Newbie trying out Bac

[caro]

Newbie trying out Bac

Hi MyNameIs,

You asked if anybody had reduced the amount of snacks they wanted since starting baclofen. Well it has definately had that effect on me and I have cut down on my chocolate/crisp consumption big time. I have lost about 7lbs since October last year without trying, but that is probably because I am not drinking a bottle of wine a night. I really cannot believe now how i could have drunk that much on a regular basis. But i did and now I don't because of baclofen and MWO.

Sounds like you are doing really well already. Good for you.

Hippy, i forgot to say thanks for your previous response to my post. I really enjoy reading your threads/posts.

Best wishes to all,

Caro

[Hippyman]

Newbie trying out Bac

caro;1452506 wrote: Hi MyNameIs,

You asked if anybody had reduced the amount of snacks they wanted since starting baclofen. Well it has definately had that effect on me and I have cut down on my chocolate/crisp consumption big time. I have lost about 7lbs since October last year without trying, but that is probably because I am not drinking a bottle of wine a night. I really cannot believe now how i could have drunk that much on a regular basis. But i did and now I don't because of baclofen and MWO.

Sounds like you are doing really well already. Good for you.

Hippy, i forgot to say thanks for your previous response to my post. I really enjoy reading your threads/posts.

Best wishes to all,

Caro

You are very welcome. It's my pleasure. :l

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Thanks for the input, Caro. It would be great if I lost some weight as the result of reducing the AL and the extra snacks with it. I'm not sure whether I'm doing well. I did drink a little less this week, but I feel it's too early to tell.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Day 5: 3x5mg (8 hrs apart)

0 units AL, but it's always 0 on a Monday. No SEs today.

[TexasAg]

Newbie trying out Bac

Howdy MyNameIs! (gotta come up with an acronym or nickname!)

That's great to hear no SE's. It's the day or two when I titrated up that I would feel them most but by the end of the second day they'd be gone.

I lost 29 lbs after I started Bac (stretched out over 5 months). I figure it was a combination of not drinking, started exercising and freaking out over complications at home. But also, I wasn't compulsively eating. That could've been the Bac. I've since gained back 7 lbs (meals and good life returning at home )

Cheers!

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Thanks for the support, TexasAg. Congrats on your impressive weight loss! I work out a few times a week, but I'm hoping that drinking less will help me snack less, causing me to lose some weight.

My last update to Day 5 was that I had no SEs. However, I was unable to sleep because I had a shooting pain in my left hand and just couldn't get comfortable. I think others have mentioned this sort of thing.

Day 6: 3x5mg AL 6 units (Forced a stop and and had a club soda.)

Didn't sleep well at all.

[TexasAg]

Newbie trying out Bac

MyNI,

I've got some pains and tingling sensations in my hands and legs. Colin has a good thread going on some of the pain and sensory things that are affected by alcohol (and perhaps intensifed by Baclofen?)
https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...-10-68386.html


One possible issue is alcoholic polyneuropathy.
Alcoholic polyneuropathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


In it they discuss the role of vitamin deficiency, specifically Thiamin.
The Role of Thiamine Deficiency in Alcoholic Brain Disease


So I ran out last night and bought GNC Mega Men? Sport multivitamin. It has 50mg of Thiamin. I'm hoping this works. If not, I needed a multivitamin anyway .

Cheers!

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Thanks for the info, TexasAg. I assumed the tingling was from the bac rather than from the alcohol, as I've never experienced anything like it before. Still, I'll go check out Colin's thread.

I have had off and on carpal tunnel issues, but this particular sensation was unlike those episodes.

I hope you will keep us posted on the how the Thiamine works out for you.

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Week 2 journal; titrated to 17.5mg/day (5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg spaced 8 hrs apart)

Thu Day 8: 17.5mg AL 6 units SEs None
Fri Day 9: 17.5mg AL 6 units SEs None
Sat Day 10: 17.5mg AL 6 units SEs None
Sun Day 11: 17.5mg AF SEs None
Mon Day 12: 17.5mg AL 4 units SEs None
Tue Day 13: 17.5mg AF SEs None
Wed Day 14: 17.5mg AL 7 units SEs None (Woke up this AM with first hangover I've had in some time. Just a light headache, but still something to remind me that I shouldn't have imbibed so much last night.)

