Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

[cookinghappy]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

I have been very nervous about upping the Baclofen, but am intending to today. Since last weekend when I felt too awful to function on 3x 10mg/day, I have dropped to 3x5mg/day. My sleep is better, and I no longer feel dizzy and out of it. So I thought that today I'd increase the mid-afternoon dose to 10mg., as I'm hoping this may affect my desire to drink. So far my 15mg/day has had no effect on my desire to drink. Do you advise me to spend several days with this increase and then try to increase am and pm doses, or would it be more efficient to do it another way? Am quite happy as I have hope and alcohol, but am worried that as I have to do this super slowly I won't actually ever stop drinking.
Rosanna, how are you now?

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Hi, Cooking.
It can be really difficult to keep the big picture in place when the daily drinking/hangover cycle is so brutal. (It's probably wrapped up with self-dislike and a whole host of other really negative things too.) But the bottom line is that if you can't take the SEs, you'll quit taking the medicine. And the best way to avoid SEs is to take it slow. And to quit drinking! I couldn't do that, but it's a sad truth that booze makes everything worse, including SEs. Maybe you can try adding in 5mg every 3-5 days, instead of 10mg?

The other thing is that anxiety about taking baclofen increases...anxiety. (duh! I know it seems silly. But there's a point.) And the whole premise (or one of them) about taking baclofen is that it is initially an anxiolytic and should reduce your anxiety. Are there ways in which you can help yourself relax? In general and in particular about taking this route to sobriety? I didn't do that either, but I really, really wish I had!

And on that note, I've got to run so I have time to do a bit of exercise and meditation before my day starts. Those two things help me keep everything in balance now, and I sure wish I'd started them when I started titrating up! (I was exercising, but not well. And I didn't start meditation and therapy until after I was indifferent. They help a great deal.)

Keep on hoping! It really is a miracle, this whole indifference thing. Not magic, but definitely miraculous.

[TexasAg]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Cooking,

I just wanted to welcome you and encourage you on your Bac journey. My journey started 100 days ago and while it hasn't been easy, it has been as NE said, miraculous.

I don't have too much to add except I trust NE and Red's advice to the nth degree. They have helped me and others through this journey. I pray you'll find MWO and these posts as helpful as I did.

Cheers!

Day 101 on Bac - 120mg
Switch? - 160mg
Binge Free - 72 days

[Alcoholic]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Cooking:
Topamax has been used off label for bulimia and alcohol dependence, have you talked to your doctor about it?

[catalunya]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

i'm thinking of pulling myself off of baclofen as i feel as though my overall quality of life was much better pre-baclofen than it is now. perhaps i need a larger support system, or conclusiveness in that the intolerable side effects will subside, but neither are available to me at present and the longer i take baclofen the more difficult it will be to wean off of.

[RedThread12]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Hi Cooking: Glad to hear that slowing down seems to be making it a bit more manageable. As Ne often points out, the turtle usually wins this race. And she is so right on regarding the anxiety about taking baclofen. It recently occurred to me (and I posted, somewhere) that this entire endeavor - taking pharmaceutical medications that most of us procure for ourselves (or, even with prescriptions, most doctors know very little about the actual process); changing long-standing habits, personal, social, etc,; being REQUIRED to monitor ourselves, which is an enormous amount of self-responsibility; and doing this all from the throes of angst and anxiety of alcohol, is a big f'in deal. I was far more anxious to quit drinking than I was about taking pills, but I'm accustomed to self-prescribing, and had trust that my body would guide me. But yes, just taking bac can generate fear and anxiety.

Which is why 1) it's really important to utilize the support here, by posting; and 2) reading, reading, reading bac into the bac threads is SO HELPFUL!! For me, having read so much about so many different experiences, side effects, things to do, and things definitely not to do regarding bac, gave me the feeling that I knew enough to proceed. It was someone posting about going to the ER for either over-dosing on bac, or quitting it abruptly, that kept ME sane and out of the ER when I managed to double my highest ever daily dose. I KNEW that it would pass, because I had read about it passing for others; and I knew that it would be wrongly addressed at the ER, so that post saved me several thousands of dollars, and probably a LOT of time. I worked, as usual, on the day following that freaky night. So knowledge, and paying close attention to my body's messages, as you seem to be doing a good job of, made my path relatively easy.

catalunya - I left a message for you over on the Bac Nest thread. I hear you about your considerations for titrating off. And that may very well be your best option, for now, at least. But I hope you'll check my post into consideration. And, as I said there, I really wish you the best and trust that you will find your way out.

