Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

[Xadrian]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Accel7;1627867 wrote: Now on six days AF. A new record for me. Won't be drinking tonight. Having zero temptations in the house helps. So does 250mg of bac.
Taking it day by day but very motivated to keep this string unbroken ...

Same amount of days AF for me too, Accel.
The only difference is that I know that I can do 50 days in a row on baclofen, because I did it before.

[spiritwolf333]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Accel7;1627867 wrote: Now on six days AF. A new record for me. Won't be drinking tonight. Having zero temptations in the house helps. So does 250mg of bac.
Taking it day by day but very motivated to keep this string unbroken ...
This is huge!!!! Congrats. And Accel, should you accidentally have a small slip, don't let it derail you. Just stay the baclofen course. I only say this out of experience and being an alcoholic. I know how difficult this road is to travel and one of the most difficult parts for me was and is kicking myself in the ass all the time. Baclofen sure helped me get back quickly on the wagon a few times.

And Accel -how amazing I felt the mornings after having not drank the day/night before; how about you?

Xadrian;1628058 wrote: Same amount of days AF for me too, Accel.
The only difference is that I know that I can do 50 days in a row on baclofen, because I did it before.

Congrats X

[neophyte]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

nice one Accel, when you string more AF days together, your mental health will improve markedly. This is the best part about being sober, you look back and think what the hell was i so worried about?

So long as the cravings are kept low thanks to baclofen then you know you've reached a switch.

i also like to keep a daily log of how i feel. anxiety for me is the reason why i drank. i write entries generally when im having a tough time and tend to forget to enter them when im feeling good. when im AF for a good amount of time then i dont complain as much.

[Accel7]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Thank you Spirit, Neo, Xadrian, all who posted here ... Means a LOT to have supporters keeping tabs and noting progress.
Now passing 7 days AF. Feel good. My wife says my face looks better. Can't say I'm not thinking about AL, but also not possessed by the notion of having some. Been having hot tea after dinner. Plus a little dark chocolate (I never have a sweet tooth but I suppose the sudden absence of AL sugar has me craving some).
Will stay at 250mg for a while, see if the calmness/indifference builds.
No AL in the house. No parties or social events lined up to mar progress. I'm hopeful I can extend this streak for a good stretch.
Will try. Thanks all.

[neophyte]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Accel7;1628290 wrote: Thank you Spirit, Neo, Xadrian, all who posted here ... Means a LOT to have supporters keeping tabs and noting progress.
Now passing 7 days AF. Feel good. My wife says my face looks better. Can't say I'm not thinking about AL, but also not possessed by the notion of having some. Been having hot tea after dinner. Plus a little dark chocolate (I never have a sweet tooth but I suppose the sudden absence of AL sugar has me craving some).
Ordered some more bac; will stay at 250mg for a while, see if the calmness/indifference builds.
No AL in the house. No parties or social events lined up to mar progress. I'm hopeful I can extend this streak for a good stretch.
Will try. Thanks all.

true about the sugar cravings, when i quit, i crave a lot of sugar and put on some weight, so i drink a lot of sugar free cordial now

funny you mention the face thing, when i did my initial 30 days, there was a photo of me smiling, i looked 10 years younger. alcohol dries out your skin and makes you look older.

[skullbabyland]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

In addition to drying out your skin, it also puffs us up and makes us look bloated. I look a lot more lean since giving up alcohol. And also true about the sugar thing- I try to moderate my sugar and I allow myself some dark chocolate too.

7 days AF is awesome, Accell. You'll feel even better when you reach 14, and onward! On a side note, don't be suprised if you feel lethargic, bleh, grey, kinda sad around your 3rd week... seems to hit us all, like clockwork. And of course it'll pass. Ups and downs are part of the journey. At any rate, these days you stay AF are crucial for letting the bac work effectively, so I'm really happy you're doing it.

[Yourfriend6116]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Accell that's great news! You are doing excellent. Keep it up and the days get easier and easier. Like skull said...don't get down on yourself if you have a slip up-just keep taking the pills and start another day. We will all still be here. Keep it up!

