Colin, 65
Baclofen dosage to date.
I've been keeping notes since 31 July. For the previous 6 weeks I increased slowly to 112.5mg. Like many people I tried to speed things up but that was not a clever move. The only SE that has been a problem is the somnolence/doziness during the day. As long as I'm not tempted to drink I'll take plenty of time going up.
Here are some of the more notable events during the last few months:-
2 Aug: An almost euphoric feeling - comparable to the first couple of weeks when citalopram really began to work for me.
3 Aug: No trace of anxiety or depression. I don't know what provoked this note. Anxiety has never been a problem as far as I can remember and depression has not been a problem since beginning with Baclofen.
5 Aug: I was reminded of a sad event during my stay at the 12-step clinic. A counselor (like many of the employees he was an "alcoholic in recovery") asked a group of us how many people prayed during their stay in the clinic. I was surprised at something more than 50% saying that they did. When he suggested that it would show the appropriate measure of humility to pray on one's knees beside the bed I thought "I thought I was in the wrong place and now I know it." They really wanted everyone to hand over all responsibility to a higher power and make sure you were uncomfortable while doing so.
8 Aug: Noted that I seemed to have adjusted to the Baclofen dosage and that I was feeling somber. Was there a connection?
9 Aug: Increased the Baclofen to 125mg and noticed a significantly improved mood. Any connection?
15 Aug: Increased to 137.5mg
16 Aug: Played bridge (the card game) very badly due to the difficulty concentrating under the influence of Baclofen.
18 Aug: Very hot (35 degrees) Somewhat dozy, not unpleasant, vaguely lascivious.
22 Aug: Sleepy in the evening and wondering whether I might have reached my limit. Back down to 125mg.
23 Aug Back to 137.5 still trying to push things along.
25 Aug: Very positive mood. Everything seems possible. However too dozy. Decided to spread the dosage out to 4 x 25 + 3 x 12.5. I'm not giving up easily!
27 Aug: Started looking at my blood pressure. Before beginning Baclofen it was 125/80 in a restful state. With the Baclofen it varied around 135/73 before a pill and 120/68 an hour after the pill. Nothing spectacular but confirmation about the influence on blood pressure.
4 Sept: Still noticeable improvements at the gym. I was in terrible shape at the beginning of April but currently I'm improving my performance on at least one of the exercises every day. Later on I saw that Lo0p reported that Baclofen seemed to improve his form.
13 Sept: The rediscovered interest in exercise continues. A significantly improved physical condition does no emotional harm.
21 Sept: Played some bad bridge in the evening.
22 Sept: OK, I'm too dozy at 137.5 drop down to 130.
23 Sept: Seemed much happier at the new dosage. Around this time discovered MyWayOut and was surprised at the remarkable erudition of some of the contributors.
29 Sept: The new dose seemed OK so increase to 135. Saw that Murphy had been rusticated from MWO. A lot of what he wrote made a lot of sense but he was too repetitive. Probably a good time for him to disengage. Still the clowns who pushed him out seem to be a humourless bunch.
3 Oct: Blood pressure (126/62) For me there is a clear correlation between low diastolic and tiredness. New rule is (diastolic < 70) => delay the Baclofen.
4 Oct: The Baclofen generated visual disturbances of the last few days have departed. Noted that Clearhead247 had killed herself. Cold turkey with Baclofen and a dodgy clinic can be a literally fatal combination.
15 Oct: Increased to 140mg. I seem to be tolerating the smaller increases much better.
17 Oct: Slept 10 hours without once wakening. It is many moons since anything like that ever happened.
20 Oct: Woke at about 5 a.m. and found myself gnawing away at a problem. There was no way I could do anything about the problem in the next couple of days, let alone at 5 in the morning but this kind of objective logic was no good. I took another 25mg and soon went back to sleep again. Awoke feeling just fine and the problem had retreated into a more appropriate place in my grand scheme. No problem at all with the extra 25mg. Will a big increase be an option if I ever seem to be stuck?
If for nothing else I'm glad to notice that Baclofen can prevent me from chewing on daft problems.
21 Oct: Increase to 145mg. Seems OK at the moment.
Baclofen dosage to date.
