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BAC IS the right track!

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    #1

    BAC IS the right track!

    Hello everyone.

    Earlier this year in Feb, I hit my switch to indifference with BAC at 275mg. I have to confirm that it is REAL and it is amazing how it happens.

    However, after 3.5 weeks of abstinence, I had to take a business trip and began dabbling with moderation. At first, it was amazing! I could drink. and stop. Go home and actually be done for the night. Nothing short of a miracle (for me anyway). Then I began to get cocky and started testing myself. Wanted to push it and actually see if I could get drunk (twisted thinking I know), but I did it. Then again, then again. I actually pushed myself out of indifference (all the while still taking 200mg a day) until I was back drinking like my old self. Me = :nutso:

    After a summer full of crazy sh*t and my family pretty much disowning me, I decided to start fresh at the end of August and began titrating up once again. I was already at 200, so I went up to 225, then 250, then 275, then 300 (over a 2 week period). This time I did NOT face the horrible side effects that I had had the last time (crawl out of my skin visions that wouldn't leave my head, terrible stuffy head syndrome, loss of voice, weight gain, etc. etc.). This time I had no SE's and didn't even recognize a 'switch', but I did recognize that I did not care if I drank. :wd:

    That was 14 days ago and I have not had a drink since, nor have I wanted one. I am currently still at 250 and will hold here for a bit before slowly going back down to 200. This BAC is a miracle for me. I wish it were not so expensive (I buy from 4rx and usually pay the extra for the tracking number... i'm a control freak that way :P ) but it is what it is and I have to have it.

    Thanks to all of you out there that I feel like I know since I stalk these boards regularly, but don't usually say much. It is all of you that kept me going before Feb to actually push through those horrible SE's to get to my switch... a venture that was tough, but oh so worth it!

    Good luck to all who are attempting this journey. Stick it out and as Ig on these boards
    once told me... Just keep taking the pills :groupluv:
    Indifference is in your future with Baclofen. It works!

    My frustration with Baclofen, which is shared by Dr. Oliver Ameisen, is that because Baclofen is an off patent medication there is no profit motive for drug companies to support clinical trials that would demonstrate its efficacy in treating addiction.
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    #2
    BAC IS the right track!

    Great results! Although I'm not currently a high dose baclofen user, I can see how much it helps many people.

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      #3
      BAC IS the right track!

      :goodjob: help4me

      I guess your post raises the issue of abstinence vs moderation again. For me, there can be no option other that quitting altogether.

      Baclofen is not a cure, it's a tool. We still need to break the hold that alcohol has over us. Even if folks still wish to try moderation, I would recommend at least two or three months of abstinence after the switch. In layman's terms: allowing the brain to rewire itself. It gives us time to separate habit from physical dependence, to assess our relationship with alcohol. Why do we want to moderate? What is our own understanding of moderation?

      I don't "get" the importance of moderation in people's lives, quite frankly. Yes, social occasions are initially a bit awkward, but one gets used to it and after a while it feels natural. I isolated for a good few months after the switch, because I believed people would notice that I wasn't drinking and ask questions. I felt I wouldn't be having any fun and so on and so forth. After a while, it just doesn't matter.

      The other question is whether you want to stay on HBD indefinitely. Because you'll most likely need to do so if you choose to moderate. We've seen numerous examples of people hitting the switch, tapering down whilst trying to moderate and then backsliding into alcoholism again. I am too shit-scared of returning to the hell I managed to escape from to contemplate that.

      I am curious about the fact that you had no SEs the 2nd time round. As I lowered my dose, some SEs returned - e.g. daytime somnolence. I think it was NE who posted about experiencing something similar.

      Have you compared Inhouse Pharmacy's prices with that of 4RX? The 4RX delivery costs are quoted separately from the bac itself, whilst the Inhouse price is all-inclusive and you also get a discount on orders of more that $100 ($16, if memory serves). I haven't ordered from 4RX in more than 18 months, so I stand to be corrected on the price comparison I did back then.
      I'll do whatever it takes
      AF 21/08/2009

      Comment

        #4
        BAC IS the right track!

        Great news Help4Me! I think your story really does prove that we can rewire our brains back to alkieness if we push it. Moderation works fine for most people, it's just the testing it with drunken episodes that do the damage. :goodjob:

        The unexamined life is not worth living

        Comment

          #5
          BAC IS the right track!

          Thank you everyone.

          Tip - I agree that Baclofen is not a cure, but rather a tool. The best tool one can find. I am a perfect example of how you can push yourself out of indifference if you try. This time I am going for abstinence. I appreciate your comment "after a while it just doesn't matter". You are so right and this is what I want now. I am hoping to slowly titrate down and it will be interesting to see how low I can go this time without drinking. I believe you are on a very low dose now, correct me if I'm wrong.
          You are an inspiration, Tip. Thank you.

          Murph - Oh, how I'm the perfect example of how "testing it with drunken episodes" does the damage. I really hate the fact that I went down that route, but it goes to show me that I do NOT want to go there again. and with Baclofen, I don't need to. Amen!

          Continued success to all who are on this journey
          Indifference is in your future with Baclofen. It works!

          My frustration with Baclofen, which is shared by Dr. Oliver Ameisen, is that because Baclofen is an off patent medication there is no profit motive for drug companies to support clinical trials that would demonstrate its efficacy in treating addiction.

          Comment

            #6
            BAC IS the right track!

            Help,
            I truly appreciate your honesty and helpfulness by coming back and sharing your story. I think it's good for those on bac to see that bac alone will not keep alcohol away and that moderating on bac may not be as safe as one may wish.
            Tip,
            You are so right - it doesnt matter. I recently held a "get together" at my home. A mother offered me a drink to which I said no thanks. She insisted and insisted until I said no thanks, I dont drink. There was no akward dialogue asking me why not, no strange looks, we all moved on. Later in the evening, a friend from highschool - that I drank with on numerous occasions - said "you dont drink anymore?" I said nope and that was it. I was fully prepared to explain, but she didnt care - it"s truly not an issue. I wish others could recognize that the world does not revolve around alcohol. I realize i too was one of those people but I see the light now!

            Congrats Help!

            Comment

              #7
              BAC IS the right track!

              Thanks for your account. I think the whole moderation thing is a big "test", constantly keeping on the edge with the substance that has been so dangerous for us. Everytime I drink on Nal I don't know if this is going to be the tipping point, or not. I've become more and more aware of it, however the only way I can ever be sure is to quit completely. Just hasn't happened yet although the damage is extremely limited these days (think I've had a maximum of 7 or 8 units in the last week).

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