[cookinghappy]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Have now been on 5mg/10mg/5mg baclofen for 5 days. It's going really well - no longer have any adverse side effects. But am feeling impatient as have not felt any lessening of desire to drink. Want to step up. Do i have to aim equal incrementations (10/10/10mg) or is it possible to do 5/20/5mg in order to have max dose in my system at the witching hour and also not to disrupt my sleep pattern? Thank you. I still have faith in this drug. Have so many hopes for it, but do want to take it slowly.

[Xadrian]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

The trick is to divide it evenly over the day. You need a constant level.
You increase to 5/10/10 or even to 10/10/10 if you like, but not 5/20/5. There's no use for and will probably give you unwanted side effects.
The 10 in the evening will probably make you sleep better, at least for me it did.
If you prefer, you can do 10/10/5 instead of 5/10/10.

For me, the switch came at 30/30/30 without drinking less. But I could feel that the switch was near at 20/20/20. The beers didn't taste as good as they used to at that level.
But I admit, 90 mg is low for a switch. Your switch can be way higher.

Keep in mind that you didn't become an alcoholic overnight, so don't expect to be cured overnight also.
Just have faith, your switch will come. You will notice when you get there. Miracles do exist.

[cookinghappy]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Thank you so much for the advice.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Hi Cooking!
Yep. What he said.
The thing to keep in mind is that bac doesn't really work like that. Meaning it's not going to have a direct effect on the witching hour by lessening your craving just before you start to drink. (Think of how benzodiazapenes work. You take one and it lessens your anxiety and you feel peaceful. Bac's not really like that.)
The more you can even it out, keep a steady level in your blood stream (no peaks and valleys) the better it is for you and for reaching the goal.

It takes what it takes, unfortunately, and that means time and amount of bac. What're you going to do with all your free time when you don't want to drink anymore?

Glad things are progressing!

[Warnie]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

gidday luv. got to get your head right our mindset. i was on benzos for a long time. no good. no magic pill. the magic is already in you. dont chase one pill with another. you dont have to. action will help you big time. get your arse out the door like clockwork every morning. lace up your running or walking shoes and move that fat lazy arse for 2-5 kilomitres every day. do it today i dare you. this will help you start to get a more positive mindset which will propel you forward whether you like that or not. action. simple. good luck

warnie

[cookinghappy]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Thanks Ne/Neva Eva! yes. What will I do with that time? I am giving that serious thought. Upped the bac yesterday, so am now on 10/10/5. Will go to 10/10/10 in some days. Slow is the only way to do this.

I do hate what it does to my sleep pattern tho'. When I wake or am woken, whatever the hour, it's like a light has been turned on so I can't get back to sleep. And I'm having vivid dreams where for example, I need to go to the toilet, and it's so real that I think I am on the toilet. Nearly had an accident yesterday night! Bit frightening at my age!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

Hiya Cooking and Joanna! I'm going to copy and paste this on both threads, in case you guys aren't reading around yet. (Cooking, my husband is a chef! We're thinking about writing a cookbook. Which sounds dreadful to me, but would be maybe fun??? I can barely feed myself. I married well for that reason. )

I'll tell ya'. I often find it annoying when people who don't use meds come down to the meds section to tell the people who do use meds that meds are not the answer. It makes me get all antsy and uppity and I wanna shout "Baclofen was my answer! The only one I needed! I'm completely free! So is my husband! Because of a PILL!"

But Warnie's right-ish, too. While the pill will take away the desire to drink, for some people there might be some other things that need addressing. And what's more, there's still life to manage. Exercise was and is a HUGE benefit. But I also did a bunch of other stuff too. Mostly, though, I just took enough of the pills for long enough. Then I kept taking them. No matter what. It works. Period. Yay!!

Part of that for you, Jo, may be just looking for that freedom and openness. The wanting to express yourself, and the wanting to do it sober. God. It's an amazing thing to do it sober. I'm reading Allan Carr's The Easy Way to Quit Smoking. The way he writes about smoking, the way he relates it to life, and the fact that we are slaves to the addiction, is EXACTLY how I feel about being addicted to booze. You simply will not believe how amazing it feels on the other side of that slavery. And I cannot wait to find out what it's like not to be a slave to tobacco. (seriously. I'm actually excited to quit smoking. That will be the second time a book has literally saved my life. The first was Ameisen's of course.)

