Baclofen 10MG tablet and muscle spasms.

Just a note of caution, too: Be careful to not take TOO much of this drug, as it can cause your muscles to be SO relaxed, they're not able to support you well.  And some spasticity can be a good thing: without it, I would not be able to stand at all.  I stopped taking the drug when I needed SO much to reduce the spasticity that my legs were like rubber bands, and I fell and broke my leg.  I've since learned that I just may have to put up with some muscle tightness if I want to keep any mobility at all.

You really need to talk with your doctor and see if you can find a point where you're taking enough to keep comfortable but not so much as to be risky. And yes, don't just stop taking it.  There are many meds that you need to taper off, not just stop "cold turkey", and baclofen is one of them.

Uprightnbreathin said...
Hi Uppity,
I was asking if the muscles could simply continue for say the next 20 years being cramped. I was told that; "If you don't get it under control your muscles can become weak to do constant contractions and you may get to the point where you can't walk or stand." This came from a person with MS.
This is scary but does make sense. sorry about the link.
Shawn

I don't know about the message you got. As I understand what happen with MS is this: -- muscles that don't get nerve impulses from the brain -- because the nerve impulses are blocked because a lesion or lesions are in the way -- get weaker over time, because they're not being used.  And if those muscles happen to be in your legs, your legs will get weaker.  So with or without spasms, if the muscles aren't getting signals from the brain, they'll weaken over time.  It has little to do with whether you're taking anti-spasmodic drugs.

I stopped taking baclofen years and years ago.  I have muscle cramping/ spasms in my legs.  They are significantly weaker than they were 10 years ago, and I can no longer stand for more than a few seconds, enough to transfer to-from a seat, or to stand long enough to reach something off a shelf.  Their weak state has little to do with muscle spasms and everything to do with the fact that the signals from my brain to my legs just aren't there anymore, or are SO weak the muscles aren't reliable.

But again...

Welcome to the board.  I wanted to say hi and welcome you but I also wanted to point out that the thread you are responding to is very old.  You may not get a response.  I hope you will start your own thread and introduce yourself.  Thanks for posting.

I have since seen a new dr. and am now back on Robaxin.

A.H.

I was DX'ed 22 years ago.  I take 1 & 1/2 10mg Baclophen 5 times per day.  It is very effective for me.

John Francis

     Hi Everybody,

        I just turned 38(f) & was dxd w/MS 12 years ago. I have been on Baclofen (75mg a day) for just over a year. I am SPECIFICALLY taking Baclofen because w/o it I am completely incontinent. I had a hard time w/it for the first 3-4 months. It definately took a while for me to get use to it. I was telling my drs.,  I was having a hard time with it for a while. I would fall back asleep @ like 10-11am & wake at 3-4pm in the EXACT same position I fell asleep in. This is how I knew I was having a hard time with it.  "To the girl that broke her leg when on Baclofen",..How long were you on it when that incident happened???? I would be very upset about that (understandably) if I were you, but based on what I just explained above, if you weren't on it that long, I can also understand how that may have happened. Also,....YOU NEVER WANT TO ABRUPTLY stop taking Baclofen because they clearly say you can have seizures/etc. if you do that. You have to build up the dosage slowly at first (as we did w/me & I still had a hard time w/it) & if deciding to go off of it,  you wanna do the same by gradually lowering the dose. The most important thing I have learned in my 12 years since diagnoses,  is that EVERYBODY can have a different experience w/different medications. If something is not working for you, "DISCUSS THE OPTIONS WITH YOUR DOCTOR". Just like they do with the MS medications. This is why when you have an exacerbation,  they usually want to stop that medication for you,  & start you on something else. I know it is frustrating but it seems to be what we must do. I started on Rebif & had an exacerbation 6 months later (I also experienced suicidal thoughts & was diagnosed with RLS/interestingly those are the 2 things the dr. from the manufacturer of Rebif asked me when they learned of my hospitalization,  so,  THEY KNOW,  what the reported side effects are from their drug. I was shocked when she asked me, yet,  gave me alot of unanswered answers). Next I was on Tysabri (my dr. stopped that as she was concerned I was reporting what she thought was early signs of PML & more interestingly/scary was that her nurse told me they had their 9th reported case of a PML death just days before). Then I went on Betaseron. This was stopped after I was hospitalized & they said my labs showed I was having a bad reaction to the Betaseron. Now I am on Copaxone. So far so good. But it has only been 4 months,  so we'll see. So with all of this I have experienced, it seems wise to me to stick w/a medication if it is working for you,  & if it's not,  then seriously talk to your dr. about your options. As far as the spastisity, I still have alot of that periodically throughout the day,  mainly in my stomach area & alot in my left leg. I think that's a difficult one to tackle because as I have told my doctors, "I am on Baclofen & also Lyrica,  (for my RLS) I say to them: "Isn't it suppose to help w/the spasticity?...They say: YES, IT IS. All they ever suggest is raising the doseage on those meds & I don't want that because I already take alot.  That part I feel like I just have to deal with because I have so many issues to tackle. MS definately sucks & is very difficult to deal with EVERYTHING. What's very frustrating for me is that my MS is the result of an adverse reaction to the Hepatitis B vaccination. We have proven my case through the Federal Vaccination Compensation Act & my lawyer told me last week that the Feds don't care about me as a person/victim. She said it's all about the money. What a sad world we live in. My Best Wishes to ALL OF YOU. I know what you are dealing with. It's enough to drive a once normal person Insane with frustration.