Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

[Vera]

I hope I am in the right place for posting this if not please point me in the right direction? Have posted before about my SEs but they are getting worse - especially the tinnitus, I now have reverb going on which is really weird, it would be ok if it was things I liked but he ho it isn't x None of the SEs are.

I am at 145mg now & started in August this year & gone slowly with it. Don't know what to do? I could put up with it if I thought I was getting soewhere but so far NOTHING!!!

When & how do you know if you have reached it - & should I carry on, to be honest at this point drinking seems the better option.

I look back at when I joined this site & can't believe it, it was 2006!!!!! I remember reading Robertas book & was full of hope & went the Topamax route & all the vits etc..... and I really wanted it to work then & it didn't

So I am back again down the Bac route. Hoping & Praying.
A big thank you to everyone on this site-keep it going, because you DO give hope:goodjob: :thanks:

[jbkhy523]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

i had to get to 200 mgs./day to hit the switch. i started losing faith around 180 mgs. but remembered a lot of people had to go higher, including the doc himself at 270 mgs. so glad i kept going - this med WORKS!

[Lo0p]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

You will know, when you've hit it. You may even get glimpses before you do and wonder if that's it. But it's like night and day.

Paradoxically, often times people experience less/better upon dosage increases.

That titration is awful slow.

Here is a pretty standard one: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...ule-52878.html

JKTTGDP!!

[_serenity_]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

When I hit my switch, it was as definitive as night and day. One day I could drink four beers, no problem. The next day I could only drink two and they tasted like poison. The day after that, I had a raging hangover from those two beers, and I couldn't imagine drinking any more. That was it! I had no indication it was coming, it just happened. I was at 190 mgs/day. What a wonderful day that was! Hang in there, it will happen for you as well!

[Kradle123]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Vera I did the exact SAME thing only started in 2007. I was doing really well for a few months and then my marriage just began disintegrating and I went into Fuck you drinking

I'm back now and doing more L Glut than the Topa. I think my switch is there but it can get broken again pretty fast I think...

:l

[lostsole]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

I had to go back to 240 so hang in there. It took me about 8-9 months to hit my original switch. That was with 20 mg/week titration. I would never do more than 10 mg again if I had to do it all over.

[Vera]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Please can someone give me advise/help me I am feeling awful :-( I should post more but I am useless at putting pen to paper & expressing myself so I hope what I am writing makes sense!
I am now at 160 mg & think I have reached my switch, if not pretty close to it. I didn't drink Christmas eve & drove to where we were going yesterday and didn't drink, had a few glasses of wine when we got home but I wasn't really bothered I was just trying to be sociable (stupid I know) Sober christmas is unheard of for me - so something is working! But I can't stand the way I am feeling and am in such a panic - really panicy.

I haven't slept properly since starting the Bac but recently it's got worse & the tinitus in my left ear is driving me mad, I thought I could cope but I am not doing so well. Yesterday we had dinner at my in-laws & everyone was telling me how ill I looked - just what I wanted to hear, but I did, massive bags under my eyes, completely knackered, can't breathe properly (stuffy nose) and a stone in heavier (weight)! OMG it was not the best day at all. I don't recognise myself when I look in the mirror, I really look & feel terrible. It's hard to try & explain how I feel, I am kind of detached from myself. I want to cry but I can't. Last night I wanted to sleep sooooo much, I was so tired but I couldn't, and now my anxiety is horrendous I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest. I don't know what to do. I am hating myself this is not a good time for this to be happening. I am so scared I am going to get admitted to hospital I feel that crazy, and then what will I do? I can't tell them I am on Bac, my GP told me I was not to take to take it because it's not licensed, so I am self prescribing. Any advice would be really appreciated. BTW I am on Cipramil 40mg (antidepressant) Seroquel 50-75mg Lorazepan (for insomnia) could Bac maybe interacting with other meds? I have not felt this bad in a long long time. Thank you

[Vera]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Thanks Hippyman I will try just feel I am losing at the moment. You're right about the holidays I'll be glad when they're over. Thanks for answering . BTW good luck with liquid bac , I've started it and am hoping.

[lostsole]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Sounds like you need to get some sleep. Perhaps try adding some benadryl in if you have not already. If you are taking seroquel to sleep and you don't manage to sleep it's a horrendous feeling. If it isn't working I would stop that right now. There are plenty of other options you can go with.

I have tinnitus again myself. Sadly, you can get used to it. It went away for me for a long time.

The stuffiness is normal also. Try some OTC stuff like claritin D.

