Starting Baclofen

[brettham]

Can someone advise what dosage of Baclofen I should start with. I assume I'll need to get to 200 mg to start to have any effect. Any help would be much appreciated. How to increase dosage per week, etc. Have been taking Campral, but ran out and Dr. wouldn't refill. After much research, I thought this might help me with cravings more so than Campral, which does help somewhat.

Brett

[_serenity_]

Welcome, Brett!

There are a number of different strategies for starting out with baclofen, but I can't emphasize enough to take it slow and steady. A common starting point is to take 5 mgs, three times a day for the first three days and then gradually increasing your dosage. You might start at 15 mgs a day, and after three days start adding an extra 10 mgs/day every three days. So 5/5/5 for three days, then 5/10/10 for three days, then 10/10/15 for three days etc. When I started taking bac I started at 5/5/5 and added 20 mgs/day once a week. So 15 mgs/day, then 35, then 55 etc. You might feel fine at first (I remember feeling profoundly sleepy). Don't try to rush the process and you'll be rewarded in the long run. Baclofen is amazing. It changed my life in so many ways. You shouldn't assume it will be 200 mgs/day for your switch, as everyone is wired differently. A number of men in this forum have found indifference at less than 100 mgs/day, others have to go up to 300+. Go slow, keep track of your doses, and keep the faith. These pills are magical. Welcome to the forum!

*Edited to add this: please, please do not let any naysayers or trolls from this place scare you away. You have found the right place, and there are many supportive people on this forum. You do not have to be in a place of sobriety to start baclofen. I drank every single day while going up in dosage, all the way until I hit my "switch" almost 5 years ago.

[Mom21961]

Baclofen prescribing guide

You may find this helpful:

Prescribing Guide for Baclofen in the Treatment of Alcoholism-Final Version

Best of luck to you on your journey!

[Fast twitch]

do you still take baclofen 5 years on , and stayed sober. did u find as you were drinking going up the doses u were still getting an affect. I get no affect from alcohol now seems pointless to drink only hit 60mg. but im not content i feel like a dry drunk

[brettham]

Fast, didn't really understand your post. Have you been taking Bac for at 6omg a day and don't drink? Could you explain what a dry drunk feels like?

[Mentium]

'Dry drunk' is a term coined in AA to refer to people who stop drinking but their behaviour remains as it was when drinking. Typically it is used for people who don't 'work the Steps' or deal with underlying issues that make alcohol so attractive to some of us (depression, anxiety, social phobia and such). Personally I think it is nonsense and one of the many myths and irrationalities one finds in AA. It is true enough that not dealing with underlying causes can increase the likelihood of relapsing but frankly all that really matters if one decides to abstain is abstention.

[Molly78]

"seems pointless to drink but I'm not content" suggests there are underlying problems not dealt with? Once you're alcohol free, you need to address these Fast.

[Spiritfree]

"seems pointless to drink but I'm not content" suggests there are underlying problems not dealt with? Once you're alcohol free, you need to address these Fast.

Great point Molly78. Essentially, not finding ways to change one's life (thinking) never allows one to be free. Not changing or eliminating underlying alcohol driven symptoms will always keep one in the mind frame set of alcoholic - regardless of medications (baclofen/gabepentin,etc.). I have always liked and understood the following:

"A person with chemical dependency issues who has given up alcohol and drugs, but made no internal emotional or behavioral changes. Essentially, the only difference in these individuals is the absence of a substance. The popular analogy in recovery is, “…if you sober up a horse thief, what do you get? A sober horse thief.”

[Fast twitch]

HI Brettham, wat i mean by dry drunk is - i still really want to drink, but i dont. some ppl in AA say it , like u can be not drink and happy or u can be not drinking and miserable bout it thats wat i meant. the alcohol has not affect , but im not happy bout it, i still crave to get drunk so i havent hit my switch. im not talking bout wat mentium said, underlying issue etc. i mean im still haveing cravings and am unhappy , even tho im not really drinking. I didnt realise bac would do this, i thought u just keep drinking and enjoy the feeling as u go up the dose and then when u hit ur switch u lose the want to drink and stop. i didnt realise i would be spending time craving the affect that i cant get anymore its miserable. P.S. - just as a side note i dont go to AA and it doesnt work for me. it worked for 5 years , but then the controlling and judgemental personalities in there really got to me, and i started drinking again. so trying bac now but pretty miserable when i cant get drunk. cant wait to hit my switch.

[Fast twitch]

no mentium thats not wat i meant

[Fast twitch]

not taking bout underlying issues , talking bout not bening happy that im not drinking as have strong cravings but cant get drunk , im not drinking but not happpy bout it is what i mean by dry drunk molly 78

[Ne/Neva Eva]

I get what you mean about dry drunk. I don't think it has anything (necessarly) to do with underlying issues, either. It's the person in the room(s) that's a miserable fucker because he can't drink. Often, they move on to other things. Reminds me of a guy I knew that was relatively happily married, went abstinent in AA and started messing around with every woman he could (literally) get his hands on. Still didn't make him happy. Anyway...



So that's an important question to ask youself, Fast. If you aren't happy that you can't get drunk, what're you going to do about it? Because even when you stop craving, there's going to be a whole lot of time to fill. (Now, I realize that you were sober for 5 years, so you know a little bit about filling that time. But you probably went to AA and spent at least a bit of time thinking about not drinking. Baclofen is very different. You won't be thinking about drinking. Except that it still wiggles itself in there, but not in the same way. Hard to explain...Anyway, again...)



Have you titrated up? How fast? How much are you taking now?

[neophyte]

Dry drunk is just post acute withdrawal syndrome, have a read through this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-a...rawal_syndrome

it takes 3-6 months for it to go away, but length of time drinking, amount drunk daily and underlying psychological health all are factors in recovery. i.e. your mileage my vary

[Fast twitch]

I get what you mean about dry drunk. I don't think it has anything (necessarly) to do with underlying issues, either. It's the person in the room(s) that's a miserable fucker because he can't drink. Often, they move on to other things. Reminds me of a guy I knew that was relatively happily married, went abstinent in AA and started messing around with every woman he could (literally) get his hands on. Still didn't make him happy. Anyway...

So that's an important question to ask youself, Fast. If you aren't happy that you can't get drunk, what're you going to do about it? Because even when you stop craving, there's going to be a whole lot of time to fill. (Now, I realize that you were sober for 5 years, so you know a little bit about filling that time. But you probably went to AA and spent at least a bit of time thinking about not drinking. Baclofen is very different. You won't be thinking about drinking. Except that it still wiggles itself in there, but not in the same way. Hard to explain...Anyway, again...)

Have you titrated up? How fast? How much are you taking now?

hi neva, i posted on another thread a reply to u and how much i was drinking, check it out, and i think u were spot on but what u said above,.thanks