Overall, not a good week. Too many outings and I'm not yet indifferent to AL, though I am still drinking less per sitting than in the past.

Other notes:
I've been working out more consistently, jogging and adding some weight training in over the past week. (Nothing major yet, as I'd been sitting out for several months following a knee surgery.)

I no longer seem to have issues with nausea or sleeping. If anything, I am in such a deep sleep when I wake up in the mornings, that it takes a few minutes to get going...

One thing I didn't mention in my first post is that I am on no other medications. I do take the following supplements every day: MSM, Biotin, Vitamin C and D3. Also take an occasional Melatonin when I have trouble sleeping (not as much of an issue now that I'm taking baclofen).

Starting week 3 today. Titrated up by another 2.5mg/day this week. So, my dosage is now 20 mg/day (5mg, 7.5mg, 7.5mg). We'll see what happens.

[caro]

Newbie trying out Bac

Hi MyNameIs,

How are you getting on? I hope it is going well with the titration.

Best wishes

Caro

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Hi Caro! Thanks so much for checking in on me. Work has been crazy and I haven't been able to post updates as often as I would like.

My apologies for repeating some of my past stats, but I just wanted to summarize for anyone new to this thread.

I am 34 days into baclofen. (I do not take any other meds; just supplements.) I started very slowly and am up to only 20mg/day.

As I originally posted, I've never been a daily drinker. Pre-bac, I was putting away a bottle of wine on my drinking evenings. Not good for a small-ish female.

Now that I'm on bac, I tend to stop around 5 units of AL. I am still interested in having a vodka tonic or some wine, but I notice that I am better able to pace myself when I drink.

I'm doing well sticking to an exercise routine lifting weights and also jogging with my husband (Superbinger).

Re: side effects -- Not many. My job is very stressful and, in pre-bac days, I took melatonin just to get a few hours of sleep. It would take me a couple hours to fall asleep, but I'd get about 4 hours, then wake again. With bac, it takes me about 30 mins to fall asleep. I have very vivid dreams that are either pleasant (visiting with my family who are far away in Louisiana), or just silly (missing a flight to somewhere and going on some stupid wild ride to another airport to catch another). Despite the dreaming, I wake up refreshed.
[NOTE ABOUT MELATONIN: I once took melatonin along with my bac at night and felt like a complete ZOMBIE the next morning. Your Mileage May Vary.]

I have a 15 min period of somnolence in the early afternoon, shortly after Dose #2. I work from home and it is really tempting to take a nap at that time, though I've given in only once.

All in all, things are going well and I'm hopeful that I'll be drinking even less with my next titration.

[caro]

Newbie trying out Bac

Hi MyName Is,

I am pleased that things are going in the right direction for you.

I am now on 140mg daily and the complusion to drink has gone. It took me a long time to get to this dose but i am really glad i persisted.

Good luck

Caro

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

Thanks, Caro. I'm hoping to moderate rather than cut out AL altogether. Unfortunately, though, we had a friend over yesterday and did not make myself accountable for counting my intake. Drank way more than I wanted to.

[MyNameIs]

Newbie trying out Bac

46 days of bac. Up to 25mg/day at the moment. Hovering at about 15 total units per week, as opposed to my old 18 - 27 units AL per week.

Started having insomnia after making the jump from 20 to 25mg. Also having unpleasant dreams in the morning about an hour or two before I should be waking up. I hope this goes away soon!

[UBTeacher]

Newbie trying out Bac

Insomnia

You'll have to keep us updated on your insomnia. I have insomnia often but it is because my mind races post AL. I truly hate losing sleep and I need it for my job. I usually take Melatonin (it's some super herbal sleep blend with valerian and other sleepy herbs). Have you tried Tylenol PM or anything like that? I live in morbid fear of having any mention of AL issues or psychiatric issues on my medical record for professional reasons, so I don't want to use my doctor for this.

Thanks for posting.

UB