Bac does interact with other meds in odd ways. I find it tends to shut off the effects of gaba a agonists a bit like diazepam, alprazolam, and such. Those still help me to sleep though.

Again, I think you need sleep. It will get better and don't stop now. You've gone too far.

[Vera]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Thanks Lost today has just got worse for me in a really bad way. I was looking through posts trying to find someone in the same situation & I did & I thougth Oh Wow someone else is feeling exactly like me word for word. I had to come offline because people had arrived but I was relieved that I had found someone going through the same feelings & anxieties. I was going to send them a PM & she is dead. I really hope I am not offending anyone but I had no idea that had happened but reading Cleaheads (Anna's story) I only have read one part at the moment because I am in total shock - I have cried & cried and can't believe she isn't here. I have to get off this stuff. It really isn't working for me. RIP Anna my heart goes out to you & your family I don't know all of your story but I will remember you for always.

[lostsole]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Hi Vera. I am very sorry to hear that.

If it is really bringing you down this much, you should stop. Make sure you do this intelligently. Go down 20mg per week.

Please don't go more than that. You could get very sick. I also think you should consider counseling. You did sound very down and no one should have to suffer through that.

So please do slowly stop the baclofen. Please do reach out to a counselor whether that is a psychiatrist or psychologist.

Also, keep us updated. Please hang in there. The anxiety can be a normal SE from baclofen but I don't think you should stick it out if you are feeling this bad.

There are other options out there.

Please stay in touch.

[Vera]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

thanks

I will lost I will do it really slowly . I can't believe I got to my ]switch & I go psychotic I know it would be a matter of time & I would be in hospital. Everyone is different but I don't think bac mixes well with my meds & my brain chemistry. I will keep posting. Thank you

[lostsole]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Ya know you might only need to go down a little bit. I got ill when I hit my switch. Dropped down 20mg and was still at it and felt better. See how it goes.

[joanna_d]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

hi Vera, oh my god how horrible for you....!!
i can relate to a lot of what you're writing. i hit my switch on december 10th and was very very sick the two weeks after that: had severe migraines, was totally beat and sick and weak, several infections, just total breakdown. i have tinnitus too, horrible. i'll look into it tomorrow, maybe i can find some info about it.
(also trouble breathing by the way)

and yes, i believe other meds that affect your neurotransmitters and bac do influence each other. i don't know in what kind of way exactly, i want to look into that some more to get a clearer picture. for instance i've read that taking ssri's (like i do as well) can level out the effect of baclofen some, as ssri's are boosting the neurotransmitters (serotonin, noradrenaline) that baclofen as a side effect blocks some (because it boosts gaba-b). i have an article about this, only it's in dutch.

there's a lot going on inside your brain right now. so bad that you can't get some medical advice!!! is there no doctor or shrink working with baclofen in your city? well, i suppose not, cause otherwise you wouldn't be self-prescribing...
could for instance this doctor Levine be of help? he works at a distance, as i understand it, by phone or email or whatver.don't know his details, but there are certainly people around here who do.

maybe better to drop some on the bac by 10mg or 15mg (oh, i see lostsole has also responded while i was writing, so: or 20mg), whatever necessary, just to get a grip again. i hear you're in immediate trouble, so this seems like the first thing within you're reach right now. and then immediately try to get some professional help. i dropped 12.5mg last sunday, i felt like i was going to have a heamorrhage or something. and then it got a better. if necessary, you can go up again later. maybe then it will be better. also, drinking can cause severe se's and hangovers...
i wish Ne was around, maybe she has some advice for you.

hang in there girl. :l

[Vera]

Am I Ever Ever Going to reach the switch

Heck have gone from not being able to cry to crying buckets YOU LOT shouldn't be so nice!! Don't know how to do all the quote things but Lost I here what you're saying I am going to drop 10mg for three days & see how I go.

Joanna wow thank you so much for your advice, it's hard work sometines to get on the computer here but I have read your story from start to finish & am so glad it is finally working out for you, it seems your hard work has paid off, it hasn't been easy for you. Maybe my Bac journey is just the wrong time for me, I have so much going on, I know we all do! But I am also having a treatment called EMDR at the moment for PTSD & am having really bad flash backs with that. God I don't know I just need to sleep so bad. Have used a nasal spray & got some Night Nurse capsules so maybe tonight maybe better. Everything crossed.

Not feeling quite as crazy as I did earlier & that's thanks to MWO. Am going to go to bed now. Thank you all so much for your encouragement and for just being here it means so much. Will check in tomorrow. God bless