Baclofen; any side effects?

Hi All

Been taking 20-40mg of baclofen daily for about 7 years now (have PPMS) - am worried about side-effects.

Any regular users out there willing to share any info?

Hope you’re all keeping well.

CP

I only take a low dose and haven’t noticed any side effect.

Have you recently developed what you think are side effects? After seven years I would first investigate any other reasons for what is happening, then ask a pharmacist if it’s possible Baclofen could be could the cause.

Best wishes

Jan x

I take 10mg in the day and 30mg at night and have taken that for many years with no problem.

In the beginning I had to increase the amount very slowly to get to the right amount for me, because if I increased it too quickly it appeared to make my legs weaker.

Hope this helps

Pam x

Hi, I take 10mg three times a day of baclofen and have done for some time. My tablets come with a leaflet that has a list of side effects. If you don’t get one I would advise, check with your doctor. Hope this is helpful.BB.

Hi I dont take baclofen anymore cos I am always seated/lying down and the stiffness is very short lived and I can cope with it. Carers sometimes struggle to roll me, but it always causes a laugh till it goes!

Eons ago, when I was upright, I did take a high dose (70mg) due to severe spasticity and I am sure it weakened me too much and helped with me ending prone on the ground many a time.

So just watch you dont take too much!

Boudsx

Hi CP and everyone :smiley:
Interesting topic with interesting feedback from each of you.

Here’s my experience: I started with Baclofen in April this year, following diagnosis. It’s obviously a drug which requires the body to acclimatise to it. Initially I was prescribed 5mg 2x a day, rising to 3x a day then progressively replacing 5mg with 10mg i.e. up to 30mg/day. I never made it to 30mg and then came off it. Was also prescribed something else (Nortriptyline I think) which clouded the picture. I restarted baclofen on its own and have built up to 20mg, as 1 x 10mg, 2 x 5mg and I can “feel” the 10mg tablet when it kicks in. Makes me a bit drowsy but can’t attribute any other symptoms to it.

The hard bit is attributing side effects to one particular drug if a cocktail of drugs is being taken. We can only experiment with dosage to arrive at levels that work. And we’re all different!

Hi CC thing with baclofen is it can make your leg muscles so weak it can cause falls. It did this with me and I believe helped me into a wheelchair so soon. Other than that I don’t know of any other side effects.