Baclofen vs. the power of routine

[davelet]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

Hi Captain. My experience is similar to yours - once I titrated above about 120 the side effects were unbearable. Almost impossible to drag myself out of bed in the morning and go to work (and staying in bed until noon at the weekends), absolutely no motivation at work and I am struggling to do my job. I can get in the odd alcohol-free night but I just do not know what to do with myself when I have an alcohol-free night and feeling like a zombie and the complete lack of motivation doesn't help. The odd thing is that when I have a drink I'm then wide awake and buzzing and manage to get a lot done - isn't that the opposite of what baclofen+alcohol is meant to do?

Right now I'm thinking of ending this baclofen journey and going back to the Sinclair method on which I was making steady, albeit slow, progress.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

Hi Dave.

I can't speak to your situation exactly, but...I wouldn't stay at a level that was making me completely miserable. Particularly if I was at the point of giving up. I also think that drinking makes everything worse. (Well, I suppose we all know that or else we wouldn't be here.) Even now, a drink or two and I feel remarkably lousy for a day or two afterward. Granted I'm old-ish. And apparently a lightweight now. But you get my point.

Hope it gets better for you.

[davelet]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

Hi Ne

Thank you for your kind words.

I have managed an alcohol free night and can hardly believe it. The baclofen was making me miserable just due to lack of energy and over sleepiness so I have started titrating down, was on 140 mg today down from 150mg yesterday. The thing that amazed me was that I *knew* I didn't want a drink but I knew that if I went home I would take a drink, so I stayed in the office until stupidly late (8pm) and then went to the church and practiced the organ (I play to a reasonable standard) until 10.30pm and then came home and ate something and even though there is gin in the drinks rack I have managed to resist without too much effort. Gosh!

I should go to bed now before grabibing the bottle of gin but maybe something is starting to happen. I hope so.

Dave.

[bleep]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

I keep coming back to this thread thinking that I have something to add, but most of what I have to say has already been said by others.

I just wanted to reiterate that the power of habit can be surprisingly strong and difficult to break, until you grit your teeth, put your head down, and then suddenly realise that 3 days have gone by and you seem to be in a different place. It is really worth giving it that initial couple of days, just to see. If you aren't yet at the correct level nothing much will happen, but if you are it is game-changing.

[bleep]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

I keep coming back to this thread thinking that I have something to add, but most of what I have to say has already been said by others.

I just wanted to reiterate that the power of habit can be surprisingly strong and difficult to break, until you grit your teeth, put your head down, and then suddenly realise that 3 days have gone by and you seem to be in a different place. It is really worth giving it that initial couple of days, just to see. If you aren't yet at the correct level nothing much will happen, but if you are it is game-changing.

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

bleep;1685420 wrote: I keep coming back to this thread thinking that I have something to add, but most of what I have to say has already been said by others.

I just wanted to reiterate that the power of habit can be surprisingly strong and difficult to break, until you grit your teeth, put your head down, and then suddenly realise that 3 days have gone by and you seem to be in a different place. It is really worth giving it that initial couple of days, just to see. If you aren't yet at the correct level nothing much will happen, but if you are it is game-changing.

Thanks for this post Bleep. It reminded me of article that I had read -at the following link:

How to Break a Bad Habit | The Chopra Center

[bleep]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

Deepak Chopra is an idiot.

In no way do I mean that to be an attack on you spirit. The guy is just full of shit.

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

bleep;1685780 wrote: Deepak Chopra is an idiot.

In no way do I mean that to be an attack on you spirit. The guy is just full of shit.

Bleep, how do you really feel about this Deepak fellow? JK-LoL

In the article, they referred to the three day grace period that you did while trying to eliminate a habit.

Now Bleep, I will be apprehensive about posting anything from Wayne Dyer - Oprah - or Dr. Ed Bacon. My main resources for guidance. Damn it man -I have to find new resources.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

spiritwolf333;1685946 wrote: I have to find new resources.

That is not a bad idea at all. :l

[guapo]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

There are simple ways to break habits. Just think habit = reward, and instead of the drink taking you there, find something else. Exercise, meditate, do a project or whatever.

Over time, the idea is that the "reward" of drinking isn't such a compelling habit anymore, as other things now are.

There's lots about this for free on the internet

[spiritwolf333]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

Ne/Neva Eva;1685982 wrote: That is not a bad idea at all. :l

Perhaps my new primary sources of information should be from Ne and Bleep? Oprah and Wayne still love you Ne.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

If the guru is a bazillionaire who exists to peddle crap to as many people as possible, but who has absolutely no medical background, no scientific background, and no legitimate spiritual path, then I'm pretty sure they wouldn't like me.

Or if, in the case of whatshisname, who actually has a medical degree from Harvard (no less) and still doesn't believe that addiction is primarily a function of biochemical dysfunction, then I KNOW I don't like him. (I will add that we have had several exchanges and he professes to like me. But that's silly and feels very pedantic and I really wish he would stop writing trash. just sayin'. [Sorry Reggie])

I do like Tolle, though.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Baclofen vs. the power of routine

Here are some listening/reading resources that I find both helpful and very interesting:

Dharma Seed

Especially Jack Kornfield:
Dharma Seed - Jack Kornfield's Dharma Talks

Anything having to do with Mindfulness Meditation, particularly Jon Kabat-Zinn. He's a doctor who delved into and in many ways demystified meditation. Now it's a program used to help people deal with medical issues.

Jon Kabat-Zinn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This one is great for an understanding of addiction and the time and place in which we live:

http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Overcomi...keywords=clean

They were recommended to me from people here! (Thanks, friends!)