Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

[neophyte]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

Xadrian;1633829 wrote: The maintenance dose is typically somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the switch dose, so you could expect yours somewhere between 100 mgs and 135 mgs.

Because I'm taking this voyage for the second time, I know that my maintenance dose is around 50 mgs. I'm planning to go down 10 mgs every 2 weeks, until light cravings re-appear. Then I up 10 mgs and there's my maintenance dose, at which I have to stay for a long time.

You can read some more detailed information how I did it the first time in the early posts of this same thread, if you like.

Xadrian, how come its round two for you? When do you suggest tapering off the switch dose? I have reached mine at 300mg, sides are minimal but ive only been here for 3 months.

[Xadrian]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

neophyte;1633834 wrote: Xadrian, how come its round two for you? When do you suggest tapering off the switch dose? I have reached mine at 300mg, sides are minimal but ive only been here for 3 months.

After reaching the switch the first time at 90 mgs and tapering off to my maintenance dose at 50 mgs, after a while I felt so confident that I tapered down initially to 10 mgs and finally to 0. Big mistake!

Two months later I started drinking again. At first not so much, but after a few months almost as much as before. Then I started bac again, but apparently there was something wrong with the brand I got. After changing brands, I found my switch again at 90 mgs.

I think the first time I switched, I tapered 10 mg off after a month, this time also almost a month. I do not remember exactly how fast I went down the first time, but I think it was relatively fast also.

But you can find it in the early posts of this same thread. In my experience, tapering off can be done in a fairly fast pace. When cravings return, go back to the dose you were right before the cravings returned and that would be your maintenance dose.

[neophyte]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

im curious how long you took to tritate down to 0. so say hypothetically you were on 90mg, how long did it take you to go down to 0 and how fast can you reduce the dose? does the withdrawal get worse the lower the dose goes? i ask because i have experience with valium withdrawal, when you tritate down it feels like it gets harder and harder. so given that they are both gaba agonists, im concenred that if i ever have to get off bac, i dont want to ever experience what its like to come off benzos again.

[Yourfriend6116]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

:applaud:Thanks Xadrian for pointing me to that stockpile of information! So many ?'s answered. Now I can set forth a plan with realistic expectations. Thank you so much for sharing so much of your journey :thanks:

[Xadrian]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

Having a bad night sleep and having an extremely stressfull day drove me to strong thoughts of beer.

Not cravings that were hardly to overcome, but just the thoughts to the relaxed feeling the beer used to give me after a long stressful day.

Anyway, I did not give in to the stupid thoughts and I just put an orange soda in the freezer instead.
Still having a bad mood, but day 25 AF in a row is a fact.

[Xadrian]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

I'm considering ceasing posting on this forum for a while, or maybe I will post only once in a while or when really important things happen.

The tension on the forum lately and the accompanying annoyance add up to the large amount of stress I already have.

So if you don't see me posting in the near future, nothing bad happened to me, but I'm just wanting to retire a little. I will keep reading though.

[MossRose]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

xadrian, I hope you don't stop posting. I am following your thread and have learned a lot. We don't know each other because I have never posted in the meds section before. Nice to meet you, btw. Anyway, I've been an active member of MWO for while but I usually post in the "just starting out" or "holistic health" areas. But I read everything. It would be our loss if you disappear.

[Yourfriend6116]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

I'll miss your wealth of info. I'll pm you with questions-which I know I'll have. I understand your feelings-100%!!

[Cassander]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

X -- I hope you won't stop posting here. I often don't have anything worth sharing in reply, but I do totally support you and wish you the best. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with taking a little vacation from this place, especially when there is an outbreak of tension and/or stress, which happens from time to time around here.

Speaking of stress, I was re-reading "When the Body Says No" by Dr Gabor Mate last night. I don't know if you have ever seen or heard of Dr Mate or of this book, but its fascinating and has helped me round out the picture of whats going on with stress...or anxiety as we often call it on this board.

There is so much to learn and think about in reading Mate...both in this book about stress and his others...including "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" about addiction. He is a brilliant doctor.

One of the takeaways, for me, is that when stress (anxiety) presents in our lives we really should self-examine and look for the root causes and do our very best to eliminate them. As in: do I have a bad job? Time to look for a new one...Not: Do I have a bad job? Time to get home and down and a six pack. Or more.

