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[nanaT]

I am 43, female binge drinker since 15. I have tried everything to stop and here I am. Now I am severely depressed and feeling very hopeless about ever being a sober person. I got a spark of hope that the drug baclofen is very effective in helping people loosen the grip of drinking. I went to my doc. today and she refused to prescribe it. It is soooo expensive online. My blackouts happen every time at least part of the evening. I fall and get hurt a lot and do strange things. I'm alone a lot. I also have social anxiety. sad sad sad. I'm afraid.If anyone knows of a doctor in Oklahoma who uses this therapy please let me know!!!

[TrueGrit]

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You acknowledged that you have a problem and that is a very important first step and one that many people do not wish to confront so great job! It only gets better from here and there are a many great people here that can help you with medications. I do not have any knowledge of them personally but I can point you to the section that will benefit your questions the most and that is here Topamax, Campral, Naltrexone, Baclofen, other meds - My Way Out Forums That section discusses all types of medications and there are some serious experts that can answer your questions.

Great to see you here and congratulations on your road to a better life!

[Byrdlady]

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NanaT, welcome to MWO! TrueGrit's right, head over to the links he provided.

I was never able to quit on my own, but with the support of the folks here, I'm 3 years sober! I thought I was hopeless and felt just like you do...there IS hope...and you CAN do this! It's a skill, like anything else. There are 2 links in my signature line, Newbie's Nest has folks in all stages of quitting...I don't think anyone currently is using Baclofen, but I could be wrong about that, but it's a good place to start and get your feel wet in this online stuff. Secondly, the Tool Box is full of tips and coping skills to help you get thru the first challenging days...it's a great resource.

You are NOT alone, every single one of us could have written your note (and most of us have!) You've come to a great place! We can help!
Byrdie

[Lavande]

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Hello & welcome nanaT!

Glad you found us & decided to join.
When you spoke to your doctor, did she offer any other recommendations? Any help at all?

Please take a look thru the Tool box & see what others have posted - there's a lot of help & hope in there.
Please drop in the Newbies Nest thread for ongoing support. You are definitely not alone!

Wishing you the best!
Lav

[TrueGrit]

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I did some research for you and found the top Prescribers of BACLOFEN in Oklahoma. Follow this link Prescriber Checkup | Top Prescribers of BACLOFEN in Oklahoma I hope this helps as it lists doctors in plenty of cities all around Oklahoma that prescribe Baclofen. Good luck!

[nanaT]

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thank You all so much!!! I have felt so alone. TrueGrit I will deff. look into these providers. I feel loved already. Thank You!!

[DipGal]

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Here's a loving ((hug)) Nana! You are in the right place for help and love!

[Nelz]

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You are not alone, not at all around here. Someone is going through what you are, or HAS gone through it.

The key is to stick close, read, post, ask questions and try and get some coping techniques...there are TONS. Find what works for YOU, because it will be different for all of us....take bits and pieces of what you think will help you out.

[Alky]

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Hi Nana, I have a similar profile to yours. I'm a 41 year old male. I've been drinking alcoholically for seven years, been binge drinking since I was 17.

Baclofen is a miracle drug for many of us here, and it was for me, too. But you really need to educate yourself on what this drug is and isn't before you start. A good place to start would be Dr. Olivier Ameisen's book, "The End of My Addiction," and this file, a prescribing guide for doctors that are willing to give baclofen a try but don't know much about it. It's very readable and not full of technical medical jargon:

Prescribing Guide for Baclofen in the Treatment of Alcoholism – for Use by...

Baclofen is a miracle in that turning down a drink now becomes a viable option. But baclofen does not, in and of itself, make you un-alcoholic. Some people on the meds forum found that baclofen has been a means to moderation. It wasn't for me. I relapsed badly, because once I got caught back up in that cycle of getting passing-out drunk, the baclofen no longer worked for me and I am only now getting back to a point where the baclofen is having an effect again. But the one universal about baclofen is that no two experiences seem to be alike.

