was the answer for me. I think Gratitude may be able to offer some thoughts on your thoughts about trying it. He's been sober for years and years and still looking to rid himself of the unease/disease. (I think that's accurate.) I also think he started baclofen on a trial run this fall. He doesn't come around consistently, but if you PM him, he'll likely show up.

:l
Ne

[Nelz]

23 days sober now a wall and New Years

Although 23 days is a remarkable amount of time to be AF, comparatively speaking its not anywhere near the amount of years, that we spend abusing our bodies.

I know it took me wayyyyy longer than a month to start having the cravings go away. Stay strong, keep fighting.............you can do eeeeet!