ATIVAN FOR MUSCLE TIGHTNESS

[futurmil2b]

Does anyone take Ativan for muscle tightness? Does it help? Baclofen is a bit to strong for me.. made me dizzy, etc. I take 1/2 .5mg ativan.. was wondering if anyone take ativan for muscle tightness/spasms.

Sitting at work makes my tightness worst. I try to get up and stretch a little.. don't help much. Working makes my ms worst...not sure what to do, I need to work. Any advice suggestions would be very much appreciated.

I think I have sciatica problems as well.. there is a spot on my upper right thigh (behind my thigh) when I sit, I can feel a bit of pain/pressure. Also a spot may be tension knot on my right buttocks. If I roll my butt cheek on the floor I can really feel it..

Does anyone feel that sitting for a long period of time makes your tightness worst??

Ms. Jay

[Scooter24]

I will be interested in what others say on this, I am unable to sit or stand for any long periods of time, I just stopped taking Baclofen and have found that my balance is much better w/o it, I was taking it for legs cramps but haven't really had any more w/o it than I did with it. I still had muscle tightness as you call it and would like to find something else that might help it, I have a nuero appt next month and was hoping to have an idea or 2 for him, he is very good about providing me with what meds I want to take.

[futurmil2b]

I will be interested in what others say on this, I am unable to sit or stand for any long periods of time, I just stopped taking Baclofen and have found that my balance is much better w/o it, I was taking it for legs cramps,but haven't really had any more w/o it than I did with it. I still had muscle tightness as you call it and would like to find something else that might help it, I have a neuro appt next month and was hoping to have an idea or 2 for him, he is very good about providing me with what meds I want to take.

Thank you for responding. Seems like the Baclofen made my tightness worst.. only took it yesterday 1/2 10mg 2x morning and evening. I took it mainly for muscles tightness. I don't cramp up... just sooo much tightness.. neck/shoulders been this way for a while...even before ms dx.

My neck/shoulders stay tight.. have several tension knots in neck/shoulders and back. I get massages occasionally but they help very little. I may have to seriously think about resigning but not sure how to tell my husb - he will be in total disagreement. But I can't continue to put myself through this.

THE MORNINGS ARE THE WORST FOR ME...WAKE UP WITH TIGHT SHOULDERS/NECK.. Shower helps VERY LITTLE.

How long did you take Baclofen? Do you work?

Ms. Jay

[rdmc]

I have a Rx for Ativan (.5 mg, I think)...but I don't take it on a regular basis. I have a baclofen pump, so that handles spasticity in my legs, I take Zanaflex a few times a day and that handles upper body spasticity, but sometimes my shoulder will cramp and the Zanaflex just doesn't hit it. So my Physiatrist has given me a Rx for Ativan. I think it helps some with localized muscle spasm...couldn't really tell you if it helps with spasticity in general.

I do know when I'm in the hospital and get myoclonus, they'll give you a shot of ativan to calm down the jerking, so it definitely has it's place in the treatment of MS.

[Scooter24]

I had been taking baclofen for over 2 yrs, as I said my balance was terrible but just wrote it off like other things to MS,

I have been on SSDI for 2 years this month, It also was determined that I have had MS sx since 1977 and recieved a service connection disablity award from the VA, which we are appealing and asking for 100% disability as they only considered my left leg and arm, nothing about the other side and other sx I have plus the fact that SS has determined me to be unemployable.

I filed my own SSDI claim as no lawyer in NC would take the case until I had been denied benifits once, My nuero was beind me 110% and his input helped I'm sure. I was on short term dis for cancer treatment when I applied for SSDI so I didn't have to worry about no income during the waiting period.

[futurmil2b]

I have a Rx for Ativan (.5 mg, I think)...but I don't take it on a regular basis. I have a baclofen pump, so that handles spasticity in my legs, I take Zanaflex a few times a day and that handles upper body spasticity, but sometimes my shoulder will cramp and the Zanaflex just doesn't hit it. So my Physiatrist has given me a Rx for Ativan. I think it helps some with localized muscle spasm...couldn't really tell you if it helps with spasticity in general.
I do know when I'm in the hospital and get myoclonus,

they'll give you a shot of ativan to calm down the jerking, so it definitely has it's place in the treatment of MS.

I went to the ER about a year or so ago for horrible anxiety all tensed and tight. They gave me an injection of .5 Ativan. I felt great all the tension was gone. But my legs were a bit wobbly for a bit but I did not care.

I have not felt that relaxed in a long time. All the tightness was gone. Wish I could get that injection daily. Glad to see your post.