[spiritwolf333]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Speaking of skin (and teeth) and alcohol, check out a picture of our fellow member Mario -long recovered but still knows the hell of alcohol (Mario, I hope you don't mind me presenting your photo?)

[img]a href=[/img][/IMG]

[Xadrian]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

spiritwolf333;1628538 wrote: Speaking of skin (and teeth) and alcohol, check out a picture of our fellow member Mario -long recovered but still knows the hell of alcohol (Mario, I hope you don't mind me presenting your photo?)

[img]a href=[/img][/IMG]

Yeah, he really is a pretty guy, right? (At least, that's what his mother told him.)

[Accel7]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Two weeks. Tomorrow will mark 14 straight AF days for me--a new personal record since, oh, the Jurassic era.
I still can't say for sure that I've hit a "switch." I'm not indifferent to AL. Indeed, last night I was sorely tested. My wife and I went out with friends on a "guys" evening--to a place full of cool guy toys and lots of free-flowing wine, beer, and liquor. I can't say I didn't want to partake--I did. Yet even the part of me that thought I could probably have indulged in a glass or two of red--and then stopped--said, "No. I don't want to break my current streak." So I had a few boring bottles of water, some middling cheese, and drove home dead-sober. But also proud of myself for notching yet another AF nite.
Still at 250mg of BAC, but I'm going to start ratcheting down slowly. Pretty wiped out in the evenings; been going to bed between 9 and 10. And when I do stay up, I often finding myself nodding off, snorting myself awake (the BAC really does seem to soften up my throat--making my natural inclination to snore even worse).
Still ... All in all I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe I miss the AL, but I'm not desperate for it. No DTs, no violent pangs, etc. It helps that I have absolutely no AL in the house to tempt me.
Now let's see if I can stretch two weeks into three ...

[freedom4me]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Yea for you Accel7!!! I've been following your thread and learning from your experiences. I'm fairly new to the forum and just started Bac last Friday. So, you never know who is following your progress... Thank you for all of your honest posts. It helps everyone for us to be candid and upfront regarding what is going on with our journey. I'm very happy for your success.

[Samandkatharine]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Accel7;1630563 wrote: Two weeks. Tomorrow will mark 14 straight AF days for me--a new personal record since, oh, the Jurassic era.
I still can't say for sure that I've hit a "switch." I'm not indifferent to AL. Indeed, last night I was sorely tested. My wife and I went out with friends on a "guys" evening--to a place full of cool guy toys and lots of free-flowing wine, beer, and liquor. I can't say I didn't want to partake--I did. Yet even the part of me that thought I could probably have indulged in a glass or two of red--and then stopped--said, "No. I don't want to break my current streak." So I had a few boring bottles of water, some middling cheese, and drove home dead-sober. But also proud of myself for notching yet another AF nite.
Still at 250mg of BAC, but I'm going to start ratcheting down slowly. Pretty wiped out in the evenings; been going to bed between 9 and 10. And when I do stay up, I often finding myself nodding off, snorting myself awake (the BAC really does seem to soften up my throat--making my natural inclination to snore even worse).
Still ... All in all I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe I miss the AL, but I'm not desperate for it. No DTs, no violent pangs, etc. It helps that I have absolutely no AL in the house to tempt me.
Now let's see if I can stretch two weeks into three ...

Great job Accel!

I've snorted myself awake many times. :H:H. Makes it hard to watch movies on the iPad at night. I never finish them. I snore more than ever too.

Sam

[skullbabyland]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Awesome, Accel- I'm so glad you're doing this AF time. You got more than 2 weeks in your rearview mirror- I bet you can do two more. Good job not giving in on the guy's night.

I've recently been tempted to "give myself a night off" of sobriety for an upcoming rock show in a week. But when I look at my AF time I don't want to break my current streak either, so I'm pretty certain I've decided against it and will just stay sober and yes, perhaps be a little bored if I go to the show. For me, for now, that's really the better option by far.

Wishing you continued luck and success, Accel!

[Accel7]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Update for March 6:

I made it AF for three weeks. Then I slipped. Sort of.

The good news: I'm well on my way to four straight weeks SOBER.

