My ten year baclofen anniversary

[_serenity_]

I just have time for a short post tonight but wanted to celebrate a personal milestone. I recently read through my "bac diary" thread and remembered that December 15, 2010 was the first day I took baclofen.

Ten years ago today.

Prior to finding MWO, I had found an article in The Guardian while researching medications that might help me find relief from my horrible drinking problem. I had been through years of hell, two stints in rehab, a lost career, a foreclosure, the works. When I read that article, I somehow *knew* that baclofen would be my salvation, and I set out to get my hands on a prescription. I did some more research which led me to My Way Out, and to a Chicago doctor who (at the time) offered phone consultations and baclofen prescriptions to pretty much anyone who asked for help. Dr. Levin and the My Way Out community were my absolute saviors. I spent two months titrating up my dosage before reaching indifference, also known as "the switch" in early 2011.

What an unbelievable miracle this drug has been! It erased a huge amount of my chronic anxiety and silenced that endless craving for alcohol. I didn't think that was possible.

When I have more time to post, I will try to follow up with some advice for people who stumble onto this website and are interested in trying baclofen. I regard myself as something of an old-timer in the baclofen world, and have seen many people come and go on this forum and others. The success stories definitely have some common threads.

But tonight, I just wanted to share how very grateful I am. For this website, for all the supportive friends I've made through this website over the years, and for that little pill that changed my life.

[NoSugar]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Congratulations on finding your way out, [MENTION=2134]Serenity[/MENTION]. Take care, NS

[satz123]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

[MENTION=2134]Serenity[/MENTION] :welldone: - found your way out !!! :hyper:
Do you still take the pill ?
Asking for a friend

[_serenity_]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Thank you so much [MENTION=18725]NoSugar[/MENTION]!
[MENTION=9094]satz123[/MENTION] - I have realized that I may have to take this drug for the rest of my life, and that's OK. The drug has done wonders for my chronic anxiety and for my cravings, and I don't want those to creep back into my life. I don't have any side effects from it and my blood work is perfect, so I figure I'll just keep letting it do the job it's been doing so well.

[georgesmiley]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Thank you, [MENTION=14524]_serenity_[/MENTION] . Your posts (I read a lot of them) were a real help. And it's thanks to the 'old timers' that people like me can still discover this potential pathway.

You beat a path for us all to follow. I only wish it was more widely available. You have to overcome a lot of obstacles to try this. You need to digest all the literature, make all the plans to purchase/stockpile (and we're all great at making plans, right? Except, of course, I always had planning abilities enough to have booze in the house), navigate all the *insanely*-priced websites to find the cheap, reliable ones, know how to cope with the side effects, etc. to get where we need to be. It's great that the odd doctor here and there will do a phone consult and prescribe, but that costs £100s to do privately.

The pills are, at least, much cheaper than booze. A bottle of wine is about £7; a litre of gin is £15 (and pound per unit is how I thought!); 150mg of baclofen is about £1.90 a day. So although building the stocks is expensive, once you're rolling, it's way cheaper than booze - even if you were at 300mg a day.

Many counsel against doing it 'on your own,' but that's what I did and I would not counsel against it - provided you're on board with the whole process. I would advocate giving it a go. But understand this: it's a proooooceeeeesssssss. Loooooong...

Initially, I was surprised when [MENTION=22732]Baclofenman[/MENTION] said he would not recommend offering it more widely to his GP. I thought, 'Why hold back on this thing?' But in fact, baclofen is not a cure, it seems to me.

I would say (and this is just my view, so please shoot me down) that it's more like a vehicle to go on a journey. A GP should not prescribe a car to everyone who comes to her clinic with a mobility problem. To use a car, you need a licence, insurance, road tax. I don't think that I could just have been given baclofen in a 10-minute consult with an info-sheet and told to give it a go. It requires a lote more investment than that.

So there must be something like a half-way house in the medical community: where GPs can give out the factsheet (something like Dr Amanda Stafford's), let people mull it over, see what they want to do with it, see how they come back with it, maybe use it in group settings (not for 'therapeutic chat' group meetings, but more so busy GPs can deal with 10 drunks in an hour without all their BS). I can certainly see that you have to really want to go the baclofen route. Like learning to drive a car, you have to pass a theory test, you have to experiment a lot, you have to practice, you have to really keep at it - and also like driving a car, you need to understand that once you've got the 'knack', you can't be cocky and let your guard down.

So, thanks again [MENTION=14524]_serenity_[/MENTION] , [MENTION=22732]Baclofenman[/MENTION] , [MENTION=15169]Cassander[/MENTION] . You blazed a trail. And right now, I'm very grateful to you. I wish you a happy Christmas, and a much happier, healthier 2021.

