When it's used for alcohol treatment, the idea is that you dose up until you hit what they call a "switch". This can be a very high dose indeed - up to 360mg. Then you can go down until you find your maintenance level - example: 80mg. The idea is that you have to take it the rest of your life, so it should be seen as a "last resort" type of treatment IMHO.

I had not heard about it before, and a quick search on a very large alcohol/addiction related forum that I visit daily only showed up one mention. I'm interested to learn more about it. Not for personal use mind you, just out of curiosity. I'm studying up on addiction - especially alcohol - so that I can make sense out of it.

In that light, I had read Dr. Ameisen's "The End of My Addiction" last year. It was pretty controversial at first, but slowly it's becoming one of the tools used in addiction treatment.

Same here: baclofen was my "Plan B", I first wanted to try with no chemical help. And as you know, I also started to consume vast amounts of sugar and sweets - chocolate, yes... No more though.

That I had heard of. Obviously, I used to feel very depressed when I was still drinking (and taking benzos, don't get me started on those), which is a cause/effect puzzle. In my case, that completely cleared up after getting sober, spectacularly so I might say.

Not easy at all; all the more important to try to see it in an objective way, it might well be a chemical imbalance after all. Nobody chooses to be an "alcoholic".

On a lighter note, one of my best friends - who is an MD - joked that you are an alcoholic when you drink more than your doctor drinks. Ironically, more people in the medical profession are addicted than in the general population.