PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

[Fred_The_Cat]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

spiritwolf333;1653514 wrote: Sam -I will not apologize to an admitted active alcoholic who continuously portrays himself to be the god of recovery -Stuck(who continues to give out advice -go figure -how many years now Stuck?).

The subject matter you bring up is vitally important to alcoholics trying to reverse their deadly disease. Both newcomers and long-timers need to know about Post Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome. PAWs is real and it is exactly why Baclofen and other medications are needed to help us in our transformations.

Now is the time to stand up for the alcoholics who have suffered for so long under the life taking disease of alcoholism. And no, we don't need nor want advice from active alcoholics who are just trying to get another notch in their belt by offering what appears to be "solid" advice. This is ridiculous !!! If you have been given the chance to recover from this deadly disease, stand up and help others.

Truly, none of us have anything to lose by providing factual-experienced based information that might help others. This foolishness of being proud of how many posts we get on a thread (Stuck reminded me of his thread) is pitiful.

If we are not here to really help the next alcoholic or to get more information for ourselves, then it is a waste of time (unless we need an ego boost).

Let us each carry on and use common sense.

SW -2014

Damn man, have you ever stepped back and considered that smothering every thread with your influence is really bad etiquette? It's just like sending an email in the workplace, by clicking SEND you are asking the recipient for a block of their time- use it wisely. I don't even read your threads in their entirety anymore .

[StuckinLA]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Samandkatharine;1652079 wrote: Hi,
I am experiencing what I think is paws. After switching in January I am now having raging anxiety attacks, horrible dreams and my memory is worse now than ever. I looked up paws and I think it's rearing it's ugly head.:upset:

I will search the whole website for this ugly little reminder of my addiction but wanted a baclofenists point of view. Thanks, and no I don't want to drink at all.

I went back on my ADs and hope this will help.

Sam

All I'm sayin' is that, like Ne, post-switch wasn't all sunshine and daisies for me either. Some anxiety, the normal SE's at 240mgs, sleep problems, somnolence problems, and horrible nerve pain that is an uncommon SE. My anxiety also got to where I was scared of bac itself, and that persists to today. I don't know if that's PAWS related or not. Having been abstinent without bac for 7 months last year and 6 weeks now, the 'early' days are not easy.

Withdrawal and anxiety-type feelings are really bad around 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, in my experience, and that's as far as I got. And not like right on the day like I expected, either, but maybe almost a week or even two sort of in the vicinity of those milestones. I call it bullsh*t, because it suuuuuuuuuuucks. The important thing is that it passes and things *do* get better. You don't have to be afraid that this is 'just how you are' or that you've done some irreversible terrible damage to yourself (that was one of the constant fears I had).

[Fred_The_Cat]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Stuck, does this only come about after complete abstinence or majorly cutting back?

[StuckinLA]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Fred_The_Cat;1653800 wrote: Stuck, does this only come about after complete abstinence or majorly cutting back?

No idea, to be honest. I don't ever 'cut back', or at least haven't for the last couple years. It's all or nothing with me. But I'd imagine it can happen after seriously cutting down. Not sure if it would be better or worse or maybe both - more of a rollercoaster...

[Fred_The_Cat]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Feeling crappy lately, and there are so many factors in the mix I can't even begin to guess what the culprit is. Contracts are ending next month, could be depression coming back, could be reduced drinking to one night a week, but the only solution is just to keep moving anyway so why sweat it?

[spiritwolf333]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Stuck - I apologize. When I initially read your post, I thought that you were dismissing PAWs as a real condition. Again, I was wrong -my reply was foolish and unnecessary.

Fred -I am not quite sure what you are talking about when you say what you say that I smother all threads with...??. But that's ok too. Where all just trying to help each other and others -right?

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome is real and is the chief cause of relapse -period. Baclofen helps offset some of these symptoms.

