Baclofen - When should it be taken?

[lostlady]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

After a lot of trial and error with Bac, for me taking first thing in the morning, then at noon then 4pm works best. 20 mg each time. More... Too many side effects; less and I'm anxious and thus craving alcohol. Just my recipe.

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Thanks Lostlady. I quickly learning that the journey is different for almost everyone. Well except for the side effects that is. I just tracked my shippment and its being delivered today. I decided to go with express shipping so it only took 6 days for it to arrive!! not too bad. Now Im suddenly getting nervous but extremely excited!!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

StuckinLA;1331109 wrote: But falling asleep for me is like several mini panic attacks in a row--it's tough to explain, but sort of feeling like I'm dying and popping wide awake at the same time.

COSGringo;1331176 wrote: @StuckinLA
I used to get that all of the time. Right as you nod off you feel like you are falling or dying. I had the exact same feeling. Horrible to say the least. That was the apex of my insomnia.
I actually like benzos to help with that. Eventually that feeling went away for me. I am sure it will for you, too.
Good luck with that. I remember it all too well.

Hiya, Fellas!
Sooo....The falling thing. Yep. It still happens to me. What I mean is, that it is how I feel when I am falling asleep. I think of it as just that. I am falling into sleep. Especially when I am completely spent.
I don't know if it's the baclofen. It feels too familiar...And I welcome it now. When I pop awake from it, I invite it back, because I want to just sleeeeeep.
Now that said, I remember what it was like when I was on HDB. It was really, really scary. Because it felt like I wasn't breathing or something. Like my breath stopped. And I would jerk awake thinking that I was having some sort of apnea/stopping breathing/asphyxiation thing going on. Nope. Just falling asleep! BUT I was so damn scared of all of the changes going on, and all of the wonky feelings in general, that I could not, would not, let go. (There's a big difference between letting go into something good, and letting go into something that feels like a big scary vortex/abyss.)
Bleep and Redthread really helped me through that. And a couple of others around here, too. Because they actually enjoyed the side effects that scared the crap out of me. Bleep in particular thought it was a fun ride. (Lordy I miss him around here. He is very blase about the whole thing.)
alrighty. Enough from me on the subject.
Except this: Avoiding panic attacks, and getting sleep, is the single biggest priority (IMHO) for anyone experiencing this. One cannot cope without sleep. And night terrors are feckin' terrifying.


AmyC;1334159 wrote: Thanks Lostlady. I quickly learning that the journey is different for almost everyone. Well except for the side effects that is. I just tracked my shippment and its being delivered today. I decided to go with express shipping so it only took 6 days for it to arrive!! not too bad. Now Im suddenly getting nervous but extremely excited!!

Hi, Amy! Glad you've joined us! Sorry for my belated hulllooooooo!

The SEs are actually individually tailored! :H:H I almost felt like I could pick and choose them at the end of my upward titration. (hmmm. Let's see, do I want the insomnia, the hangover, the tinnitus or the headache today??? Which is not to say that they are a figment of the imagination!!! Which is not to say that the imagination isn't mighty powerful! Ya' know?)

As for when to take it...Spreading it out seems pretty universally effective. I never could "listen to my body" because my body wanted to drink, not take bac! But in the beginning, just take it slow. And I take it at night now, but I think it's not such a good idea to take it really late. (Though there is considerable debate about this fact. It will probably help you sleep initially.)
So! You get the bac today! Woohooooo! I hope it's a smooth ride, and not a roller coaster. I also hope it's really, really worth it. It was for us!

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi N/Neva. Thanks for th welcome. Today is my first day of taking Baclofen. This is the tiration that Im going to be doing:
15mg/daily = 3 days
30mg/daily = 3 days
45mg/daily = 3 days
60mg/daily = 3 days
75mg/daily = 3 days
90mg/daily = 3 days
105mg/daily = 3 days
120mg/daily = 3 days
135mg/daily = 3 days
150mg/daily = 3 days
165mg/daily = 3 days
180mg/daily = 3 days
195mg/daily = 3 days
Of course I will adjust accordingly depending on how Im feeing. If anyone has any other suggestions or input plese lt me know. I do have a question about "the switch" that I hear others talking about. How do you know when your reached that point??? Do you actually physically it ?? Im really curious.

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Well. Today is day to of my tiration with Baclofen. 15 mg divided into 3 doses. Feel great other than the brief mildly loopy feeling I got for a few minutes but I cant say for sure it was the Bac but since this is the first time I'm feeling it, its very possible that it is. Is this a common feeling at the beginning??

[StuckinLA]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hiya Amy,

The first time I took 5 mg I felt like I'd just smoked the cheap marijuana that a "friend" sold me in high school. But after that I didn't notice much of anything until I got into the 100s.

