Baclofen tradeoff?
In the morning, before getting out of bed, I have to flex my feet a lot of times so I can get ankle movement (from stiff to somewhat mobile.) Left leg/foot particularly stubborn. Recently I'm getting cramps during the night. So…I've always just taken 1 20mg pill per day, but the jiggles and stiffness got worse, so I started taking 2. The problem comes because I have the side effect of leg weakness, pretty pronounced today. My neuro says that it's a tradeoff between spazzes and weakness. I'm sorry to give such a lame question to a group of people who have worse symptoms, but I'm wondering if I should opt for strength as long as the cramps and jiggles aren't intolerable. Advice would be helpful! Thanks, Carol
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Hi Carol,
I've struggled with the same issue since shortly after beginning Baclofen. I recently cut back on my dosage. Was taking 20 mg three times a day. Now I am taking 10 mg three or four times a day. My neuro is ok with me tweaking the dosage. We've discussed it before, twice. I've decided that I'll live with the jumpy muscles and other weird and uncomfortable sensations as much as possible because the leg weakness is preventing me from doing so many things. When I go to bed at night, I have 2.5 mg diazepam ready in case my legs wake me. So far since cutting back on the baclofen dosage I've gotten through 13 of 14 nights without having to fall back on the diazepam. Good luck with whatever you decide.Portia -
I had a miserable time on oral baclofen. The side effects from a higher dose made the minimal benefits not worth the hassles. Eventually, I got a baclofen pump (Medtronic ITP therapy) and life is much, much improved. The daily dose is a fraction of a milligram, the benefits are enormous and there are no real side effects to complain about.
The pump is not something to be taken lightly. Pumps are not without risks, but the benefits can be stellar. It requires a surgical procedure to implant the pump so there's definitely a patient commitment involved. Before implantation, there is a trial dose to gauge your potential reaction. Even if you won't consider a pump today, store away the idea for future need. If your spasticity increases, the decision to try a pump becomes easier.
There are plenty of MSWorld posts on the baclofen pump.
https://www.google.com/search?q=site...n%20pump&rct=jComment
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Sometimes, I take a pain pill to move in the mornings and it makes me feel a little stronger and plow through it.Originally posted by aisunnen View Post
Has your Potassium been checked? There is no doubt it could be a blind storm--having stiff muscles and spasms can deplete potassium/magnesium. I cannot keep my potassium up, as a result of the same issues.
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I totally agree with what Marco has written. However, just to put this out there, even with the pump I have gotten to a place where I trade off some spasticity in order to walk. I could have the physiatrist turn the pump up so I wouldn't have any spasticity in my legs, but then I'd be too weak to walk. When legs are weak we need a certain amount of spasticity to keep us standing. But as Marco said, my spasticity situation is greatly improved since the pump.Originally posted by Marco View PostComment
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