[Journeyer]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi, I just ordered Baclofen. I was just thinking about how much of this I will have to order online every month to keep it in supply. I'm going to just guesstimate from what I've read, that the typical dose at which one reaches 'indifference' at is around 150mg day. So that's about 6 days with a bottle of 100 10mg pills. I placed orders in with 3 different vendors just in the last couple days. All Day Chemist, the UK one just just spoke of, and another one based in Canada. The cheapest one is the unitedpharamcies.uk.md site. They change $19 for 100 10mg pills. So I'll need to order probably 5 bottles every month. So about $95 a month. plus $75 on DHL shipping. I guess once I get started and get a supply built up, I don't need the DHL because I can wait longer to get it. I spent about $420 on beer last month, so the Bac is relatively cheap. I worry a lot though about depending on international shipping every month, what if I suddenly cannot get any more of it? Looking for a dr. here to prescribe, but in the USA, I think it's probably very unlikely. The 3 doctors I've asked so far really balked at prescribing anything off label. None of them had ever heard about it. _serenity_ told me about one near here, but it's in another state, so I'm not sure, but I'm going to give that one a call once I get started on it. I read the prescribing guide, so I think I have a fairly good idea of how to get started, thanks again, _serenity_, for all your help.

I probably should mention that from what I've read in your post, I drink a LOT more than you do, and saying I've had enough tonight has never happened to me in the past decade. I drink until I pass out, every single night. Really hoping this works for me. I enjoyed reading your posts, very informative.

[mrsm]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi Journeyer
Just a note of caution, I also ordered Baclofen from unitedpharmacies.uk on the 4th of Feb, I had an email the following day saying that they were unable to process my credit card, (which I know is good), and wanted me to pay by Bitcoin or International bank transfer...I thought this was highly suspect so I told them to cancel. I've found a clinic here in London that prescribe and do online consultations, I don't know if it would work in the 'States, but they are called The Harpal Clinic in London EC4 if you want to google them. I'm wishing you the very best of luck with your Baclofen, I'm on day 13 and upto 35 mgs, I've really taken on board the universal advice on here to titrate the dose really slowly to avoid the worst side effects and so far I've been ok although still drinking but probably only half as much pre-Baclofen so I'm really hopeful.
kind regards and very best wishes

[Journeyer]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the clinic. Doubt it would work for here because here it's hard for doctors to even practice across state lines here.

I didn't have any problems, yet, with Unitedpharm UK. It took a few days for them to respond to me, but once they did, they've been very responsive every time I've contacted them. They've already shipped it and I have tracking. I used DHL, which is expensive, but they are really fast. I used the wire transfer, which is a pain to setup for international, but once you have it setup, that's it. If I get this, I only ordered 200 10mg tablets, but if I get it, I'm going to order a lot more bottles immediately. They're offering a 10% for orders over $200 and they're already way cheaper than anyone else I've found.

But if you have a script, that's the best way. Getting one here in my state in the USA is somewhere between impossible and extremely unlikely. I talked to 3 different doctors here and they looked at me like I'm insane.

[Journeyer]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

My order with them went badly, because it didn't clear customs today. So I don't know if they send it back or just trash it. Either way, I won't be seeing it, bummer. First time I've ever tried to order medication online, and probably the last.

[georgesmiley]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi there,

I've successfully ordered baclofen from Welcome to United Pharmacies (UK) and from Extrapharmacy Online Store . Both have been reliable over the long term.

Extrapharmacy package the stuff up in foil, then vacuum pack it, then label it as spare parts for an ioniser. Worth a shot?

I would encourage you to keep going. It's a remarkable drug. But as you note, you need to build up a supply cushion to smooth out delivery problems.

[Journeyer]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi, I received an order today with 180 10mg tablets of Baclofen from All Day Chemists.

United Pharm UK are replacing my order that I supposed customs must have seized, but it's going to take 4-6 weeks to get here. I suggest not shipping anything with DHL, I know I won't try that again.

I don't want to start with only 180 tablets, so I'm waiting as I have 2 other orders that have shipped. Once I get a decent supply on hand, I'm going to start and hope that I can find a doctor to write a script.

It sounds really promising, as I think a big part of my problem is anxiety.

I've been experimenting with Phenibut to control the anxiety, but it's really difficult to get the dosage right and it gives me bad nausea if I take too much. It's not really slowed my drinking down much, but it definitely slows the pace, because now it takes me all day to drink as much beer as I would in a few hours before.

[georgesmiley]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi [MENTION=24625]Journeyer[/MENTION],

I've always found United Pharmacies re-ship if things go awry. They're my 'go to'.

You're right to build up a buffer supply for baclofen, because you don't want to quit it cold turkey. Baclofen itself reduces that 'searing' anxiety, as attested by so many people who've ended up on it. It did with me. I believe Ameisen himself hypothesised that this was the reason it was so effective; it reined in that restless agitation us piss heads so often feel.

I don't know much about phenibut; but I know people who've used it and ended up horribly hooked on the stuff. There are whole reddits on quitting phenibut. Yet I think there are none on how to quit baclofen, so I would not view them as equivalent. This is strange, as they both target GABA-B receptors. It's not up to me to tell you what to do, but I think there's a big difference in phenibut and baclofen three months, six months in...


Remember, I am not a doctor. But I'm a decent guy who is fried with a visceral 'on edgeness' so maybe I can share some strategies that have worked with me. Who knew? People drink because they're anxious. Mindfulness has to be the biggest - though it does require some willpower, and I regularly flake out on it. But it definitely works.

