OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

[omahawagon]

Since other member's journals have been both inspirational and educational, I will return the favor by keeping a journal of my own Baclofen experiences. I hope it's helpful to someone one day!

Background info:

Female, 38 years old, 140 lbs.

Alcohol consumption as of day one: 1/2 of a 750ml bottle of rum, 4-5 nights a week, 2-3 AF nights a week. Sometimes I get in a few more AF days, usually not less. In other words, I'm averaging about 2 bottles of rum a WEEK. And I'm not even a pirate! Wowsers...

Ordered Baclofen on 3/15, it arrived 3/28. Dosing and experiences to follow.

A small disclaimer: Since this post will be at the top, I will just put out there that if anyone has questions please let me know. However I'm not a medical professional and none of this should be construed as medical advice. These are just my experiences as they happen.

[omahawagon]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Day 1: 2x5 mg, 10 mg total. AF.
Day 2 (so far): 1x5mg. 10mgx1. Expect to take another 10mg tonight.

Experiences: Absolutely no side effects at 5mg, so I went up to 10mg without problem and I will stay at the 10 mg dose again tonight.

So far, so good, although it's Friday of a holiday weekend so par for the course there are some cravings in the back of my mind. Since we all know Baclofen takes time to kick in I am not disappointed by this in the slightest. I'm just glad to have started the journey!

[kronkcarr]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Yay! It sounds like you're off to a good start. Hang tough this weekend. I know what you mean about cravings. With bac they now seem like old habits. You go girl!

kronkcarr

[libmit]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Good luck OW, you'll know when the bac kicks in - cravings go away! You've got a ways to go though!
Libby

[bleep]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

All the best. And who knows, perhaps you will find relief at a low dose. It has happened, although it's rare.

As libmit says though, in all likelihood, there is a way to go. Go well!

[MaryGoRound]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Thanks for sharing and best of luck! :welcome:

[omahawagon]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the support!

[omahawagon]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Day 3: 3x10mg, 30mg total. AF.

Still not experiencing any side effects, so I think I will try going up to 15mg tomorrow and see if it's ok. I don't want to rush it, but on the other hand there is no point in waiting if there are no side effects.

So far, so good! Happy Easter everyone!

[Colin]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

The effects from an small increase take a couple of days to appear. An increase of 10 mg every 3/4 days is close to a "recommended" rate. See https://dl.dropbox.com/u/59463672/Prescribing-Guide-for-Baclofen-in-the-Treatment-of-Alcoholism-Don.pdf
Some can go faster but be careful.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

omahawagon;1485499 wrote: Day 3: 3x10mg, 30mg total. AF.

Still not experiencing any side effects, so I think I will try going up to 15mg tomorrow and see if it's ok. I don't want to rush it, but on the other hand there is no point in waiting if there are no side effects.

So far, so good! Happy Easter everyone!

Hey, Omaha and welcome. I don't know how much you've read around, but that's an awful lot of bac in a short amount of time. There is a point in letting the bac do it's thing (no small feat!) by taking it with a plan and in moderate increases. It's not just avoiding SEs, although that's a big one! Going at a reasonable doesn't guarantee avoiding SEs. It does make it more likely (imho) that you'll get to a place where you can make a choice about drinking.

Glad you've joined us!

[omahawagon]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Thanks for the advice...I took 15 mg this morning but will stick at 10mg for the rest of the day.

[Hippyman]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

omahawagon;1485666 wrote: Thanks for the advice...I took 15 mg this morning but will stick at 10mg for the rest of the day.

I'm one of those who noticed a decrease in interest of alcohol at a low dose. By the time I got to 50 mgs per day I was and still am pretty indifferent to drink. Once in awhile I'll have a passing thought of drink but it's very manageable and most of the time alcohol doesn't even cross my mind. I'm happily sober for over 6 months because of baclofen. I wish the same for you!!!

[bleep]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

I'm of a different school of thought: if you aren't getting SE's, keep going. While in the long-term, there is no need to rush, there is also no need to delay this any more than necessary, and aren't SE's the only reason we don't all immediately go to 400 and see what happens? I know from my titration, which must be said, wasn't typical, that I have to take about 200 before SE's present. If I had taken 2 months to get there, what a waste of time it would have been.SE will make themselves immediately known, so there is not much risk of shooting too high.

[omahawagon]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Day 4: 15mgx1, 10mgx2, 35mg total. AF.

I had some sense of feeling dopey/mellow after taking 15mg...nothing intolerable and very mild, but it stuck with me all day. Furthermore, my stomach felt a bit unsteady...again, very mild, just enough to notice at times. Not quite nauseous, just a very slight feeling off and on of not being quite right. Neither affected my ability to function, but even without the advice here I wouldn't have taken 15mg for the 2nd dose in case it intensified. The 10mg 2nd dose went fine, and I will take one more 10mg dose closer to bedtime. I'm probably going to stick to 10mg tomorrow.

No desire to drink tonight. Not sure if anyone could credit Baclofen or just the fear that my stomach might fully revolt if I do, but it's really the last thing I want to do right now. Not that I'm complaining

Hippy, that is awesome and I really hope to hit the switch at a low dose, too. It is so encouraging to read success stories, and congrats on it working so well for you!

Bleep...I kind of feel the same way. The jump to 15mg today clearly had some affect so I will back off for now, but I won't rule out advancing at my own pace as long as I am comfortable with how I feel. Honestly the side effects I felt today were still *way* more tolerable than a typical hangover feels. I'd prefer this over that!

[omahawagon]

OmahaWagon's Bacflofen Journal

Day 5: 3x10mg, 30 mg total, drank around 7-8 units.

Day 6: 2x10mg, 20 mg total, AF.

So Day 5 I decided I needed to drink, and got pretty hammered on less than I normally drink and will say that was probably the Baclofen. Day 6 suffered through the typical hangover and skipped the morning Baclofen.

No side effects to note, yay! I'm going up to 12.5 mg per dose today to see how it goes.

I'm about to leave town for 5 days to go take care of some family matters, during which time I will probably not drink at all...it's much easier for me to abstain (or at least stop after a glass or two of wine) when I am away from home and out of my normal routine. So I am really going to push for this to be a kick start to a much longer abstinence. I'm sure like all Baclofeners I want that switch to happen RIGHT NOW, but since it most likely won't, I can at least try to push myself harder to abstain until it does.

I won't have much internet access so will update when I get back Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!