And finally, if getting sober were easy, I would get drunk every night. But getting sober is not easy -it is not fun. Even with Baclofen or other medications, sobriety can almost seem impossible. As many of us know, it can be brutally painful if not impossible. For me, I have to try and use any tool available to remain sober. I have to try and ignore the thoughts that I could just go down to the store and buy some "easy" comfort medication -"Firewater". Baclofen offers all of us a much easier path if we are able to withstand the SEs long enough.

[Samandkatharine]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Ne/Neva Eva;1653691 wrote: Sam,

I had a period of euphoria when I quit drinking alcoholically. Then malaise and maybe anxiety. But I changed my baclofen dose so drastically that first year (up and down and repeat) that I have no idea what's normal-ish and what's related to abstinence. Life was also pretty dramatic for my first 6 months of sobriety. Add to it all that it feels like it was a looooong time ago and I've really got no idea what to think now. (I could reread my thread, but I find that excruciating.)

I'm curious about how much baclofen you're taking. (I have no idea if it's relevant!) How high did you go and when did you stop drinking? I still wonder if baclofen is an effective anxiolytic or antidepressant for some of us. (I doubt it, but again, I don't know.)

I do know it was an emotional roller coaster for a long time, and that it was very similar to periods of time that I got sober in AA or after rehab(s). So maybe it was PAWS or maybe it was just that I'd spent 96.73% of my adult life in the throes of addiction and change is hard. Either way, the shitty stuff passes and the goodness lasts. Hang in there. :l

Ne,
:l back at you. I switched at 80mg, and am at 60 now. I reached indifference in January. Baclofen was a great anti-anxiety med at first, but I think I was depressed when I started last August and the Bac hid it. Lots of drama ensued then ( older son and pot) and I had to stuff feelings down in order to deal with him.

I agree that the hardest thing for me has been my change in lifestyle, friends and my family relationships. All of that sober is crazy hard! Thanks again for your wisdom.

[Alky]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

To answer the original post, yes, I've had it in a bad way for about the past three days, even though I first hit indifference Thanksgiving weekend last year (AF for 60-ish days - I don't count to the exact day)

[Samandkatharine]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Alky;1653983 wrote: To answer the original post, yes, I've had it in a bad way for about the past three days, even though I first hit indifference Thanksgiving weekend last year (AF for 60-ish days - I don't count to the exact day)

I'm sorry Alky. It does suck.

Sam

[Ne/Neva Eva]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Samandkatharine;1653903 wrote: All of that sober is crazy hard! Thanks again for your wisdom.

Sober might be crazy hard sometimes, but it still beats crazy-ass-drunk. I am amazed at how completely dysfunctional my thought processes used to be when I was a drunk. It was a hella lousy way to live.

I can never tell if I feel better so I start to do something to make myself better, or if I start to do something to make myself feel better, so I get better. Whatever. The first step is the hardest and what follows becomes easier. (In my limited experience.) (Except trying to get sober with baclofen. That pretty much sucked all the way to the end. :H I'm joking. Sort of. I still think we're all real-life super-heroes for doing this thing.)

Thanks for thinking there's a bit of wisdom in my still-a-little-nutty world.

[neophyte]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Alky it was about 60-90 days for me too, i had PAWS, all the symptoms and on top of that baclofen sides that were slowly getting better. I didnt really know what was going on at the time, just powered through them.

[Fred_The_Cat]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

I'm beginning to think I might be experiencing this. The past couple weeks I've had intense sugar cravings around lunchtime, which is a PAWS symptom. I felt anxious, confused and out of my body at times.

[Samandkatharine]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

Fred_The_Cat;1656563 wrote: I'm beginning to think I might be experiencing this. The past couple weeks I've had intense sugar cravings around lunchtime, which is a PAWS symptom. I felt anxious, confused and out of my body at times.

I'm right there with ya... :durn: watching Dr. Phil and eating dark chocolate.

Sam

[spiritwolf333]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

My Way Out | diary of a high-functioning alcoholic

[Samandkatharine]

PAWS. Has anyone on baclofen had this?

spiritwolf333;1656601 wrote: My Way Out | diary of a high-functioning alcoholic

Thanks Spirit! The fact that my SF Giants beat your Braves tonight helps my crappy Paws.:upset:

Sam