The Effective Dose is the amount of Baclofen that reduces your cravings to a controllable level—it’s why you’re here! It can range from 5 mg - 200 mg. You know you’ve found the Effective Dose when you feel indifferent to alcohol—you can take it or leave it. The Effective Dose is unique to each person because everyone responds differently to the medication. It has nothing to do with your gender or size, but rather how established the connections with alcohol are in your brain.

The Effective Dose is where you are in control. Whatever your goal is (abstinence or moderation), you decide when to drink, when not to drink, and how much to drink.

For some people it is a light switch moment—it just happens. For others, it’s a gradual shift in their cravings.

You’ll know you are approaching or have found the Effective Dose when you start to experience The 4 Signs:

Once you feel you have reached your Effective Dose, it is important to contact LifeBac support so we can stop the titration process.

Your next question might be, once I’ve found it, how long do I stay at the Effective Dose?

The simple answer is, as long as it takes. We will always respect your wishes with regard to the medication and reducing off the program; however, we do have a suggested timeline:

The Titration Phase is the gradual increase of the medication. You’ll start at a low dosage and incrementally increase that dosage until you feel you are indifferent to alcohol. The 4 signs are evident during this phase. This process takes 1-3 months and ends by stopping the titration of the medication and creating a maintenance plan to hold you at your optimal dosage.

Once you are in the Effective Dose Phase, we suggest you hold here at least 6 months. This gives the medication time to break the alcohol-affected connections in your brain and gives you time to replace those connections with new neural pathways for healthy habits and behaviors.

The Taper Phase can look different for each person. During this phase, we suggest a slow reduction of the medication to allow you to recognize cravings if they return. If this is the case, you can either hold at the current dose or titrate back to the last dose where you were comfortable. Some will taper off the baclofen completely while others will find a new effective dose and hold there as long as needed. Please contact LifeBac support once you are ready to begin the Taper Phase or if you need assistance.