i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

[Colin]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

emc;1530676 wrote:
It must be the Bac (its great molecule, i know!)... and it must be something related... that i will find for sure... and then, obviously share ;-)

You have cut down your drinking to less than 40 grams per day. This is within the World Health Organization's definition of "low risk". Congratulations. If you keep this up for a year you can consider yourself cured in the sense of Suppression of Alcohol Dependence Using Baclofen: A 2-Year Observational Study of 100 Patients

Such a big drop in alcohol consumption brings a lot of related changes with it. Your headaches might be one of the indirect changes. I've never had a problem with headaches when I've been drinking lots of alcohol.

Spiritwolf suggested B12 deficiency as a cause. I suffered from B6 deficiency and there might be other possible missing vitamins. Ask your doctor for blood tests for all vitamins?

[emc]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

ok Colin, thanks for answer ;-)

Sure i know really well the RDB study! and many many others ;-)
I'm well active on the FR forum.
I read pratically all literature (mainly Pubmed) about Baclofen, really a lot of FR threads, MS forums, and continuing to investigate on experimental "right side" Arbaclofen, allosteric modulators that can potentiate the effect of BAC on low dose (read less quantity but the same effect! ;-)...

I don't consider myself a newbie on subject BAC, not at all.
And exactly because of this i'm really surprise of this (hipotetical) side effect, that its uncommon, its true... i know well the common ones even if i did not have pratically nothing because of my really slow titrating...

I'm constantly "listening" to my body from the beginning of the treatment, made all needed analysis, periodically... checking this and that...

I'm even, obviously, trying to find causes and solutions with my Doctor.
I have to make an EEG just to check eventual neurological things (but hope and think it's ok).

I will surely investigate more on the side of vitamins, yes... and keep updated my thread when i have some news ;-)

[Colin]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

If I had known how well informed you are I could have limited my last post to a mention of a possible vitamin deficiency.

Sorry. I hope I didn't appear to be patronising or condescending.

[emc]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

hey Colin, sure no worries at all! ;-)

thanks and at soon with hopefully some good news...

[emc]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

hi everybody!

Here a quick update on my situation on Baclofen.
Already 9 months in theraphy and from more than 6 months my relation with alcool has completely change.
I continue to drink a little bit, but is not at all problematic.
I drink as "normal" people do and my average on last six months its under 40 gr/alc/day.

About posology, i'm lowering down after a (kind of) switch at 165mg (mid of April).
Today on 85mg/day, continuing to lower slowly, as i feel that the craving is far away and SE are ok.
The only big SE i had, the tension headache that was causing me big problems, finally went away as i went down on mgs.
It was probably related to extreme tiredeness caused by Baclofen and the disturbed sleep i had.

So... everything continue to go really well here (i cross the finger it will continue to go like that!).

I will continue to update my thread from time to time because i think is really important for newbies to see that this Baclofen therapy for alchoolism REALLY WORKS! ;-)

Thanks for reading...
At next!

[Colin]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

emc;1570680 wrote:
I continue to drink a little bit, but is not at all problematic.
I drink as "normal" people do and my average on last six months its under 40 gr/alc/day.

What every alky wants and baclofen gives it. Nice to read.

[bleep]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Great to hear emc.

It is an amazing place to be.

[emc]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Hi everybody,
thanks bleep, thanks Colin.
Here a new quick update about my treatment...
Already a year! ;-) that i start the Baclofen theraphy, 9 months of (my kind of) indifference and everything continue to go really well!

Switch at 165mg (after slowly titrate in 3 months) then slowly went down and today i'm on 70mg/day divided all along the day (9am-12am-4pm-9pm).

Even if i feel this good indifference i open a beer or even two from time to time.
Often the second one stay there on the desk half full, and this is indifference for me.
I was drinking a little bit all along the treatment and even after my (suppose) switch.
I don't have this kind of indifference of zero alchool, but i feel really comfort like that.
Few days zero, than one beer, than zero than 2 beers and so on... (average last 2 months 20gr/alc/day - read a pint of 5% alc).
The habitude plays always a big role on this, i know, but i can even see that the quantity is slowly going down and i imagine will continue to do.
What is important is to feel better, and i do ;-)

About SE, the only things to report are:
- the nights not so perfect (always few woke up), but better anyway than months ago.
- this tension headache that continue to appear from time to time in moments of stress, high anxiety + bad sleeping.
And that's all.

So finally a positive report that says clearly that Baclofen work perfectly!

As i write in other forums too, my big question is always the same: how long it will last? ;-)
I know even that the answer could be... "until i stay on theraphy and continue to take Baclofen it will be ok!".. but i really would like to have statistic data about it...
I know really well that is not possible to go on zero Baclo (i will not) and even that i cannot forget, never!, that i am an alchoolic that needs to stay on theraphy for life... and i'm not talking just about taking a pill, but to take care of ourself,of what happens around and inside us...

I will continue to update my progress thread from time to time.
Good day to everybody!

[Cytoskeletor]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Thanks for updating. Things like this give me hope. I'm titrating again and am looking forward to indifference!

[kronkcarr]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Thanks for you update and congratulations on your year!

[Yourfriend6116]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Thanks so much for the update! It helps so many of us newbies! Congrats on a year!!

[Jazi's Mum]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Yes, thank you so much, emc, for your posts. This does help those of us who are just at the beginning. I must say that I have been VERY fortunate in that I'm 'switching' at a very low dose. Just started 80mg daily (in 4 doses) and it's good.

What I've learned from doing so much reading is that the indifference is just the first part of the puzzle. Lots of work to do - but I'm having FUN!
JMum

[skullbabyland]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Thanks, EMC, for this great update. I'm so happy for you that you've got such great results over a year's worth of working on it-- great job, and congratulations!!

[emc]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

Baclofen works well - 15 months on Baclofen with really good results!

Hi everybody,
here another positive important update about my Baclofen treatment!
I'm already 15 months on Baclofen and A FULL YEAR! that my relation with alcohol has dramatically changed.

Started Jan 2013, had a kind of "switch" on Apr 2013 and today i'm on 60mg/day titrating down.
As said before, I did not have this kind of switch like others, did not stop drinking from one day to the other but, after a big reduction, now i did arrive to eradicate even this last 2 beers (on average) that were lasting...

From last post the quantity of ALC consumption went down to a "ridiculous/normal" average of (six) 6gr/alc/day (half standard drink).
I drink just occasionally and when happens (when i decide) i don't have any problem on controlling my drinking.
From already many months I'm not slave anymore of the uncontrolled behavior (now i know, physically generated) that was making impossible to stop drinking after having 1st one.

I can say that i don't have practically any SE, and even this tension headache that was disturbing me few months ago hopefully is already gone.
The nights also are quite back to normal, sometimes still divided in 2 parts but not always and not so disturbing anyway.
A small amount of Bac near bed time helps really a lot.

A full year of sobriety (but not forced abstinence!) it's a really good point for me and i'm sure will gives hope to the ones that just started or that want to stop drinking and are thinking to try Baclofen.

Things are moving around Baclofen and soon the results of few European Clinical Trials will hopefully give this molecule the place that it deserve (as they are starting to do in France).
Obviously I know that is not an automatic/easy thing to get an approval and/or became largely used but i think that this time is not so far and it will be surely much harder for the detractors to say something when there are more important medical studies/evidences...

[kronkcarr]

i'm on Baclofen, i feel better

emc,

It's good to hear it's going so well for you. Congratulations.