I may have to up my dose to .5 2x a day I do half ,5 2x a
day. Which don't quite help with the tightness. Too scared to up my dose.

Ms Jay

scared to up it to .5 2x a day.

[chalknpens]

ativan

I had a generic ativan prescribed for anxiety, .5 twice a day "as needed." It helped reduce my jumpiness and fears. Before that, the evening news and even television commercials were scaring me. I never experienced anything physical when taking it. Post traumatic stress disorder - I lost a nephew in Afghanistan, blown up by an IUD.

I stopped taking it regularly recently because I've begun Lyrica for pain. The two don't mix well, according to the Lyrica literature.

Ask your doctor about your other medications before increasing ... there may be a reason he has you on such a low dose.

[there]

Baclofen too strong for you? What do you mean? Just take less.

Ativan is addictive (Baclofen is not), it is used for anxiety and relaxes everything, valium is in the same family (benzodiazepines), good for as needed use, but bad to use every day for something like stiffness in my opinion. There are better choices. I would be a little careful with it. I just had a friend who had an awful time getting off of it.

[Shashi]

I don't take ativan, but I do take baclofen (60-80 mg per day) and I also take Valium at night because I get really bad muscle spasms while I'm sleeping. It also helps me to stay asleep (otherwise I wake up five or six times during the night and can't get back to sleep.) While Valium can be addictive, I don't feel like the amount I take is any problem.

Can you take Zanaflex instead of baclofen? Some people do better with it. (It makes me horribly sleepy, but baclofen doesn't.)

I hope you find something that helps soon.

Hugs,

Lisa

[BigA]

Ms. Jay,

have you tried Yoga? I no longer take baclofen, except as needed. I do yoga once per day. It's not the same as attempting a stretch in the office.

I reccomend you try

[futurmil2b]

Ms. Jay,

have you tried Yoga? I no longer take baclofen, except as needed. I do yoga once per day. It's not the same as attempting a stretch in the office.

I reccomend you try

I have a yoga DVD. I do it once in a blue moon. I need something tdaily to help with my tightness. I have a script for zanaflex. But reading some of the post baclofen sounds better. I dunno. Maybe I will give baclofen another try.

Ms Jay

[futurmil2b]

I have a Rx for Ativan (.5 mg, I think)...but I don't take it on a regular basis. I have a baclofen pump, so that handles spasticity in my legs, I take Zanaflex a few times a day and that handles upper body spasticity, but sometimes my shoulder will cramp and the Zanaflex just doesn't hit it. So my Physiatrist has given me a Rx for Ativan. I think it helps some with localized muscle spasm...couldn't really tell you if it helps with spasticity in general.

I do know when I'm in the hospital and get myoclonus, they'll give you a shot of ativan to calm down the jerking, so it definitely has it's place in the treatment of MS.

I hope you get this message... so its ok to take Zanaflex and Ativan?? I asked the pharmacist and she said it was ok.. I do want to wean off the Ativan.. its not helping too much. I take a low dose 1/2 .5mg been taking it for about 6 months - doc said it was such a low dose I don't have to wean off.. but I dunno..

I pray Zanaflex help me.. I wasn't too thrilled about Baclofen probably because I did not give it a fair try.

Ms. Jay

[salamandertom]

I was on that at the same time as baclofen for awhile. I did feel that it helped me. I did not like how it made me feel though. I stopped and now take baclofen and zanaflex. Have you tried zanaflex?

I do think that sitting for a long period of time affects me. I think any prolonged position isn't great. I am a student and have to move around the entire lectures b/c I get so tight.

[Citlalli]

Another vote here for Baclofen, maybe with Ativan too. They work differently and for some people Baclofen slightly works against sleep, even though it calms the spasms. Baclofen works very quickly, but it takes weeks to build up full efficacy in the system (amount different for everyone, of course). I've just hit 7 weeks and am still tweaking the dosage and timing, trying to stay on a low amount in case I build up tolerance. Have managed pretty well to cover pain and curtail spasms with 10 mg. 4 x a day, now finding I need to top off the last pre-sleep dose with another 5 mg. Thanks to another member here, I also continue to take Xanax (.5) at night to help me fall asleep. Pain still pushes through some nights, so it's not perfect, but a huge difference from before. I really think it's worth it to stay the course with Baclofen if you get any help from it initially and only give up on it if it doesn't work. Initial dizziness and spaciness for me actually ebbed as the drug took more effect, so for me those trade-off's were definitely worth it--am still clinging to a job! I hope you find some magic.

[marlena21]

Extremely effective for relief of severe anxiety and it has given me back functioning after years of truly disabling suffering. It should always be used on an as-needed or short term basis to avoid tolerance and addiction.