I've been keeping notes since 31 July. For the previous 6 weeks I increased slowly to 112.5mg. Like many people I tried to speed things up but that was not a clever move. The only SE that has been a problem is the somnolence/doziness during the day. As long as I'm not tempted to drink I'll take plenty of time going up.
Here are some of the more notable events during the last few months:-
2 Aug: An almost euphoric feeling - comparable to the first couple of weeks when citalopram really began to work for me.
3 Aug: No trace of anxiety or depression. I don't know what provoked this note. Anxiety has never been a problem as far as I can remember and depression has not been a problem since beginning with Baclofen.
5 Aug: I was reminded of a sad event during my stay at the 12-step clinic. A counselor (like many of the employees he was an "alcoholic in recovery") asked a group of us how many people prayed during their stay in the clinic. I was surprised at something more than 50% saying that they did. When he suggested that it would show the appropriate measure of humility to pray on one's knees beside the bed I thought "I thought I was in the wrong place and now I know it." They really wanted everyone to hand over all responsibility to a higher power and make sure you were uncomfortable while doing so.
8 Aug: Noted that I seemed to have adjusted to the Baclofen dosage and that I was feeling somber. Was there a connection?
9 Aug: Increased the Baclofen to 125mg and noticed a significantly improved mood. Any connection?
15 Aug: Increased to 137.5mg
16 Aug: Played bridge (the card game) very badly due to the difficulty concentrating under the influence of Baclofen.
18 Aug: Very hot (35 degrees) Somewhat dozy, not unpleasant, vaguely lascivious.
22 Aug: Sleepy in the evening and wondering whether I might have reached my limit. Back down to 125mg.
23 Aug Back to 137.5 still trying to push things along.
25 Aug: Very positive mood. Everything seems possible. However too dozy. Decided to spread the dosage out to 4 x 25 + 3 x 12.5. I'm not giving up easily!
27 Aug: Started looking at my blood pressure. Before beginning Baclofen it was 125/80 in a restful state. With the Baclofen it varied around 135/73 before a pill and 120/68 an hour after the pill. Nothing spectacular but confirmation about the influence on blood pressure.
4 Sept: Still noticeable improvements at the gym. I was in terrible shape at the beginning of April but currently I'm improving my performance on at least one of the exercises every day. Later on I saw that Lo0p reported that Baclofen seemed to improve his form.
13 Sept: The rediscovered interest in exercise continues. A significantly improved physical condition does no emotional harm.
21 Sept: Played some bad bridge in the evening.
22 Sept: OK, I'm too dozy at 137.5 drop down to 130.
23 Sept: Seemed much happier at the new dosage. Around this time discovered MyWayOut and was surprised at the remarkable erudition of some of the contributors.
29 Sept: The new dose seemed OK so increase to 135. Saw that Murphy had been rusticated from MWO. A lot of what he wrote made a lot of sense but he was too repetitive. Probably a good time for him to disengage. Still the clowns who pushed him out seem to be a humourless bunch.
3 Oct: Blood pressure (126/62) For me there is a clear correlation between low diastolic and tiredness. New rule is (diastolic < 70) => delay the Baclofen.
4 Oct: The Baclofen generated visual disturbances of the last few days have departed. Noted that Clearhead247 had killed herself. Cold turkey with Baclofen and a dodgy clinic can be a literally fatal combination.
15 Oct: Increased to 140mg. I seem to be tolerating the smaller increases much better.
17 Oct: Slept 10 hours without once wakening. It is many moons since anything like that ever happened.
20 Oct: Woke at about 5 a.m. and found myself gnawing away at a problem. There was no way I could do anything about the problem in the next couple of days, let alone at 5 in the morning but this kind of objective logic was no good. I took another 25mg and soon went back to sleep again. Awoke feeling just fine and the problem had retreated into a more appropriate place in my grand scheme. No problem at all with the extra 25mg. Will a big increase be an option if I ever seem to be stuck?
If for nothing else I'm glad to notice that Baclofen can prevent me from chewing on daft problems.
21 Oct: Increase to 145mg. Seems OK at the moment.
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