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    #1

    Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

    Hi there everyone

    I am new to this website and also have only been taking Baclofen for a few days. It seems to me that this drug may work very well for me, I already feel less inclined to drink and out of habit went to the pub last night: had 2 beers and lent home; this is unheard of. The problem is that the drug makes me feel terrible: some tiredness but mostly my head feels like it is in a vice and I am dizzy for a couple of hours after a dose. I am only using about 70ml a day and trying to work up to about 180.

    Anyone got any experiences like this? Can the drug really be immediately effective at suppressing craving; I am definitely thinking about alcohol very differently, but I guess that could be because I feel lousy

    I guess I just want to chat about this. Anyone around who has the experience and time to chat?

    Cheers :thanks:
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    #2
    Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

    You say you have been taking it a "few days". Exactly how many days? It took me 3 months to get to 80mg. Maybe you have gone up to fast. There is literature to help you dose up. 70mg in a few days seems like a lot to me.

    SEs vary, but some go away with time. Some stick around forever, and some people are lucky and don't have any. Good luck! It does work.

    Sam

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      #3
      Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

      Hi Sam

      Thanks for the reply, I think you may be right: I thought 70 would be a good starting point to start working up from and didn't seem very much when I was reading about people on 300 a day. I think I got the dose wrong - I just decided to be hung-ho and immerse myself nice and fast so that I would get better faster. Ho hum, time to slow down and take my time. Patience isn't really my middle name!

      So what dose did you start on? And how long have you been taking it?

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        #4
        Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

        Hi SCRATCHYCAT :welcome: Side effects vary for everyone, and at different doses, but I would imagine that much of what you're experiencing could be due to the very fast titration you've undertaken.

        From everything I've read, most people go up by only 10 mg a week, or every 3 to 5 days, if they're tolerating it well. I personally went up quite a bit faster than this, but I seem to be a unique case; most people who do this end up having more side effects this way. And going up 70 mg in only a few days is VERY fast.

        I don't, however, think it's unusual that you're already experiencing a change in your attitude towards drinking. Some people have noticed a reduction in cravings at even lower doses than that.

        I'm having substantially lower cravings at 120 mg, while other people have gotten no benefit at all until going up a lot higher. And others had already hit their switch at a dose lower than what I'm taking. It's all very individual.

        As for the dizziness, and feeling that your head is in a vice, it's up to you what you want to do. If this is really worrisome/unbearable for you, then definitely cut back on the dosage and stay there for a while before you resume titrating up again, at a much slower rate.

        But if it's simply uncomfortable, and the reduced drinking is too exciting, then maybe you could try staying put at this dose for a while, to see if your body adjusts to the fast increase. But whatever you do, I would suggest not increasing any more at this point.

        By the way, I'm still titrating up to my switch myself, so I'm not one of the wise ones here, but I wish you the best.

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          #5
          Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

          Thanks lostinspace - thanks for the welcome and the advice. I've dropped to 50 today and the SE's are more manageable, still there, but nowhere near as debilitating. I've got an appointment with Dr Chick in a couple of weeks, so hopefully he'll help me stop being too kamikaze in my approach. I'm just desperate for the craziness of drinking to stop. I've been astonished at the change in my thinking already: so excited that this could work for me.

          :thanks:

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            #6
            Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

            I'm so glad you're feeling better today and that you have an appointment with a doctor. I, too, have a doctor's prescription, but ended up with an overstock of bac when things got really busy at work and I started taking it haphazardly, then not at all. This allowed me to titrate up again much faster than recommended.

            And I can't recommend developing a good reminder system for taking your doses enough. I started to make progress with bac the first time, then relapsed hard when I stopped taking it. Try to be as consistent as you can when you develop a good titration system with Dr. Chick.

            It's great to hear how much it has already helped you. I think it will work for you. Keep us updated

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              #7
              Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

              Yeah 70mg is quite high for a starting point. Since you're already above usual starting doses, I say see how 50 goes for a few days. I mean, you're not flipping out or anything. Just uncomfortable - not to say discomfort doesn't matter, but it probably should go away. Try not to increase doses faster than 4 or 5 days. And increase or decrease only about 10mg at a time.

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                #8
                Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

                Thanks for the replies. I can't believe it's a Friday night and I'm at home and sober - it's verging on miraculous. I do have a craving right now, but I'm not too worried as it's for jelly babies! Don't ask, I have no idea

                I will definitely be keeping in touch on this forum: I feel such optimism and that's been missing for a very long time.

                Thanks again x

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                  #9
                  Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

                  First time I tried last year I want the hung ho approach thinking I'd need to get to 300 for some crazy reason. It didn't end well to put it mildly.

                  This time out I started a 25 and went up 25 every 4 days. I've been at 100 for over a week now and my cravings are more or less gone. I think I'm a quick responder thought so your millage may vary but I did feel the effects from as low as 50mg.

                  My SEs haven't been to bad. Definitely go by feel. This is not a one fits all drug.

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                    #10
                    Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

                    Dr Chick doesn't go higher than 100 as far as I'm aware so there's no real possibility of a gung ho approach even if you wanted to.

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                      #11
                      Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

                      Wow - 300 sounds scary, though I thought I'd have a need for enormous quantities before I tried it. It's incredible to think a drug could be all it takes to get me out of the hell, and a small dose at that. I didn't realise my thinking would change, I thought I'd be stuck with the same miserable mindset; it's almost the most exciting part of all

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                        #12
                        Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

                        Its a good feeling. I'm waiting on it stopping working. It just seems to have been to easy but I know it doesn't work like that so I'm just thanking my lucky stars.

                        Its a powerful drug. I could hold my own with most on life gone by with rec drugs but at 120 I'm really feeling effects of this one. Cravings are nill. SEs are there but manageable and from what I've gathered... They will subside. The sexual SE is bugging me at the minute but for the time being I'll just try and motor through

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Baclofen: SE's and Dosage

                          tee111;1683953 wrote: Its a good feeling. I'm waiting on it stopping working.
                          Don't hold your breath.

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