Sunday, December 21, 2014

Day 64

DOSE: 100 mg Baclofen (25/25/25/25); 900 mg Gabapentin (300/300/300); 300 mg Bupropion SR (150/150).

SIDE EFFECTS: Decreased alcohol cravings.

I'm sorry for not updating my blog more often. After beginning gabapentin I stopped increasing my baclofen dose, and therefore felt I was no longer living up to the blog's title. I had to take a makeup final exam earlier this week, and I think I did well on it. In order to study more successfully for my exam, I cut my gabapentin dose in half. I did this also because I couldn't tell if gabapentin was making a difference in my alcohol cravings. The wellbutrin (bupropion) has been effective at giving me more energy during the day, and since I've been at the same baclofen dose for several weeks now I am experiencing literally no side effects from it, or from any of the other medications. After I reduced my gabapentin dose, I initally noticed a slight return of cravings, but that has since diminished. By no means have I reached the highly sought after "indifference" to alcohol. I still have drinking urges, but they have not yet been severe by any means. I haven't had any moment that I would consider a "close call", and I'm able to function productively. In the next few days I may stop taking gabapentin completely, and start slowly increasing my baclofen dose once again. I've been sober for over three months now, and I'm proud of that. Reaching this point is not new to me, but it's definitely worthwhile. However I need to continue to work on the social and psychological aspects of alcoholism, and start to branch out and find support networks. I'll be starting my next semester of classes in the coming weeks, and that will surely bring about quite a bit of stress and anxiety. So hopefully I can have a network of supportive people in place by the time school starts. Aside from that, not too much to report. I'm back home once again for the holidays, which is always stressful. But it is good to see my family again. Back in Arizona I've become somewhat reclusive, and I know that I need to change that habit in order to maintain enjoyable sobriety. It is good to know that if I stick to one dose of baclofen for long enough I can reach a point where I feel no side effects other than reduced alcohol cravings.

Hope everyone has a happy holidays!

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Day 49

DOSE: 100 mg Baclofen (25/10/20/20/25); 1,800 mg Gabapentin (600/600/600); 300 mg Bupropion SR (150/150).

OTHER MEDICATION(S): Multivitamin (1 tablet); Fish Oil (1 capsule).

SIDE EFFECTS: Short-term memory lapses; mild anxiety; slightly decreased alcohol cravings.

Well now I'm on quite a cocktail of medications. After meeting with my psychiatrist a few days ago, we decided to add Wellbutrin (generic Bupropion) to the mix to combat tiredness and memory problems. He was reluctant to prescribe a stimulant (for good reason), and so far bupropion has most definitely helped with tiredness. I've been researching gabapentin, and memory problems is not a listed side effect. Perhaps it's just a lack of focus and motivation that is causing me to have trouble retaining information. The reason I took an extra 10 mg today is because I was feeling really anxious and having some cravings. It's kind of frightening that my cravings are returning, and I'm not sure what's causing it. The past couple days it's been pretty bad, but I am able to recall how terrible my life was when drinking and could easily say no. For about the first month out of treatment my cravings were practically nonexistent, so I'm thinking that gabapentin may actually be making things worse. For now I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing and hope that things get better as my body continues to adjust to these medications.

I finally stopped procrastinating on an assignment that I had to complete in order to finish one of my makeup classes, and that has helped to alleviate some pressure at least. However I still have the big exam to take, and that continues to cause a lot of stress. I'm still sober which is obviously the most important part, and I plan to stay that way. The side effects have pretty much all abated, except for the ones I've listed above. Regardless of anything, I'm extremely happy about the fact that medications for alcoholism are being researched and tested. I'll post more later!