Baclofen Dosage 'Poll'

[Chocolate Mousse]

Hi Virgil

Just wanted to reinforce what everybody here has been saying and wanted add my two-pence worth by saying thank you also for this thread as it gives me, and im sure a lot of others, reassurance which is what a lot of us need

Best wished and hope to all

CM

[Brave Hearted]

Hi Virgil just re-read one of your posts and dont know if I have got the wrong end of the stick but you say you are up to 100mg a day highest dose BNF recommend prescribing ! does that mean you have got a doctor who is prescribing it for you ? I ask with interest as I too am in the UK and know there has been threads in the past asking about doctors in the uk prescribing bac ! I am on a maintence dose of 25mg a day will add that on my dosage post !

[Virgil]

Originally Posted by Brave Hearted

Hi Virgil just re-read one of your posts and dont know if I have got the wrong end of the stick but you say you are up to 100mg a day highest dose BNF recommend prescribing ! does that mean you have got a doctor who is prescribing it for you ? I ask with interest as I too am in the UK and know there has been threads in the past asking about doctors in the uk prescribing bac ! I am on a maintence dose of 25mg a day will add that on my dosage post !

Hi BH,

Yes, I have a doctor who is currently prescribing baclofen for me - for alcoholism/anxiety (dual diagnosis).

V.

[shelbysmiles]

Less than 30 mg per day
30 - 50 mg per day
60 - 80 mg per day
90 - 110 mg per day
120 - 140 mg per day
150 - 170 mg per day
180 - 200 mg per day
210 - 230 mg per day
240 - 260 mg per day
270 mg or more per day

Gender: Female
Weight: 120lbs

[cowgal]

Less than 30 mg per day
30 - 50 mg per day
60 - 80 mg per day
90 - 110 mg per day
120 - 140 mg per day
150 - 170 mg per day
180 - 200 mg per day
210 - 230 mg per day
240 - 260 mg per day
270 mg or more per day
Gender:female
Weight:120 lbs

not working right now, cuz I missed my doses today,gonna catch up again now........just have a horrible cold, burning the candle at both ends...............

MA

[beatle]

Virgil, I also want to re-iterate what Tip and BH said. There is no toe-stepping here. And you should not have to feel paranoid about that.

The only reason I didn't respond to this thread is that I have not reached that magic switch-off point. So, I thought I'd wait until I did to post here.

Now that we all know what you needed, I want to add my voice to the others to keep going up-- if you don't have side-effects, you can probably go up faster. Some men on this forum have gone up very quickly with no or few side effects. (Women seem to be more vulnerable, or more sensitive.) If you need to order online, just do it.

I don't even know if there is a switch-off point. But I have had positive effects from bac from day one. If you are not feeling any beneficial effects, but also no side effects, I am guessing you need a much higher dose. Remember, everyone reacts differently. And, it seems everyone reacts to bac at some point (be it positive or negative).

As you see, all those who have had to give up on bac have done so because of extreme reactions.

[cowgal]

glad u r back, love ya, have a bad cold coming on, but will catch up w/ u later...............xo MA

[JWHIII]

Hi everyone...

My doctor was informed of this thread by another of his patients. When he told me about it, I came straight here and registered. I find any discussion about Baclofen truly exciting!

Baclofen has changed my life in such a profound way, it will be all I can do to keep this brief, LOL. But before I get ahead of myself, here's my stats per request...

Gender: male
Weight: 165 lbs.
Threshold (Switch) Dose: 190 mg.
Maintenance Dose: 120 mg./day

From my understanding, you must first reach a "ceiling" dosage before complete suppression of craving and preoccupation will be achieved. This was the case with Dr. Ameisen, as well as what I've personally found for myself these three times now.

The threshold dose is based upon one's body weight (1 to 5 mg. Baclofen per kg. or, 2.2 lbs. body weight). In my case, I split the equation down the middle for determining what my threshold dose would be (2.5 mg. per kg.) So my "switch" dose was roughly 190 mg.

I based my home treatment on this maximum dosage and/or complete suppression from craving and preoccupation with alcohol... whichever came first. As it turned out, my threshold dose provided me with everything I had hoped for... absolute indifference to alcohol. It truly is a miracle!