There has been somewhat of a running debate (or argument) on this board about whether "anxiety" and "alcoholism" are the same or separate diseases. I guess it can be argued either way. But it seems to me incontrovertible that while baclofen (and perhaps other compounds existing or to be discovered) addresses the craving that results from addiction to alcohol (which is itself a miracle), it doesn't eliminate stress from our lives or our need to somehow address the stress (before it drives us to drink or kills us). Mate explains this very well and I recommend this and his other his books.

Best o' luck, X.

Cassander

[MossRose]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

xadrian - I am totally out of my element posting in the meds section, but just wanted to say that I have followed along on your journey, and will miss your posts. I totally understand your need for a break. Just wanted you to know that you have helped many people - even those of us that you didn't know were along for the ride. Best to you and take care.

[RedThread12]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

Xadrian - I sincerely hope that our exchange - which I think was simple misperceptions from both of us - is not the (only) trigger for your thoughts about going quiet. Although, having been around heading toward 5 years, I understand a bit of your frustration.

I have told you before , and will say again, you are a great addition to this forum. And I never came back to congratulate you on your "re- bac" work, and success. I was among the first
to reply to your post about "losing" indifference. Really happy, and grateful, to know that you kept up the hard work that keeps you from drinking against your will . Well. Done.

[Xadrian]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

I'm not feeling so well lately, meaning psychologically.
Everything seems to go in the wrong direction and I really can't enjoy life anymore.
I can't even force myself to do my job sometimes.
Today I'm married 11 years and even that can make me happy even a bit.
I have two beautiful sons and I find them more nuisance than that I can enjoy them.
I have a daughter on the way and the only thing I can think is how I'm going to manage that financially and logistically.

I'm really fucking tired of how my life looks nowadays and I can't seem to do something about it.
Don't be afraid: I'm not going to kill myself. I never had suicide thoughts and I have people that depend on me. But I wish things looked a little more positive.

I tried to find reasons. Some of them are obvious, but there must be more reasons why I feel like this and I want to find out if baclofen is one of them or maybe amplifying other reasons.
Like other people on this forum mentioned, at first, when I started baclofen everything appeared to be more shiny and less dull and I could see things more in perspective.
Now all of that seems to be gone.

Maybe I'm "just" experiencing a mid-life crisis. My youngest sister started menopause some years ago, so maybe it's genetics.

What I want to do is taper off baclofen. Completely or till I improve.
I was at 120 mgs for quite a while and yesterday I took 100 mgs.
Today I will be taking 90 mgs and I will taper off 10 mgs everyday.
This will also be an experiment if tapering off 10 mgs per day can be done safely and to determine the effects of tapering down relatively fast. It's twice as fast as recommended, but I expect there's a built-in safety margin in that recommendation.
If things might derail, I know where it's coming from and I think I will be on time to correct with increasing the dose.

So, wish me luck.

[Colin]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

You sound very depressed. Ever considered anti-depressants?
If you are depressed and reducing baclofen you are heading to a place where booze becomes very attractive.

[Samandkatharine]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

Aw X...

I posted a while back on how I was feeling. I was miserable. How could I go from feeling like a million bucks to wondering why life was so shitty?

I dialed back the Bac from 80mg to 50mg, and started a rigorous exercise program. I also added in 10,000IU vitamin D daily. Is your sleep of good quality?

Maybe an AD would be useful, and therapy. Don't give up!! I hope others will chime in. You have been so helpful to me and others. I'm glad you are sharing how you feel to us.

Sam. :l

[spiritwolf333]

Xadrian's Baclofen Experience

Hi X -Wow, I am really sorry to hear that you are having to suffer through this down-time. I have had a couple of these extended -"life just sucks" periods and was unable to see any light.

We are all so very different, and yet at the same time, we all have a lot of commonalities, as you already know. One thing is for sure, I can totally relate to what you are saying -at least I think I can.
At times, I thought I should be the happiest person in the world, and yet I was miserable and not grateful about anything.

During one of my dark-down periods, someone kept telling me "If nothing changes, then nothing changes". I kept saying that is the most ridiculous "crap" that I can hear right now. I further went on to say to myself "just give me some medications (and/or alcohol) so that I can at least change the way I perceive things. I wanted an easy answer to a so called complex answer. Instead, what I ended up doing was forcing myself to make real changes -and slowly but surely, my life started to seem meaningful once again.

Just a thought and I am very glad to have read your thread.