The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

[louise]

I have read the Baclofen thread and Zen, Cindi, Siwan and Shas's progress thread with great interest and really appreciate their willingness to be public guinea pigs. And thanks to Bill.P and billyb for all their medical info input. I don't really want to have my own progress thread as I'm not that organized and we may soon have hundreds that I won't be able to keep up with. But I am interested in how others who popped in to say they were ordering are doing and willing to share how I'm doing. So I hope some of the other people on Baclofen will jump in and we can make this a joint progress thread.

I ordered June 10 and by the time it arrived June 22 I was thinking I might not need it as regular use again of all tools here (except topa - tried and not for me) was getting me back in control (again - I do this every summer when I'm off work and have time to devote, then slowly regress as the school year wears on, although not back to the point I was before I came here - no blackouts for the past 2 years). My drinking for June was:
week 1- 2 days AF, total drinks 13; no more than 3/day
week 2 - 5 days AF, total drinks 4; no more than 3/day
week 3 - 6 days AF, total 3 drinks 1 day

Week 4 started well with 1 drink Mon. The baclofen came Tues, but I thought "I'll save it." Wed. my husband got out wine for dinner and I ended up having 7 drinks. Yikes! Had not done that for quite some time and there was NO REASON. Just 1 of those times when I lose control. Started the baclofen Thurs. at 5mg t.i.d. No side effects. Same dose Fri. Friday we always have wine. I chose 1 I don't like. Didn't help. I had 8-9 drinks; like my body was making up for being good all those AF days even though my mind did not want to. Upped my dose to 10 mg. t.i.d. on Sat - felt tired and yucky but think it was my typical hangover; I don't think it was the baclofen. AF Sat and Sun, minor cravings, more psychological than physical (mine usually are until I have the 1st drink). I'm now on day 4 and going up to 40 mg. q.i.d. I know I maybe should be going slower but having read the pros and cons I'm going to go up faster unless I have side effects, which so far I have had none. I also checked out the drug interactions with all my prescription medications (Wellbutrin for depression, lisinopril for blood pressure, levothyroxine for thyroid and piroxicam for arthritis pain) and there were none listed so I feel safe.

I hope some of the rest of you who said you were ordering will pop in and let us know how it is going!

[Pamina]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Hi Louise,

It's nice to see you back! I don't know the first thing about Baclofen but just found these blogs the other day and am very impressed with how well it seems to be working for so many people. I just wanted to wish you well and hope you find the same shrinking of cravings that others have reported. Meanwhile, old habits die hard. You've had lots of progress in June, just get back on it. Planning, preparation, alternative drinks, urge-surfing. You can do it. And any drink recipes you want to share, I'm all ears. I'm still making your mint and ginger...

[louise]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Thanks Pamina! I do occasionally lurk on the ABS thread and am really glad to see you and others doing so well. New drinks: green tea instead of sparkling water with the mint, lemon and ginger; pomegranate juice with sparkling water. I know AF would be best for me. I wish my husband did not drink and there was not always alcohol in the house. I keep telling myself it can be done (there are plenty here who have) but I keep caving. I hope the baclofen will just make me indifferent. In the meantime - its AF by all the other means - day 3.

[shelbysmiles]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

I got my Baclofen in the mail today. I was surprised it arrived so fast from River. I ordered it last Tuesday. Today I have taken 5mg at lunch 5mg in the afternoon and I'll take another 5 before bed. I'm so hopeful that this will work. My drinking has escalated the past few months even though I promise myself every other day never again.

[Going Strong]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Shelby & Louise,

The bac will work for your physical craving and will allow you to detox with ease.

You will then need to work on you head cravings, I am only mentioning this as I did have a glass of wine when I really didn't want it.

Some people would think this was great but it made me realise that I didn't need to drink.

I will follow your thread with interest.

Take Care

[Tulipe]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Hi there,
Had to laugh at your choosing a wine you didn't like - I've never found a wine I didn't like!
Following the thread with interest also,
Tulipe

[tiptronic_ct]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

I was browsing through some of the old posts, and found a question about baclofen posted in 2006: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f9/baclofen-3660.html

Not a single response at the time!

Three years down the line, it's encouraging to see the complete opposite.

Eagerly awaiting my bac delivery :-)

[louise]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Hey Shelby, glad you got it and got started. Keep us posted.
Thanks to all for good wishes.
Wow, Tiptronic, I can't even keep up with current threads - how did you find one that old? (I do hope Happy Camper found help - I wonder what happened to her?) Hope you join us here soon.

