When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

[Eber]

Not there yet at 120, 140 today because I had some extra, but just curious. I feel like I'm getting closer, but I keep trying to test my resolve, which might not be a great idea (too soon..)

But I'm curious how much folks who have hit it needed to take vs. how much you were drinking. I was at about 5 drinks a day to maintain and occasionally was bingeing out of control, which got me into trouble with relationships and work. I'm feeling right now like I'm much more in control, but definitely have not hit a point of indifference. It's only been about a week and a half, however.

I'm trying to address other issues that have gotten me here as well, and I do find that taking 5-HTP is helping me have a generally much more positive outlook on life, which helps a lot.

How much bac did people have to take vs. how much they were drinking to find that "switch"? thanks!

[neophyte]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

For me it was 295 mg. I take 300mg now just because its easier to measure. I was drinking between 350-700mls of whiskey everyday for 5 years.

There is a correlation between the amount of drinking and baclofen dose required, its also correlated to pre existing mental health problems.

[Molly78]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

When I was drinking (about a bottle of wine+ a day) & taking baclofen, I got up to about 200mg without hitting my swich - this was too high & caused problems for me so I stopped the bac rather than the alcoho. Great thinking, there.

I finally stopped drinking & took the bac dose up quite quickly to about 100mg & that was it. My maintenance dose is now 50-75mg I find if I do drink now, I don't want so much BUT I have to increase the bac the next couple of days to reach indifference again.

There is such a variety of experiences on here it seems there are different ways you can do it.

[StuckinLA]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

It's a tricky thing, the switch dose. And from what I've read here over the last 3 years or so, it does NOT appear correlated to the amount of alcohol consumed on average, or gender, or body mass. Maybe pre-existing mental health issues, but who knows. I was a 10-12 beers and 350-500ml of whiskey per day drinker. Switch dose at 240mg or right around there, though I found serious craving reduction at and above around 190mg.

For whatever reason, 180, 240, 320 seem to be common switch doses, though some are as low as 90.

[Samandkatharine]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

I started taking Bac last summer and switched at 80mg in January.

Sam

[neophyte]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

I mentioned that there is a correlation between the number of drinks and pre existing mental disorders from the 2 year study

"Significant relationships were found between the amount in grams of alcohol taken before treatment and the maximal dose of baclofen required, and between the existence of a mental disorder and a lesser effect of baclofen."

Suppression of Alcohol Dependence Using Baclofen: A 2-Year Observational Study of 100 Patients

is there something more up to date to indicates otherwise? I'm curious to learn more if so.

[kronkcarr]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

I've been trying to find the thread here about amounts drank and switch dose. It seemed that there was no correlation with the posters here. I drank a bottle of wine a night and titrated really slowly because of my dr. I switched at 80 mgs and maintain at 40 mgs.

[Lostinspace]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

Thank you for sharing that, Molly. I think I remember reading many months ago - in my pre-member, lurking days - that there were other people who found that their switch dose was significantly lower when they titrated up without drinking, compared to previous titrations in which they drank all the way up to their switch. I’m not sure if this still applies to people like me (who are still in the process of tapering down on drinking while going up on bac, as opposed to being fully detoxed before starting on bac), but it gives me hope nonetheless. Glad you were able to make it work the second time around!

[Eber]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

Went up to 150mg last evening into today.. Still not there, but I'll be patient..

For reference, I was drinking between 200-400ml of liquor a day.. And had been over-drinking daily for at least 5 years.. Hoping to hit it soon. I definitely have noticed a difference, but definitely not indifference! The promise of it sounds great though.. I've been lucky in that I've been able to increase the dosage quickly with minimal side-effects, maybe a little more tired in the evenings but that's it. Oh, and lasting a bit longer in the sack, mostly a good thing but to the occasional frustration of my girlfriend..!

Maybe another thing to throw out there, any senses of time vs. dosage? Like, when at a new dosage, does it take a while for the effect to set in?

I'm very curious as this feels like a bit of an experiment that I'm running here, and it definitely seems like there's a shortage of data on what to expect..

