Freedom Journey with Baclofen

[skullbabyland]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Interesting- I too have been looking into magnesium deficiency for a few SE's that have popped up as of late (namely, itchy skin or feeling of crawling ants) especially around my arms and hands. I'm doing blood tests soon and will post what I find.

Sam, thanks for the tip about Magnesium Chloride, I'll look into that for baths.

I can't speak to the muscle soreness thing except to say that my muscles get really sore if I DON'T excercise- my stiting/desk job lifestyle makes it very painful if I don't exercise. Of course, my muscles feel sore after lifting weights but it's the good kind of sore.

Freedom- how did the 4 beers go? Where you able to stop after 4 without too much difficulty, or? How did they taste, how bad is the hangover etc? Just curious to hear your thoughts on this. Hope you are well

[freedom4me]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Sam: thanks for the tip re: magnesium glycinate. I will get some of that.

Skull: the 4 beers tasted fine ( I added limes to make it taste better), and I did easily stop at 4. While drinking, it felt the same as it used to, but the sleep that night was broken and not deep. The hangover, oh yes! It was awful! I felt like a truck had run over me... being extremely tired all day, barely able to make it. Even tried to take a nap, but could not sleep. That kind of hangover is not something I want to go through again and will definitely deter me from drinking any AL. It has to be due to the baclofen since I use to drink a lot more and not have a hangover at all. Even at the lower doses (up to 50mg), I did not have a hangover like that! Good bye to AL, the old beast!

[freedom4me]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Update: I have been on baclofen for 5 wks now, titrated up to 80mg with much difficulty. I was not on any other meds prior to baclofen except for vitamins. I had not even taken the vitamins regularly until the past 2 weeks. I had not been diagnosed with any health problems that I know of what-so-ever. I did not have a doc who would prescribe and even if I did secure a doc such as my GP, he would have been going into uncharted territory for him. I have done this on my own via mail order. The side effects all the way up to 80mg have been very difficult...severe forgetfulness, inability to focus on anything, lack of motivation, extreme muscle weakness/pain (above 50mg) with waves of pain in my upper thighs at night while trying to sleep and constant pain in my upper bac/lower back/behind knees (when above 50mg), inability to express myself verbally consistently (difficulty finding words), withdrawal from usual activities due to lack of interest, extreme daytime tiredness with inability to take a nap during day due to racing thoughts when I try to nap, broken sleep at night (resulting in exacerbation of all SE the next day), numbness & tingling in hands/arms when lifted above elbow level at anytime (day or night), apathetic feeling to life in general, and flat mood. Once I lowered dose to less than 50mg the severe muscle pain went away for the most part, but continued in my left back/hip area until I got less than 20mg. The numbness/tingling in hands/arms went away below 40mg. The feelings of apathy, muscle weakness, forgetfulness, lack of motivation, and life interest did not go away until I got below 20mg (today). My immediate family thought I was going crazy or dying over the past few weeks since I was not my usual motivated, excited self.

Due to the above SE, I have reduced my dose from 80mg to 15mg over the past 1.5 weeks. By the end of this weekend I will be at 0mg and off of baclofen. This med is not for me. Although I had many drink free days in the past 5 weeks, they have not all been drink free, which exacerbated the SE the next day after drinking (which included severe anxiety which was worse due to taking baclofen). Although, I did not drink as much as I had been drinking when I did drink, it felt like I had the day after. Actually, my pre-baclofen hangovers were a breeze compare to how I felt after taking baclofen and drinking. Due to the bad SE I had from the baclofen, I just wanted to feel better, so would drink on occasion, simply to have a period of feeling better since the med made me feel so badly.

I applaud ANYONE that can get away from alcohol abuse with baclofen. I am just not one of them. I will try another way.

Thank you for your care, support, and concern. It is greatly appreciated. When I find "my way out" I will post and let all of you know. I have never taken any medications in my life, this was the first (except for your usual antibiotic for acute infection). I am actively seeking a non-drug solution to my problem. I am positive that I will find it.

[Samandkatharine]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Freedom, come back anytime. :l. Baclofen can be a godsend or he'll for some. Maybe it's the brand you are taking? Some brands are worse SE wise.

Sam

[spiritwolf333]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

HI Freedom -Thanks for posting. Baclofen, while titrating up, seems to provide much difficulty to many. This is even so for those taking it for non-alcohol related illnesses. Side effects seem to knock many off the baclofen wagon before they get started good.

I wish you the best of luck in your af travels.

[Samandkatharine]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Freedom,
If you are still around, please read.

I took Bac for 4 months and decided to stop because I was still drinking. Why do both, I wondered. I continued to drink my wine at night.

When daylight savings time changed in the fall the darkness killed me emotionally. My drinking got worse, and I was full of anxiety. I decided to restart the baclofen, and I also got the stomach flu which kept me from eating or drinking for 3 days. Those sober days led to my switch. I switched and am still "sober". I've dabbled in a beer or 1 glass of wine, but I don't want more. By dabble I mean last week at a spring training game or a glass of wine at home maybe once a month.
Not to toot my own horn, but if you want to start the baclofen again it will be there. We will be there for you too.:l

Sam

[freedom4me]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Thank you S&K and Spirit for your comments. I am still around and reading various posts. There is a solution for my AL problem, but Baclofen is not a solution for me. The SE were way too debilitating and life restricting. I have a friend who started taking baclofen shortly after me and that person is doing very well on it at a low dose. It is also very scary to me to think about being a a really high dose and, for one reason or another, not having enough to taper down. As I stated before, I applaud all of you who are taking baclofen and have successfully stopped AL long term.

[spiritwolf333]

Freedom Journey with Baclofen

Samandkatharine;1643134 wrote: Freedom,
If you are still around, please read.

I took Bac for 4 months and decided to stop because I was still drinking. Why do both, I wondered. I continued to drink my wine at night.

When daylight savings time changed in the fall the darkness killed me emotionally. My drinking got worse, and I was full of anxiety. I decided to restart the baclofen, and I also got the stomach flu which kept me from eating or drinking for 3 days. Those sober days led to my switch. I switched and am still "sober". I've dabbled in a beer or 1 glass of wine, but I don't want more. By dabble I mean last week at a spring training game or a glass of wine at home maybe once a month.
Not to toot my own horn, but if you want to start the baclofen again it will be there. We will be there for you too.:l

Sam

This is a helpful-meaningful post Sam. Thanks