Baclofen Part 2. Drink yourself sober.
60- 80mg Baclofen daily.
You will recall in last weeks post (click here if you missed it) I started taking Baclofen seven days before stopping drinking on 31st August. You will also have noted I stopped before opening the last bottle of San Miguel. In other words, I drank myself sober, willpower not required
Alcohol has never been my morning drink, tried it once -after a night dancing on MDMA – so the idea is quite unthinkable. I can count on one hand the number of lunchtime ‘sessions’ in my life.
In my 20’s and 30’s weekends only. By my 40’s, two pints on the way home made a wife and two teenagers way more tolerable. We had moved (property deal) to Pontefract, West Yorkshire and children at Ackworth Quaker school as day pupils. Monday 05:40 alarm, Radio 4; shipping forecast, sea shanties followed by Farming Today as I sped down the A1 to make the 06:30 to Doncaster station. First Class, dictating solidly, Kings X, 30, 72 or 214 bus and office, with a full day’s dictation, by 0830.
Leave work 22:00, Tower Hill tube, walk past Slug & Lettuce, onto boat and sleep. Wake 06:30, hour or so dictating, Angel tube, down City Road and office 08:30. Repeat Tuesday & Wednesday but Thursday, via the Nags Head for two pints and a spot of Lap Dancing. Friday leave early. My airline case packed to bursting, the files make a perfect seat on a crowded tube or bus. Even better seating for downing two pints before making the 16:30 train to Doncaster. G&T, half bottle of wine and if lucky, a wife to collect me or a taxi home, leaving the car at the station. I never once drove home. The drinking continued till lunchtime Sunday after which the process repeated itself.
That’s how I defined my alcohol dependence for seven years. It got worse but that’s for later.
Day 1 alcohol free, 1st September 2020, looking forward to an alcohol free autumn (sixth year in a row) but also acutely aware there is a lot of work to do over the first four weeks.
Baclofen has been around for over forty years as a muscle relaxant (multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries etc) so has a safe and known track record. It was only discovered (Dr Olivier Ameisen) as the missing link in alcohol cravings in 2005. He expected exponential growth in its use, when this didn’t happen he published; The End of My Addiction [2008], providing a diary of his journey into sobriety. This created a huge demand that was never met by supply. At the time of writing his book only one GP, Dr Renaud de Beaurepaire was willing to prescribe it “off label” (not the use for which it is licenced) to patients. ‘He was a psychiatrist working in the public sector in the hospital group Paul-Guiraud in Villejuif, on the outskirts of Paris. He met Olivier Ameisen in 2006, after Ameisen published a small article in the scientific press describing his experience treating himself with Baclofen. Dr de Beaurepaire was impressed by the Ameisen story and decided to try treating with Baclofen if suitable cases presented in his practice. He found these in two patients with both severe depression and alcoholism who he treated in 2006-7. Both patients rapidly became indifferent to alcohol, just as Ameisen had described’. [Vérités et Mensonges sur le baclofène by Dr Renaud de Beaurepaire]
By 2019 there were 10,000 GP’s, in France, prescribing Baclofen with over 100,000 users. In the UK I am not aware of a single GP willing to prescribe it. My supply comes from a Harley Street psychiatrist and a private prescription. Perhaps I could help change that?
Where was I? Oh yes 1st September and target set off 100, alcohol free, days. For the two first week I slowly increased my Baclofen to 120mg per day.
The first side effect is an inability to sleep. Whist Baclofen totally removes the desire to drink it still leaves the ‘I need a drink to sleep’ problem. I found this side effect lasted only a few days but am also aware, depending on level of alcohol consumption, this can last longer. The next side effect, one to which I am prone, is tiredness. For this reason I avoided all work and rested as much as possible. Then, the one which affected me most, no alcohol to suppress my anxiety attacks. The panic attacks came thick and fast. My doctor said unsurprising given my wife’s death, in February, followed by lockdown. Fluoxetine prescribed even though Baclofen is also known for its anti-anxiety properties.
The next side effect is sugar withdrawal. It is one of the primary ingredients in booze. One pint of lager contains 13.5gms of sugar, 27% of the daily limit, so my body was craving its sugar fix. Apple juice and water helps the sugar comedown.
It is safe to say the first two weeks require careful management and lots of sleep. Knowing I saved over £120 in fourteen days also made it easier. After two weeks of no alcohol and more energy, I opened my laptop, for the first time since June and started writing again.
I like the idea of my half century (alcohol free days on my way to 100) and only ten more required.
Have a good week.
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