I was re-reading all the dosing info today searching for billyb's schedule as like him, I almost never drink in the day, in fact don't even drink until dinner. So I was wondering if it is important to even have it early in the day or would it work to space it out only over the afternoon and evening? If billyb or Bill is reading and would be willing to comment on this, I'd appreciate it.

I did in the re-reading come across the info that being tired as a side effect shows that it is working - so this is actually good! So now I'm looking forward to the side effect - so far none. I forgot to take the dose before bed last night so am just going up to 40 today.

[Cinders]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Louise,

In my case, my morning and afternoon doses are the most important for me.

I am a morning, afternoon and only evening drinker when I am out of town and alone.

When I am with hubby at night, I don't drink.

I agree, it is best to keep it in your system throughout the day, but you know you better than any of us. If you can wait until midday and that is what works for you, do it.

I do know that I am going to go to bed sober again tonight and I am ecstatic about how good I feel.

Yes, I am tired but I have had worse tiredness from having to take Benadryl than taking Baclofen.

I simply cannot express how glad I am I started taking Baclofen. I am feeling truly hopeful for the first time since I started this journey to try to sober up. I wake up every morning with a smile, now, not trepidation about what stupid thing I might do that day, or how do I get down to the liquor store and not get caught?

I am thrilled.

I hope you get there, too.

Love,
Cindi

[billyb]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

louise, I generally don't take any dose until about 11:00. Then I will only take a small dose (for me that's 10mg). I might take another 10mg a couple of hours later, then take a big dose in the late afternoon, and then a medium-sized dose in the evening.

But, I wouldn't really recommend such an up-and-down sort of schedule when you first start out. It took me quite a while of adjusting things around to get the best balance of wakefulness and anti-craving effect at the right times of day, and you really need to know exactly how your body responds to the drug before messing around with doses.

So, I would recommend starting out with equal doses 3 or 4 times a day, spaced evenly, especially when titrating up. That will give you a good, constant baseline to start from. And then, while titrating up, if you start having side effects you want to moderate, or particular times where you need a little extra, then you can adjust your dose as needed.

And I especially wouldn't let yourself go too long without baclofen - it can actually be quite dangerous. So I would take it before bed and after waking up when you start out. If you eventually decide to shift things around a bit, I would still take the first dose no later than 11 or noon. Baclofen withdrawal is a very serious, and in some cases life-threatening condition, so you can't go too long without a dose.

[louise]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Cindi, I'm so happy for you - I know you have battled hard for a long time. I'm feeling very hopeful.
I finally told my husband tonight about baclofen and that if this did not work, I wanted all alcohol out of the house. He was very supportive although I know this would be a sacrifice for him. He has books on which wine goes with what and books on scotch. He had a wine cellar when we got married. But a bottle of scotch will last him for months, and he rarely has more than 1-2 glasses of wine. But I'm so excited that I hopefully won't have to ask him to get rid of it all.

Zen, yesterday I spent several hours printing out all the stuff on dosing in your thread and everything from Bill P., billyb and Harry about their dosing and administration schedules, as well as the interview with Dr. Amiesen's interview. I really appreciate all the time you all have put into this in an effort to help the rest of us. I reread it all again this evening and found billy b's info that he took it at 11am, 4 and 9pm with the largest dose at 4 since he was an evening drinker. So maybe it is just the total amount daily as long as it is somewhat spread out. But just to be on the safe side I think I'll take it 4 times a day with one in am.

Today is day 4 AF. It has been pretty easy, but no real triggers. When my husband has had a drink, it has been a single beer, which I rarely drink.

[louise]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Thanks Billyb! Will do! We cross posted because I was busy rereading all the info I had printed out! So I had a good laugh that after I finally got it all composed and posted you had come by to help. Your rationale makes a lot of sense.

[Beaches]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

It's really great reading all these threads and seeing everyone's progress. I haven't started a progress thread myself and won't because I will just keeping coming and ready about everyone else and post, here there and well everywhere

Zen, I am going back to your page 10 for dosing schedule b/c I apparently need one.

[shelbysmiles]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

I'm on day three (of Baclofen not AF) and I plan to titrate up to 5, 5 and 10 today. I have not noticed any marked drowsiness. I know I need to be patient but I really want this to work now. The waiting for it too kick in is hard.

[shelbysmiles]

The more the merrier Baclofen progress thread

Thanks, Zen. I'll do the 10, 10, 10mg tomorrow.