4th day on Baclofen

[nanaT]

well its day 4 and I think it's starting to work. This low grade headache sucks but it's better than hangover head. I'm at 15mg 3 times a day. I'm going up to 20 tom so that's 60 total. My brand is Pacifen. I have drank every night but not to blackout like before. I don't feel deprived either. Last night had a margarita with dinner. Threw it up about 10 minutes later then had stomach issues and took acid reducer like 3 times during the night. I also take ambien to sleep. Is that ok????

[neophyte]

4th day on Baclofen

first congrats on your fast successes, it's still early days though. it took me nearly 120 days to find indifference

not a dr here.

Be careful mixing ambien, alcohol and baclofen all togeather, they all act to depress your breathing. at the least just try to keep the doses stable of alcohol and ambien and to try to dimish them going up. going up is going to be tough sleep wise though, so i would caution you to not use more ambien to try and sleep. when i was going up in baclofen, in an attempt to combat night time insomnia, i tried using xanax and valium to sleep, but it didnt help and in hindsight was a bad idea given that my breathing was shallow when i was asleep.

just be prepared for shitty sleep which will occur as you go up in dose, and try not to run to booze or ambien to resolve it.

exersize is the best way to deal with the insomnia, you wont want to do it going up, but sleeping will be easier.

[nanaT]

4th day on Baclofen

I've noticed I've been talking to myself out loud a LOT these past 4 days. I feel a little crazy.

[Samandkatharine]

4th day on Baclofen

Nana,

Where did you get your dosing schedule from? I'm just curious- not judging. If you have zero SEs at your titration then I'm a light weight.

I take a sleep aid at night, but I do not mix it with alcohol. Baclofen ramped up my insomnia
so I take something at the smallest dose right before bed. Rather than put me to sleep, it lets me go back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night. Trolls will bash you right and left about this but eff them. Don't take Ambien, alcohol and baclofen, please? What does help more than anything else is a predictable routine at night. Alcohol never let me have that.

Sam

[Diver]

4th day on Baclofen

Nana,
I used to rely on Ambien to help me sleep before starting baclofen. I continued to use it but took only a half dose if I had been drinking. As the others have mentioned this is not a good practice and I am not recommending it. In fact after reading here sometime ago, that this was a dangerous practice I stopped using Ambien and found out that I slept great without it. I think that it was just another crutch that I was using and after stopping it I found that I could get a great night’s sleep and be more alert in the morning.

Give it a try …

[Jazi's Mum]

4th day on Baclofen

Hi Nana. Glad you are having good results with bac. I had my first indifference experience very early too but continued upwards and now take 80 per day.

At a very low dose I slept like a baby! Now not so good. But I do find the relaxation effect of bac makes waking up so much better. I'm able to just wait and then I drift off again. I too urge you to find something else other than the Ambien. I've never taken anything even when in the past I couldn't sleep because I was afraid. Have you tried melatonin?

Please keep posting!
JMum

[emc]

4th day on Baclofen

Hi nanaT,
good that you finally start the theraphy! ;-)

As Samandkatharine... i have the same question about the scheduling: from where it comes from?
To me it seems that you already start too fast.
Baclofen treatment works really well but it require patience and regularity.
45mg on 4th day and the idea of already go up to 20x3 does not convince me at all, sorry.
The effect of "a dose" needs few days to appear/consolidate... the body need to slowly "integrate it".

To avoid SE i would suggest you to go slower.
Titrate up of 10mg every 3-5 days is a tested scheduling that works for most and give results (as Xadrian was advicing you on your other thread)

Let us know little more...

[tlcasual]

4th day on Baclofen

I think the key is to listen to your body. Some people tolerant it well.. some don't. I didn't really feel any SEs until I hit about 80mg. Don't worry though, you'll know soon enough when to slow things down. You could go SE free up to 150mg and all of a sudden feel like you've been hit by a truck.

I'd agree though that you should give 3-5 days for each dose to settle.

[Samandkatharine]

4th day on Baclofen

Dr. Amneison has a titration schedule, and Dr. Levin had one too. Do a search on this forum and you will find many.

Most of us have done a hybrid of Dr. A's, and most prudent is going slow and steady. I increased by 5mg every week until I switched at 80mg. I'm not going lower. Side effects are more sobriety related and not med induced.:durn:

Sam

[freedom4me]

4th day on Baclofen

Just FYI from an RN and avidly into natural remedies that work, Aloe Vera Juice works very well to reduce acute acid reflux and if taken at least twice a day over a period of time (30 or more days), helps to heal the digestive system of chronic acid reflux, as well as other digestive problems. You can order Aloe Vera Juice on line. I usually get it from vitacost.com in the gallon jug made by George's. Taken as 1 oz twice a day and as needed(tastes and looks like water) has been known to help immediately and long term. Drinking the entire gallon would not hurt you, so no dosage overload here. This is just something I thought would help rather than taking more medication. I have specific reasons for not taking OTC or prescription acid reducers, if you would like to hear them, let me know. Also, Benedryl helps me with going to sleep and staying asleep. Benedryl is very mild and non habit forming. I usually take 25-50mg each night 20-30mins before going to bed (yes, even after drinking alcohol). I try to stick with the one tab 25mg dose, but if I feel a bit wired and know I will have trouble sleeping, I take 2 tabs which is 50mgs. Again, just FYI...and what works for me and others I have recommended it to.

[emc]

4th day on Baclofen

hi nanaT,
some news?
How is going your scheduling?

[nanaT]

4th day on Baclofen

thank You all for Your responses!! I am still doing well. I am going to slow down the up dosing as I see that others have had a hard time when going up too quickly. I have also changed my schedule. I was taking my doses at 9am 3pm and 9pm. I got up this morning at 6am and took some and then again at noon and I will again at 6pm. I finally figured out that I need to take the meds before the craving takes over in the evenings. I am going to try and ween off the ambien. I know it's not good for me anyway. I take Viibryd for depression and so I can't take melatonin as it gives me awful headaches. I will look into the aloe juice freedom4me thank You.

[freedom4me]

4th day on Baclofen

Great news, Nana! I'm following your posts...I am expecting to start Baclofen later this week when it comes in the mail...I'm very excited but will go very, very slow too. I'm glad you're gonna try the aloe juice...it works well, even in immediate situation. God Speed and keep up the good work!