We had guests over the night after my three-week AF anniversary. They like their wine. So I joined them. But I had half-glasses, and only consumed three glasses all evening. The three of us drinking went through 1 1/3 bottles in the entire night. Hell, I used to polish that off myself and then start wondering if there'd be vodka around after I finished the second bottle. So, yes, I stayed completely sober that night. Was I indifferent to AL? Can't say for sure. But I DID manage to stop before getting inebriated--and I only sipped in a "social" way.

After that, notched two nights AF, then last nite, at a sushi place, I had ONE beer. My wife couldn't believe it. "You're not ordering another?" she asked. Nope, I said. And I didn't drink when we got home. Yes, I WANTED more (I'm not switched or indifferent), but I have reached the state of clarity now where I can see my objective (sobriety and relief from drunken ass-of-myself-making) and I want to get there. The bac has certainly helped provide the willpower.

On that front, from a high of 250 mg/day I've slowly ramped down to 160. No issues or SEs at all (tho I'm still tired at times). Part of me wanted to go higher than 250--maybe 300 or even a bit more--to see if I'd really switch hard and for sure. But it was getting awfully expensive, and I was REALLY knocked out in the evenings (head drooping, snorting myself awake, etc., etc.). Perhaps my recent dabbles with AL are partly due to being on a lower dosage, but I don't think so. The fact that I was able to say "enough" both times is, to me, pretty telling. More impressive: I've got three bottles of wine still in the house left from the party last week, and I haven't touched it. One is the 2/3s bottle of red with an airtight cork in it--it's just begging someone to "finish me up so I don't go to waste." But I've looked at it and said, "nope."

Right now, at 160 mg, I don't feel like I'm on anything. No breathing issues, no chest pressure, and certainly none of the X-like headiness and lip-tingling I felt when first ramping up to 250. Just a little more tiredness than I'd like in the evenings.

That, and ... I can't lose any damn weight. Really starting to piss me off now. I normally follow what you'd pretty much call a "paleo" diet, and previously--even when drinking hard--all I had to do was go strict (no starch, no pasta, bread, etc.) and the lbs would just melt right off. I could drop 10-15 lbs easy. Now, here I am, not drinking ... which probably cuts out, oh, conservatively, at least 1000 sugar-fueled calories EVERY DAY ... and I'm not dropping a pound! Pretty strict on the paleo, too. Even been walking a couple miles a day again. Only thing I'm not doing yet is weight training, which I just don't have the energy for yet. I KNOW muscle-building is crucial for metabolism, but right now I can't do it. Another reason I've been titrating down on the bac.

Anyway, in a pretty good place all in all. I'll get the weight thing licked sooner or later. Better to concentrate on one big thing--stopping/curtailing the AL--for now. At this level of bac I can also go pretty far on my regular prescription alone (my doc kindly wrote me up for 140 mg/day).

I'm curious: do most of you plan to stay on bac--at least a maintenance dose--for good? Anybody weaned off completely? If so, has it worked out? And if you're maintaining, at what dosage are you comfortable?

Thanks all.

[Xadrian]

Started on Bac ... But Will I Stop?

Accel7;1635001 wrote: I'm curious: do most of you plan to stay on bac--at least a maintenance dose--for good? Anybody weaned off completely? If so, has it worked out? And if you're maintaining, at what dosage are you comfortable?

I did wean off completely and it turned out to be a bad idea.

It went well for a few months and then drinking started again slowly, almost to the point I was before baclofen. I had to go up all the way to the switch again.
So, please learn from my mistake and draw your own conclusion.

Typically, the maintenance dose appears to be somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of your switch dose. In my case the switch dose was 90 and the maintenance dose 50.

I don't believe that I have to be at 50 mg for the rest of my life (but hey, if so, I don't see the problem), but I do know that the brain chemistry rebalances itself just very, very slowly. Just watch those poor AA guys. How long does it take before their cravings disappear? Years?

My plan is to first drop 10 mgs each month until I reach my maintenance dose again. Then, 6 months later I will try to drop another 10 mgs.
If that goes well, I will try to drop another 10 mgs 1 year later, and so on.
But that will all depend on the results. Like I said, I wouldn't have a problem with taking 50 mgs baclofen for the rest of my life either.