[Calikime]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

Palladium;1675635 wrote:

I wasn't drinking dependently when I started my titration. It helps if you can cut out?or at least cut down?your alcohol consumption during that period. Otherwise, it is easy to titrate past your switch because the booze is masking the therapeutic effect of baclofen.

I really resonate with what Palladium wrote. I was one of the ones who continued to drink while titrating up on baclofen. I am sure I drank past my switch dose. When I was at 140 I made the decision to try and stop having wine at night. I was already having experiences where I would drink a glass or two and could feel that I could stop. My usual habit was to drink close to a bottle of wine a night. Almost as soon as I did that I knew I had reached indifference. Right now I am at 60 mgs and still indifferent.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

I don't know that it's wise to make assumptions about what correlates to the switch dose. If it were related to something like weight than it would be relatively easy. But it's not.

That said, it makes sense to me that it is affected by both regular intake and by length of use. That doesn't mean that's what the X factor is, though.

I'm also not sure that you can "drink past the switch". I drank less and less as I went up and up. So did my husband.

That said, it makes sense to me that attempting to abstain, or tapering, or drinking a lot less, may help the process. I know for sure that drinking excessively while titrating makes the whole process much more painful. (I mostly know this for sure because drinking excessively makes almost everything much more painful.)

Keep in mind that in one of the studies the patients were suffering from liver disease. That would indicate that they had the disease really bad, and for a long time. (Or were they just really unlucky?) They found relief at 30 mg. That might indicate that abstinence as a goal increases the chances of successfully abstaining, regardless of the elusive switch.

Original question: I got up to 320 mg over 4 months. My husband was about the same, but in less than 3 months.

[Spellbound]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

I've hit my switch 3 different times but each one at 240 (tho I went to 260 to be certain). Currently @ 160. I hit my switch in the 21 March. I drank 1 bottle of wine most nights.

[MusicCreationer]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

My ultimate switch happened at 520mg. I am now at 480 but sometimes go back up to 520. I am also constantly around drugs and alcohol almost every day working in the music industry. For me I have the choice not to drink. I stopped drinking daily between 8 and 12 beers and 4-6 shots a day sometimes way more depending on what drugs were around- around 400-440 mg's. I jumped up 100 mgs at that point a close friend of mine called it "shock the system" and things got allot easier. In my case its very hard to be away from the temptation. I do not and could not drink how I used to, now. My thinking started to change right away in the early 100's. I have no idea what my tolerance would have been had I had a 9-5 or somewhat of a more simple lifestyle. Baclofen saved my life. There is no doubt I would not be here typing if I hadn't had found this amazing treatment a little over 2 and 1/2 years ago.

I also didn't have the "super ultimate switch" happen. I believe that if I was not around drinking all the time, that I could have had more of a switch. I don't think about alcohol anymore really. I guess that makes me indifferent. Although I do occasionally like to drink my tolerance is so low now and the hangovers are so real that its just not worth it most of the time.

[kronkcarr]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

I just got back from Puerto Rico where I did drink daily but it was different drinking on this trip. I drank a Mojito as a ritual with a friend, had a nice cold local beer on the beach, tried South American wine and I drank some local rum to taste the difference in flavor. Never once did I crave a drink or get drunk. I've been home 2 days, haven't drank and haven't had a thought to drink. I stayed at my maintenance dose of 40 mgs the entire time.

[Samandkatharine]

When did y'all hit your swich on baclofen?

kronkcarr;1680805 wrote: I just got back from Puerto Rico where I did drink daily but it was different drinking on this trip. I drank a Mojito as a ritual with a friend, had a nice cold local beer on the beach, tried South American wine and I drank some local rum to taste the difference in flavor. Never once did I crave a drink or get drunk. I've been home 2 days, haven't drank and haven't had a thought to drink. I stayed at my maintenance dose of 40 mgs the entire time.

Sounds fun!! I hate coming home from vacations like yours. :goodjob:

Sam