Hit my Switch!

[MickeySoFine1972]

Hit my Switch!

Well its been 12 days now without a single drink!!!

I'm starting to think that perhaps I have over shot my switch though as the effects of baclofen are not showing any sign of calming down on the sleepiness front, (not that I mind, I just have work to do and its making it hard)

I'm considering dialing it down by 12.5mg to see if I can make it more manageable so I can focus enough to earn a living.

Mickey

[neophyte]

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Mickey, sides will get better slowly, 2-3 months time you might be back to normal. I overshot my switch too but i stuck with my dose and i sleep fine now, i cant recall exactly when it got bertter but it does

[Calikime]

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MickeySoFine1972;1654496 wrote: Well its been 12 days now without a single drink!!!

I'm starting to think that perhaps I have over shot my switch though as the effects of baclofen are not showing any sign of calming down on the sleepiness front, (not that I mind, I just have work to do and its making it hard)

I'm considering dialing it down by 12.5mg to see if I can make it more manageable so I can focus enough to earn a living.

Mickey

Congratulations again Mikey. I too overshot my switch by a little bit. What dose are you at now? I had many many side effects on top of sleepiness and I was really not feeling like myself. For me, I felt I couldn't continue at the dose I was at (140mg which I know isn't all that high), so I lowered it by 10 mg. for several days and then another 10. The difference was pretty amazing when I got 120 mg. I still have indifference, but I can mange the side effects so much better. The black cloud that was hanging over me lifted, although I still feel some of that from time to time, but the sleepiness is way more manageable. I still get sleepy sometimes in the early evening, but I am not falling asleep at my desk at work now. Now I am new at this like you are, so I am not suggesting you do what I did. I would take the advice of those who have gone before us. I am just relating my experience so far. I was also at 140 for well over a month.

I have a question for the seasoned members of this list. What is the reason behind staying at your switch dose for a period of time? Does it do something to your brain to kind of lock in the indifference? When you ultimately get to your maintenance dose you are still indifferent, so I was wondering what the reason behind holding steady at your higher switch dose was so important. There also seems to be a variance between just how long you are supposed to stay at your switch dose before coming back down.

Thanks,
Cali

[Xadrian]

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Calikime;1654594 wrote: I have a question for the seasoned members of this list. What is the reason behind staying at your switch dose for a period of time? Does it do something to your brain to kind of lock in the indifference? When you ultimately get to your maintenance dose you are still indifferent, so I was wondering what the reason behind holding steady at your higher switch dose was so important.

I can't tell you exactly. Maybe to build up a buffer. But since it only takes 3 to 4 days to notice a change in dose, that wouldn't be logical.

Anyway, better to be safe than to be sorry. There probably will be a good reason.
Perhaps it is to get used to the new mindset.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

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MickeySoFine1972;1654496 wrote: Well its been 12 days now without a single drink!!!

Woohoooo!

[MickeySoFine1972]

Hit my Switch!

Thanks for all the advice guys I'm happy to report that today is exactly 2 weeks since I hit my switch and i've managed to move downward by 12mg and feel much more manageable now!

As I recall the reason you stay for a while at your controlling dose is to cause your brain to have some reaction that has a snowball effect on the effects of the Baclofen so that even if you reduce the dose the effects are still being reinforced at the lower levels. Thats my take on it.

I read in the french doctors book that he only stayed at his controlling dose for about a week, in other cases I've seen some needing to take a couple of months so I think it depends on the person really. So a month seems like a safe guess for starters. If you need longer then I doubt its a sign that it doesnt work. More of a sign you have extra care needs.

Mickey

[MickeySoFine1972]

Hit my Switch!

Well its been a while so I thought an update was due!

Its exactly 4 weeks today that I last had any alcohol! I feel much better for it although I'm still having a few side effects from the Baclofen and I've begun to slowly lower the dose.

I'm currently finding that I find it harder going down than I did up as anything more than about a quater of a 25mg pill less a week makes be really tired!

I'm still VERY VERY happy to have gotten free of the alcohol though so I can't complain!

One thing is true though, all the stuff I was previously drowning with booze has resurfaced so I've been having to deal with all that without a drink which has been tuff but not unmanageable.

All in all I'm really chuffed!

Mickey

[Booze Blues]

Hit my Switch!

Hang in there Mickey! Good for you!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Hit my Switch!

Woot!

I can't tell you what to do about how much you're taking. I based what I did on how it made me feel. (Except when I was titrating up.) So, if something was particularly uncomfortable, I stopped doing that thing. I realized after a long while that I don't have to force it. If I'm paying attention, I can figure out what the right amount is. (Which is NOT to suggest that playing fast and loose with a dose is a good idea. Oh, no, my friend. I don't believe that is true at all. But within reason, after a little bit of time, and with an eye toward being reasonable, I would make a change--or not.)

That wasn't at all helpful, was it? :H

Thanks for the update. Glad you're doing well booze-wise and keep in mind the other stuff shall pass or some such.

[hopefulinOz]

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OK. So a few days of abstinence makes the difference? Maybe that's where I'm going wrong.

[emily]

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hopefulinOz;1661587 wrote: OK. So a few days of abstinence makes the difference? Maybe that's where I'm going wrong.

Me too Hopeful, I think I titrated down too quickly a while back and started drinking again.

Going to go back up to 120mg from today (highest I've been before) and go AF like Mickey did to cement the effects. God, I've done this before, what happened?

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Hit my Switch!

hopefulinOz;1661587 wrote: OK. So a few days of abstinence makes the difference? Maybe that's where I'm going wrong.

Wait. What makes you think you're doing something wrong, Hopeful? You've only been taking bac for about 10 days, right? It's a marathon, not a sprint, sister. Hang in there!

Emily, I'm sorry you're having trouble! I don't think it's uncommon to go too low and have to go back up again. Especially early on! Is that your experience?

[kronkcarr]

Hit my Switch!

Mickey,

I found the SEs harder when I went down in dosage too. I'm not sure if I'd forgotten what the SEs were like, or just expected with going down they'd be easier or if they were worse. The best advice I got was to not mess with the dosage too much. If I was at 60 mgs to sit there a bit and not go to 50 mgs and then to 60 mgs etc. It worked for me.

[emily]

Hit my Switch!

Ne/Neva Eva;1661604 wrote:

Emily, I'm sorry you're having trouble! I don't think it's uncommon to go too low and have to go back up again. Especially early on! Is that your experience?

Hi Ne, been at this for over a year now so don't know if that counts as early on. You are absolutely right, it is a marathon so I'm not despondent at all about what's happened.

I've only ever went as high as 120mg (last December) and only for a short period. Hit a very rocky road in my life at the same time which I now know was the start of massive changes. Why is this change stuff so hard? Anyway, the low is now turning into a high, as is the way with life and I'm really working hard on the causes of my lack of confidence, which manifests in feelings of inadequacy and anxiety, through hynotherapy and other mind techniques. It's working, very subtle but it's working.

I feel pretty good about life just now, so the increase in drinking is a bit strange. Although, nothing compared to what it was previously. I did notice this week that I thought my boss was angry with me and wow, did that trigger a lot of anxiety so I'm still trying to people please. My drinking increased because of this but because I was able to zone in on this being the reason why drinking increased I see as a massive plus and it is something I will discuss with my hypnotherapist (he's very good).

I'm confident that with the increase in bac and the work I'm doing on myself will push me up to another level.

My ultimate goal is not having anxiety and feeling happy, very simple. I will get there.