In my humble opinion, going up every 3 days might be a bit quick once you get to the higher doses. I'm having a dickens of a time managing SEs and drinking these days, going up by 10 every 6-7 days. I'm at 200 right now...

Anyway, I'm sure others will have better/more concrete advice.

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi LA. Hows it going? Actually, Im a bit concerned about it being to quick of a move too once I get into the higher dosages. I think what Im going to do is each time I tirate up to the next higher dosage im going to add an extra day or two (or three lol) and see how I feel. I dont want to end up having a bad experience other than the normal side effects. I do have to say that I suddenly got real tired today between 3 and 3:30 but from what I hear that is pretty normal to get sleepy during the day. If anyone has additional advise about tirating I welcome your input.

:thanks:

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hey, Amy.
Congrats! I'm excited for you! And very curious about what effect (or not) abstinence will have!

And an even bigger congratulations on your AF time. That's pretty remarkable!

I would imagine that going a bit slower might pay off, but then again you might be able to get there sooner and at a lower dose than you expect! There have definitely been some who noticed right away, and even found indifference at lower doses.

But if not (and it's not common) just continuing to read and participate may really pay off in the long run. It freaked me out, in the beginning, but it helped to know what others had gone through. My worst experiences were the ones that I thought no one else had!

Looking forward to hearing how it goes, Amy.

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi Ne and thank you.Hope your doing great. It does feel pretty remarkable to be AF. I'm hoping that I don't have to go to an extremely high dose in order to become indifferent to AL but I guess I will have to see how it goes. Im finding that there are really no set rules as to how to do this. This site has been really helpful. It really make you realize your not alone and there are people out there who care. So thank you Ne for all your input. It means a lot!!! BTW, I'm tirating up to 30mg tomorrow. I think Im going to stay at that dose for 4 to 5 days and see how I feel.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

That sounds like a good plan, Amy. There might not be a "right" way to do it, but there is definitely an ineffective way. Just the fact that you have a plan and that you've written it all down is a really good start.

I think one of the things I love (now!) about MWO is that it gives us much more leverage and information than if we just walked into a doctor's office and got a prescription. That said, there is a LOT of information here and some of it is just wonky. But a certain measure of flexibility, along with a commitment to simply just doing it, is a real strength.

I wish (in a way) I could treat myself for everything that ails me. Or rather, that I could understand it all the way I understand baclofen. (Not that I totally get it! No one does, yet. )

Anyway, I'll stop before I digress into one of my endless posts!

It's really great that you're AF, but also that you're enjoying it so much. I LOVED those first few months of sobriety. Loved, loved, loved them. Every now and then I get a taste of what that freedom initially felt like and WOOOHOOOOO!
Are you doing other things to? In terms of keeping busy and also keeping those good feelings going?

Hope it's a good day, Amy! (I bet it will be!)

(And thank you! I am doing well. Though not managing my stress the way I'd like. pffffffffffft.)

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi everyone. Havent been on in a bit but I wanted to check back in to see how everyone is doing and to say that Im up to 80mg of Bac and its going reallly well. I cant wait until I hit my switch dose. Hopefully it will be soon but from what Ive read it seems to be pretty high for most. What was your switch dose??:butterfly:

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi, Amy! Glad you're doing well and it seems as though you're taking your time. That's great! Still AF?

I went up to 320mg.

[AmyC]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi Ne.Great to hear from you. I am taking my time but Im wondering if Im going too slow. I tirate up 10mg every 5 days or so depending on how I feel. I want to go quicker but I dont know if i should. I actually had a moment of weakness and have drank but fortunately it wasnt excessive so I feel good about that. Hope things are going great with you.

[StuckinLA]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hi Amy, glad you're still around and it sounds like things are going well. You could probably go a little quicker, but if you're feeling good why rush it? 'Cause if you shake the bottle the genies might get mad...

Sorry, that's just how I imagine this whole thing working. Small, furry gremlins tinkering around in the pill bottle, and the Jameson bottle, all at the same time.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen - When should it be taken?

Hey Amy! I agree with StuckinLA! The gremlins are to be pacified, not annoyed!

I went too slow at one point, and it's not to be advised! I know (now) that I went to slow because I had terrible side effects at the lower doses (under 70mg) that went away when I went up. But I was terrified to go up because of the terrible side effects! So if you get to a place where you're having side effects my suggestion (against what seems reasonable!) is often to go up. Until you get to the higher doses or if you start drinking again regularly. Booze and bac make for a really unpleasant combination. There are also a whole lot of things you can do to deal with side effects, and you're pretty likely to experience them, so it might be a good idea to have a plan in place.
(Insomnia or sleep disruptions in general are not unusual. Having a solid bed time and a good routine helps with that. As does having other medications that you plan to take should it occur. These things can all be planned out ahead so if they do come up, you know what to do and don't have to weigh all the options when you're sleep deprived and stressed.)

Glad you checked in!