Happy Christmas all My hubby has just started Baclofen 5mg liquid two times a dsy. I was surprised as I thought it was in tablet form. Have you tried it and does it work for leg spasms? I am concerned it will make him too weak fir transfers to his stairlift.
Hi,
I didn’t even know it came as liquid!
Does Hubby have difficulty swallowing - could that be why?
I do not know for sure that the liquid and tablet doses are equivalent, but certainly with the tablets, 5mg is a very low dose indeed, and unlikely to cause serious side-effects at such a dose (but also quite unlikely to help much!)
With the tablets, I take 20mg three times daily, and have never experienced weakness as a side-effect…ever! So try not to worry about side-effects not everyone gets. It would not be licensed if it caused problems for everyone - there would be no point.
However, as I say, I do not know the conversion factor between liquid and tablet, and whether they are equivalent.
Does it definitely say it’s for oral administration, as the only time I’ve ever heard of liquid baclofen is for a baclofen pump - i.e. administration directly into the spinal cord!
Tina
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Hi Tina Yes definitely oral I will contact his MS nurse and request tablets. I know this liquid is sugar free as he is diabetic
Can you have a drink with Baclofen
Hmmm. I wonder why they prescribed liquid in the first place? I have since Googled, and saw to my surprise that oral liquid does exist (which you knew already!), but I really can’t think what the benefit would be, unless it’s for someone who would have trouble taking a tablet - including a child.
It’s presumably more quickly absorbed than a tablet, and I suppose you can control the dose more finely - as you could presumably take less than a 5ml spoonful, if there was any cause to. But I can honestly say I wouldn’t want to be messing about with liquid when a tablet is available. I can’t imagine it tastes very nice - is there a medicine yet invented that does?
The 10mg baclofen tablets are really quite small. It’s strange: as we speak, I cannot remember without looking whether they are scored for easy division, but I feel sure they must be, as I think I must have started off at 5 at some point too, and I have definitely never had the liquid and can’t remember ever having trouble halving the tablets.
Unless I am mistaken and I started at 10? Perhaps that’s why the liquid? All this could be answered if I only went downstairs to examine the tablets - apologies that I’m too lazy (fatigued?) It’s weird that I can’t remember whether a tablet I take six times a day is scored or not! It shows how little notice I take of them now, and how it has become second nature to take them!
I never answered your first question about whether they have helped. I’m not sure whether I really get spasms as such - at least, not where a limb visibly moves. I take baclofen for cramping and spasticity. Yes, it has certainly helped in my opinion, although it doesn’t eradicate the problem altogether - nothing does. But when I first started, I noticed a big difference almost immediately, although it did take a while for me to reach and stick at the optimum dose, which for me has been the 20mg three times daily, which my last consultant thought was too much, but his registrar doesn’t, and my GP’s cool with it too, so how much is “too much” seems to depend who you ask. I’m certainly still well within the maximum permitted dose, and I don’t think I’m especially sensitive to it - perhaps that’s why I get no side-effects AND I had to move to quite a high dose to get sufficient relief. Everyone’s different (I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this).
I expect the dose I’m on would make some people collapse, but all it does to me is ease the cramping stiffness, and make it a little less like having two wooden legs!
Tina
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Haha! Re drink:
I can - and do! It’s not absolutely contraindicated, although the official advice is you should assess how baclofen affects you first, as it may cause drowsiness, and obviously alcohol would have a tendency to increase that.
But there’s not a toxic interaction, or anything like that. I had a load to drink Christmas Day, and have modest amounts at other times - no problems so far. I don’t expect my liver likes it much, BUT I’m not giving up one of life’s few pleasures because I have the misfortune to be on lifelong meds. Obviously, if the combination was prohibited outright, I wouldn’t have a choice - I’m not suicidal!
But if it’s only: “Proceed with caution”, I will proceed…with caution. 
Tina
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Right - had to come downstairs anyway, so had a look at the baclofen 10mg, and yes, they are scored for easy halving, so should be no reason Hubby has to take liquid unless he prefers it.
How weird I couldn’t remember the tablets I see every day!
Tina
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