I was getting baclofen in a liquid form from a fellow forum member who sadly passed away last month. Now that my "source" was gone, I went to my psychiatrist with clinical trial results and the prescribing guide in hand and convinced him to continue this therapy. Three caveats: one, he probably wouldn't have prescribed it if I hadn't already been on it, and two, I had already failed on other medications (naltrexone and acamprosate) and three, he prescribed it only under the condition that I continue attending AA meetings and psychotherapy treatments. Because this is my other cautionary word about baclofen: everything that made you want to drink in the first place is still going to be there after you get sober. What baclofen will do is give you the distance from alcohol so that you can start applying techniques you get in AA or from a therapist (or here, for that matter) to start putting your life back together. Baclofen in and of itself is not going to sober you up and make your life suddenly better. It's just another tool in our toolbox.

If you're not successful in finding a doctor (trust me, it can be an uphill battle, it took eight months and a lot of miles on the car going from doctor to doctor before I was successful in getting a legit prescription), poke around on the meds thread. You will figure out a way to get liquid baclofen without paying the highway robbery Canadian pharmacy prices. Also, you can try going back to your doctor with clinical trial results (I can supply you with those) and the prescribing guide I linked above and let her study it. Addiction medicine is still very much in its infancy, and most doctors just don't know much about a pharmacological approach to treating addiction, especially outside psychiatry.

I would advise against taking this drug without very specifc instructions on how to use it. It is a very powerful drug. A few years ago, a member of this forum who had been secretly taking it and hiding the fact from everyone, including her doctors, committed suicide because she couldn't handle the side effects/withdrawals. There are very knowledgable people here that can supply you with a dosing schedule (I have one as well that came from a psychiatrist), if you can't find a doctor but still manage to "score" some baclofen.

My last cautionary word, especially because you mention that you're a blackout drunk, baclofen is a muscle relaxant. You must take steps to curb your drinking when starting baclofen because falling had never been an issue for me until I was back to being a passing-out drunk ON baclofen. I had no recollection of these falls, I just know I'd wake up with nasty bruises and I destroyed one pair of glasses and damaged a second.

Best of luck to you. Please, come on over to the meds forum and message me with any further questions about baclofen.

[Alky]

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Also, do your homework on the doctors listed on the list TrueGrit posted. Until it's effect on addiction was researched, it was designed and used to treat muscle stiffness for people with neurological injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, etc. Some of those doctors may be neurologists who use the drug to treat people with those disorders, but not for addiction.

[j-vo]

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Hi Nana,
Welcome! There are so many wonderful people on this site, and yes! It can be done. We can be drink free. It does take work, but wow, it's wonderful to be without Al. Life is so much more fulfilling.

And...I have had severe social anxiety most of my adult life. Not an easy thing to deal with, and many times I just wanted to throw in the towel, as i didn't want to go on. It was a struggle for me daily. I have to take some prescribed medications for this, and I've done some CBT also. I need to do more CBT, as I want to cut out some of the meds, which I am happy to say that I am more confident in situations without the beast on my shoulder. So good luck here. pm me if you want to talk about the social anxiety. I visit another forum from time to time to read.

[treetops]

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Welcome Nana. You have come to a great site with lots of strength, collective wisdom and people who know what you are going through.

Keep posting and read up up the information Alky suggested

[Alky]

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Nana, you mentioned you are alone a lot. One of the "slogans" of AA is HALT, an acronym for hungry, angry, lonely, tired. I started drinking alcoholically when my (soon to be ex) wife and I had a commuter marriage arrangement. I worked in Ohio, she worked in New England, and we met up on weekends back at our house in Florida. I remember how it started out - I couldn't handle the stress of making all those travel arrangements without taking a slug of vodka beforehand.

I'd fly back to Ohio on a Sunday night. I'd be hungry, lonely and tired, and depending on the travel day, possibly angry, too. And again, a slug of vodka (or two, or three) did the trick to relieve my stress. Long story short, it doesn't take too long doing that you build up such a tolerance that you can wake up still very drunk, and the only thing that makes you feel better is another slug. So, I'm going to leave you this article that appeared in The Grapevine sometime in the 1970s (the AA journal) about HALT:

The rule of HALT is a reminder that can help us all along the road to recovery As adjuncts to AA's spiritual program and meetings, there are clich?s, systems, gimmicks, and a myriad of other tricks that have been used by AA members down through the years to maintain sobriety. I, for one, strongly uphold the application of the foremost of these, the "RULE of HALT," not only for the new members, but for the old-timer as well. Further, I sincerely feel this simple rule to be too often ignored or passed over lightly. In the beginning, new members, as we all know, are usually confused and completely without direction. Some are sincere to the very bottom of their souls, while others are only lukewarm in their desire to "put the plug in the jug." Both sorts look to us for answers explaining how, and all too often they are disappointed. (This is understandable, for how many of us know how AA Works?)

