Any help welcome

[dreamcatcher999]

I have been on Bac for 5 weeks now. I have a very supportive backup team and am on 120 per day. My doctor (psychiatrist specializing in this) says that this should be enough and to stay at it for a month then titrate down.
I have put on a stone in weight, swollen ankles and almost brain dead but have looked at this as a means to an end. However, my day to day problems continue to challenge me and although I have never been physically addicted (think more psychologically addicted) I still feel the need to have some wine when I have had a bad day. :upset:
I wanted to find my off switch but having read so many different accounts here I think that maybe my Doc is right and it may come if I persevere at this level.
If I was not so doped up with the bac I think I would feel quite down as so far I have had these down sides but I know too that I am not drinking say 5 days out of 7.
I would welcome any input. I know we are all different but still...

My weight has been the reason I have retreated from life for the past 10 years and so you have to understand that to put on another stone in weight when I though it would be falling off with no alcohol...well it is just hard.:upset:

I am also aware that my problems are miniscule compared to some here so appologies in advance.:thanks:

[spacebebe01]

Any help welcome

If it was me then I would probably go with what your doctor suggests, if you have been doing this for 5 weeks and are down to drink 2 nights a week from 7 then you are definately doing well. I dont know much about baclofen but Im thinking about what happens in 4 weeks time tho, does your doc want you to go down and then off bac all together, I have no clue whether others have done this and if it worked one of the problems on this site is when people get well they often dissapear so we dont know what worked in the long run for them so you will just have to trawl though the threads. What does your doc say about your weight? if you could titrate down in 4 weeks then maybe you could start getting your weight sorted,I dont know, I wish I could have been some help, all I can say is if you have had problems for 10 years then its probably worth giving this a go for another 4 weeks, the support of a good doctor is invaluable IMO. I wish you luck

[RedThread12]

Any help welcome

Hi DreamCatcher: I, too, gained a lot of weight during my first months of titrating up with baclofen. I even bought "bigger" jeans, deciding I'd rather be fat than drunk.

That was in Oct. '09. Sometime later - I don't remember exactly when, I started looking through the "Holistic Health" threads and decided to try L-Glutamine and All-One. I quit drinking very much from the first day I took baclofen, and I could "feel" that my body and brain needed some repairing. From what I read here, and with some additional info from a naturopath about neurotransmitters that promote healing of the brain and help generate a sense of well-being, I started on a pretty extensive protocol of supplements for the first time in my life.

I'm blessed - I had a decade plus with no alcohol or drugs of any kind, and quite a clean diet. And even then, I never took supplements with any regularity, although I was very well-informed about all manner of alternative health options. BUT what happened when I started with the L-Glutamine and All-One was startling. My blood sugar stabilized, my appetite diminished, and I lost not only the weight that I had gained after taking bac, but the additional 15-20 lbs. I had been carrying for a long, long time. Effortlessly.

See if you can find the L-Glutamine threads. Not everyone loves it as much as I do, but a lot of MWO'ers get a lot of benefit from it. If you decide to give it a go . . . . take a LOT. Like 15-20 GRAMS/day.

I've read most of what's been posted over the last couple of years from our baclofentists. I can't point to exactly where and who, but I think that several people have also found that eventually the bac-weight disappears. Good luck! Don't give up!!

[spacebebe01]

Any help welcome

Redthread are you saying that L-Glut helped you loose weight? I have never heard that before and would be very interested in finding out more

[dreamcatcher999]

Any help welcome

Hi Folks

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer. I feel that I am going to persevere and hopefully start to exercise more to lose weight. I actually put on 4 stones in weight over a short time with anti-depressants and before that never had a weight problem at all. So I am one of the small minority who put weight on with meds.
Back then it was a life saver so I had no choice.
Stoppoing drinking is my gift to myself and after that will be losing the weight :H

I am very greatful to have been given the bac. I did try it before but gave up after suffering numbness and tingling and this time too but I am determined to see it through
Thanks again :l

[RedThread12]

Any help welcome

I just wrote a long response, Space, and lost it.

But, yes. I lost weight with LOTS of L-Glute. I also ditched my anti-depressant. Baclofen worked to quell alcoholic drinking from DAY 1 for me. I have no idea why some things work for some people and not for others. I consider myself extremely fortunate. Here's the original L-Glut thread that put me on that path. https://www.mywayout.org/community/f6...ine-37269.html

Good luck!!

[spacebebe01]

Any help welcome

Thanks Red and good luck dream

[YouKayBee]

Any help welcome

Dreamcatcher

This time last year I was exactly where you are now, I bloated up massively with baclofen water retention, overeating and feeling doped up. Unfortunately baclofen didn't help my drinking, well apart from me feeling so out of it I did manage to go AF for best part of 3 weeks. It was only when I quit baclofen, and found another answer that I finally started to get back into shape again - and subsequently lost 3 stone.

Hopefully Baclofen will work for you if you persevere.

[dreamcatcher999]

Any help welcome

Hi UK
Can I ask what you changed to and how you lost the weight? I am so glad that you found the way out.

[spacebebe01]

Any help welcome

UK I am interested to know how you lost the weight, I think you take nal? did you take anything else to loose weight as well as quit drinking. When I drank I didnt really have a problem with my weight as I didnt eat much.

[bleep]

Any help welcome

I also put on a fair amount. It just went away again after a couple of months though, so I wouldn't panic.