Remembering again that I am not a doctor (but that many of us decide to read up and use pharmaceuticals off our own bat), some useful things I have ordered (from United Pharmacies) that help moderate the anxiety, but without hitting GABA-A receptors (like benzos) and with no tolerance are atenolol and clonidine (half a tablet). I can tell you more about them if you like - they're very legal, very safe and very cheap.

But actually, once you build up on baclofen, I think you'll notice a difference. But baclofen takes planning and commitment. It sounds like you know that (building a stockpile), so this is promising!

George

[Journeyer]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi [MENTION=24625]Journeyer[/MENTION],

I've always found United Pharmacies re-ship if things go awry. They're my 'go to'.

You're right to build up a buffer supply for baclofen, because you don't want to quit it cold turkey. Baclofen itself reduces that 'searing' anxiety, as attested by so many people who've ended up on it. It did with me. I believe Ameisen himself hypothesised that this was the reason it was so effective; it reined in that restless agitation us piss heads so often feel.

I don't know much about phenibut; but I know people who've used it and ended up horribly hooked on the stuff. There are whole reddits on quitting phenibut. Yet I think there are none on how to quit baclofen, so I would not view them as equivalent. This is strange, as they both target GABA-B receptors. It's not up to me to tell you what to do, but I think there's a big difference in phenibut and baclofen three months, six months in...


Remember, I am not a doctor. But I'm a decent guy who is fried with a visceral 'on edgeness' so maybe I can share some strategies that have worked with me. Who knew? People drink because they're anxious. Mindfulness has to be the biggest - though it does require some willpower, and I regularly flake out on it. But it definitely works.

Remembering again that I am not a doctor (but that many of us decide to read up and use pharmaceuticals off our own bat), some useful things I have ordered (from United Pharmacies) that help moderate the anxiety, but without hitting GABA-A receptors (like benzos) and with no tolerance are atenolol and clonidine (half a tablet). I can tell you more about them if you like - they're very legal, very safe and very cheap.

But actually, once you build up on baclofen, I think you'll notice a difference. But baclofen takes planning and commitment. It sounds like you know that (building a stockpile), so this is promising!

George

United Pharm did re-ship that to me. They told me 4-6 weeks, but it was more like 4-6 days. So I got that one yesterday and the other 2 shipments got me to 560 10mg tablets, so I decided to start on it this morning with .5mg and then going to follow up with .5 again at 2pm and .5 at 6pm. The 2pm and 6pm doses covers the witching hour for me. I typically start on beers around 4pm and if I don't, the cravings will become ferocious by 6pm. Of course I don't expect anything to happen for a while, but I can most definitely feel that first pill I took. I can't quite describe it, but it's quite strong, like a muscle relaxer I suppose, but no euphoria or anything like that. But I definitely feel it, which took about 15-20 minutes on an empty stomach.

What really concerns me is that amount I will need to order later on when I get to 150mg or whatever crazy dose it takes to get to that magical indifference level. I have to tell you, being indifferent to my beloved cursed beer is something that sounds so alien to me as to be impossible. No worries about the money, it's worrying about customs seizing my stuff because it looks like a lot maybe when you're ordering 1000 pills at a time.

I've been taking around 250mg of Phenibut a day to help with anxiety. Mildly effective at that dose, but I think it takes closer to a gram to have a real therapeutic effect and that much gives me severe nausea. Also not sure about mixing the two, so I'm holding off on anymore phenibut until I find that I can or cannot take it with Baclofen, because Baclofen is my focus now, I really have to stop drinking and really cannot, a nasty situation most of us are quite familiar with.

[georgesmiley]

Re: My ten year baclofen anniversary

Hi Journeyer,

You're spot on on every level.

It does relax you, or rather, take the vicious edge of your anxiety or antsy-ness.

You do have to go to 'crazy' doses, yes. And often, it's not pleasant to go there.

And finally, yes, just contemplating being booze free is terrifying. I fucking looooove the booze. It's delicious, it's relaxing, it slows my brain down to merely supersonic, rather than speed of light. It makes me nicer, funnier, kinder, calmer.

US Customs is a bitch. I don't get it. All our governments are stupid in all sorts of ways. But the British government doesn't seem quite as hostile to its citizens as the American. The FDA and customs agents are there to protect you against affordable high-quality medications, while guns flourish and healthcare costs spiral. Here, you can buy more or less what medicines you like from abroad provided it's legal (I wouldn't be trying fentanyl...), and no-one will shoot you. Of course, fentanyl and oxycontin have been prescribed in huge quantities by US doctors legally.

I've lived in the US, and love the country, and go there a lot (or went there a lot). But this fundamental 'how can we be an obstacle to cheap, practical solutions?'-ness of both state and federal governments always simply baffles me.

I recommend you try extrapharmacy.ru. Similar price to UnitedPharamacy, but he labels it as an air conditioning unit, wraps it in foil, then sort of vacuum packs that into something that looks like a ground coffee brick, then puts it in a cardboard box. I've no idea how thorough US customs are, but it looks like it's worth a shot.

Keep going buddy.

George