We have precious little to give our "babies" save encouragement, fellowship, and living proof that the program works--at least for us. Why not, then, pass on whatever practical information and instruction we can to each newcomer to make his beginning more palatable and to enhance his chances of success should he choose to follow these instructions? We are certain that most members of AA are aware of the Rule of "HALT," but to what degree we cannot be certain. To scrutinize the rule briefly may be helpful to the reader and will certainly be so to the writer who has proved in reality that violation of it in part or in total can, and often does, lead to relapse. Here, then, is the meat of the rule

H
Don't get too Hungry. For a reason we cannot explain, there seems to be in the alcoholic a peculiar psycho physiological relationship between hunger and the urge to drink. On some occasions, we would eat a big dinner and then find that it literally destroyed our desire to drink afterwards. Conversely, and eventually more often, we avoided eating because we knew it would interfere with our drinking. Years ago, my sponsor told me that if I had a physical urge to take a drink, I should go out of my way to drink a milk shake. If that didn't work, he said, I should drink another. And another. I can testify that if you can drink liquor on top of two or three milk shakes, you aren't an alcoholic. You're nuts! And so, when you are hungry, eat. Simple and important. (This writer eats little at one time, but may eat something as many as five times a day.)

A
Don't get too Angry. Wow! Of all things to tell an alcoholic! But we don't have to be on the program very long to realize that anger, righteous or not, is better left to those who can handle it. Borrowing from Father John Doe: "Let the other guy get mad. If somebody calls me a SOB, either I am or I ain't. If I am, So What? If I ain't, why should I make myself one by getting mad about it?" We can't afford to get angry--especially at people. Kick the wall or the TV if you will, but "Let the other guy get mad!" We know too well where anger leads: to resentment. and brother, do we know what resentment brings! Rule of thumb? Well as the young folks say in this age, "Cool it, baby. Cool it."

L
Don't get too Lonely. Nonalcoholic members of the psychiatric profession tend to equate loneliness with boredom, and we are inclined to agree. If there is any one thing that must be included in the alcoholic's life before he can once again become a whole man it is worthwhile activity. This may be Twelfth Step work, his vocation, his avocation, or anything else. But we feel such activity must be present in order to fulfill his existence and eliminate loneliness. We must also consider the loneliness brought about because the newcomer lives alone. But this is easily rectified. It takes only a phone call or a visit to an AA-oriented social club. Or, for the AA Loner, far other members, the Big Book or a letter to an AA pen pal may suffice. Under any conditions, Loneliness is the mother of self-pity and the ultimate end is resentment and drinking. The rule of Thumb? Do something!

T
Don't get too Tired. In its effect, the last ingredient or direction in our rule is not too different from the first. Physical fatigue will affect both our bodies and our minds adversely and will thereby lower our defenses against the urge to drink if there is any possibility at all of such a desire being present, consciously or subconsciously. And there the rule of thumb is "When you are tired, put the body down!" (How many times have we read and said Easy Does It?) So there it is: HALT--Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. This rule, when coupled with meetings and living our day-by-day lives according to AA principles, will make things much easier, not only for the newcomer but for the old-timer as well. Once we recognize that these four conditions are dangerous if succumbed to, we should avoid them as carefully as we would that first drink for any one of them could be the first step to a drunk. Dr. John, San Diego, Calif.*

[little beagle]

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Nana good for you taking the first step to freedom. MWO has changed my life and it can yours too. :welcome:

[vynan]

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Welcome aboard,

Stay close and you will find a lot of support and help here.

I am not the best judge of meds as I never used them but the best medicine is already in your system....I.e your will to quit. Congrats on that and stay strong.

Best,

Vy