I have so much to say about this topic and my personal experience with it, but I don't want to get off topic (hee hee). I'll just say that this medication has saved me from despair.

It's ideal in more ways than one as it has also curbed my extreme anxiety and allows me to fall asleep within minutes (I used to suffer from insomnia unless intoxicated). Additionally, Baclofen also eased me through the detoxification stage while sparing me from alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

Virgil,

If your doctor will only prescribe you 100 mgs. per day, I urge you to seek out a second doctor. It's detrimental that you reach a threshold dose to ensure that you meet your objective. At least, this is what I've found in my own experience (as did Dr. Ameisen).

Baclofen can be ordered fairly easily through internet pharmaceutical companies. But I wouldn't rely on these sources for long term care. I found this out the hard way... twice. Customs has a way of holding onto your package for inspection a little too long sometimes. In my last case, months.

I ran out twice while undergoing this treatment on my own. The anxiety and insomnia quickly returned and I was back to drinking within a day. My disease picked up where it had left off with a vengeance, and I was worse off than I was before. That's when I sought out and obtained a prescription.

If your intent is to supplement your "legitimate" regimen in order to attain your "switch" dose, I say go for it. Just make sure your prescribed daily dosage is high enough for a "maintenance" dose. Otherwise, making "the climb" would be all for naught.

Personally, I wouldn't go with much less than 110-120 mgs. a day. I've been in contact with another I met in an article discussion on this subject, and their maintenance dose is also 120 mgs. daily. If you've read Dr. Ameisen's book or case report, his daily maintenance dose is also 120 mgs.

It sounds like the laws are different there than they are here in the States. There are no set limitations on the dosage here that I know of. That's determined at the discretion of the physician. I'm sorry to hear this is the case for you. Before ordering online, are you sure you couldn't obtain a second "discreet" prescription from another doctor?

If you're fairly certain this is not an option, then I say go for the internet purchase. Just be sure to purchase well in advance and also in bulk. I always purchased 3000 mgs. per order. It was the cheapest source I could find ($.25/10 mg. capsule).

I actually kept a log from the first day I started taking Baclofen. I rated each day by anxiety and craving levels, and noted other observations along the way. I stayed at 190 mgs. for three days, then tapered the dose until I reached my maintenance dose.

As long as you have an earnest desire to quit drinking (and obviously you do), I guarantee that Baclofen will work for you. But you have to reach your threshold or "ceiling" (switch) dose before complete suppression of craving and preoccupation will occur.

I wish you well in your endeavors. You'll have to keep us posted on your progress!

Take care.

[Brave Hearted]

Welcome JW great post ! hope you hang around and contribute a lot more. your story amplifies my own but I consider myself lucky I only need a 25mg main dose, but I do feel that is because I am a small felamle, I do think we react differantly to you guy on bac. I can honestly say I have reached an indiffeance to al, which seems to be increasing with time ! I mod but its just lost its appeal something I would never have believed possilble! last night I had half a dozen sips of a glass of wine and decided I did not want it and made a cup of tea instead !!! go back a year and I would have easliy drunk 2 bottles of wine and anything else I could get my hands on only stopping when I passed out ! and I could bore you for hours on how it has truely changed my life, well given me my life back after 30 disasterous years ! and all that for a daily tablet that cost me 50 cents/30 pence a day ! now that is a miracle !

And my anxiety has subsided ten fold my son said the other day Mum you dont shout these days ! I used to live on my nerves could not eat ,sleep or deal with things rationally (no wonder I bloody drunk !) I now deal with things rationally and do not reach for a bottle in times of stress, a total win win situation !

Hope all this is spuring you on virgil , I cant still believe it works and its working for me on a daily basis, stick with it !

[Virgil]

Thank you, everyone - and I mean everyone - for your kind words of encouragement. And a big 'thank you' for adding your support to this thread. So far, we have ten data items and a picture is starting to emerge. But, I shall hold back until we have more data before drawing any conclusions.

Once again, a heartfelt 'thank you'!

V.