Sounds like you, Cooking, might want to be on the lookout for sleep aids and ways to manage your sleep. Insomnia is the absolute most common SE and it can make or break the ability to get to the goal. Lack of sleep is really, really bad for you too. But more pertinent (for this part of the journey anyway) is that it really increases anxiety. There are a ton of threads dedicated to the topic, and what works for one person definitely doesn't work for another, so you might just have to play around with some solutions.

Have you guys been reading around? There's a thread with some videos I wish I could understand. And apparently Windycitylady has been keeping up with the threads, despite the fact that she is too damn busy to play these days. (pffft. I know you're reading this WCL.) She left the following message for Joanna on this thread: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...one-54587.html

windycitylady;1400546 wrote: Hey all! Just a quick note to let you know I'm still alive.
Thanks for all your kind words regarding the mattress incident. Ne, your experience and feelings mirrored mine almost exactly. You guys really calmed me down and made me feel better. As usual.
They were doing the floors at my parent's when I got back from Chicago, so I had to stay at my sister's. She and roommates could not remember to keep the doors unlocked, so I was crawling through the kitchen window on a regular basis. Slept in the same bed with sister and her two pomeranians that growled when I tried to move them.
Back at home now. I've been working a ridiculous amount and at the gym every day that I don't work doubles. I know, I know, I need to find another outlet or hobby or something.
I was so exhausted that I fell asleep with a bite of food in mouth sitting on the couch the other night. What's creepier is that I was pleasantly surprised to find it still there when I woke up.
Love you all and miss you! Know that I'm around and reading. Just don't always have the time to post. Hope everyone's doing well, and I'll be posting more as soon as I have time.

Joanna, if you read this, I'm glad you found us and keep up the good work. You're a real sweetheart. (Will someone tell her I said this?)

Hugs and love to all!!:l

I gotta run, and it may be some days before I get back! Don't lose the momentum!!!

:l

[joanna_d]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

hi all, i'm so sorry to hear that for some of you the se's have been so bad you decided to stop taking baclofen.

i've been taking it for 6 weeks now, and have increased up to 115mg.
i'm trying to take it slow, but like you, Cooking, i am eager to increase the dose and have to watch myself so the se's take don't the best of me. i feel it's important to try and have a grip on life, and with these se's it can become difficult. i'm increasing with 5mg every third day, except when i feel the se's are too much. which is fast enough.
i've found (and read in this forum) that the se's are dose dependent. over the last weeks i felt numb and stoned like, and dizzy, and strangely hungry like you, but when i increased two days ago, they were suddenly much less (except for sleeping, which has become a bit of a problem, because like you, when i wake up in the middle of the night, i immediately am wide awake. also, i have a problem eating right now.)

by the way, i;m taking it in 5 doses (15;25;25;25;25) because of the half life issue.

take care!

[Xadrian]

Baclofen -feel as if my hopes are dissappearing. Should i carry on?

half life

joanna_d;1403571 wrote: by the way, i;m taking it in 5 doses (15;25;25;25;25) because of the half life issue.

Hi Joanna,

In my own experience, it turned out that the half life time of baclofen isn't that important. Although the baclofen level maybe is half 4 hours after intake, the effects of the baclofen can take up to several days. That's why it isn't much of an issue if you accidentally skip a dose.

When I started taking baclofen, I took the pills 3 times a day, every 8 hours.
I reached the switch at 90 mg, which is quite a low dose.
My own theory behind it is that the switch is being triggered by the peak dose (30 mg in my case plus what was left of the previous doses) and that the maintenance dose is more depending on the minimum constant level or the effects from that.

My maintenance dose appears to be 50 mg, which I take 20/10/10/10 at 7.30 AM/ 12.30 PM/ 5.30 PM and 10.30 PM.

If it would be for the half life (4 hours), logically I should take the 20 mg in the evening, because till the next dose it takes 8 hours instead of 5. But this somehow doesn't work for me.
When I tried 10/10/10/20 after 3 days, I felt like having a beer in the evening, so I changed it back to 20/10/10/10. Same daily dose, but different effect. So that's why I think
the half life is of less importance. Or maybe the half life is different when you sleep? I don't know.

Some time ago I tried 15/10/10/10 but after a few days I got thoughts of beer. I immediately took one extra pill (10) and corrected to 20/10/10/10. Problem solved. So for me it's clear that the effects of the baclofen last longer than the time the baclofen is in the blood stream.

But hey, everybody's different and if you like you can do some experimenting to find out if the one or the other works better for you, as long as you don't suddenly increase or decrease your daily dose. Also, I wouldn't recommend dividing the daily dose in less than 3 times.