Hi all my hubby has been advised to try Baclofen 5mg for his leg spasms. Do you find they work and do they make your legs weaker. thanks all
Hi,
Yes, I find they work (but not at 5mg, which is a very tiny beginnerās dose), and no, I donāt find they make my legs weaker.
Like all drugs, some people will get side effects, but you can never tell unless you try, so donāt be put off by negative experiences, as some people (like me) will have no bother whatsoever.
Although they are not painkillers, I noticed an almost immediate reduction in pain when starting baclofen, and wished Iād been on them ages earlier (years!), but I couldnāt have been, as I wasnāt diagnosed. I hadnāt realised how much pain Iād just been putting up with as ānormal for my ageā, until I took something that helped! The pain was (is) spasticity related, so relieving the spasticity helped relieve the pain.
Iāve been on a relatively high dose (more than my neuro wants) of 60mg for about three-and-a-half years now, and am finding itās no longer so effective. BUT, in general, tolerance (needing to keep raising the dose for the same effect) is not a big issue with baclofen. Sadly, I fear the reason itās no longer working so well for me is that symptoms have worsened, rather than that Iāve developed tolerance to the drug itself.
I still wouldnāt be without it, even though it no longer does the job as well as when I first started. I firmly believe I wouldnāt be able to walk without baclofen, as my legs would be too stiff and tight. I can still walk about 3 to 4 miles on a good day, so no, I donāt think thereās any issue with my legs being weak, do you?
I would suggest hubby gives it a try. Thereās no compulsion to stay on it if he doesnāt take to it, but it might make life a whole lot easier. You do have to wean off if you want to stop from the higher doses, but unlikely to be much of an issue with just 5mg.
Tina
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Anitra thanks very much for your reply I will advise hubby to try.
I take 6x 10Mg Baclofen/Day and I donāt find it making any of my muscles weaker. Doesnāt get rid of the spasms 100% (I also take Tizanadine 4x4Mg/day). Both together make the spasms tolerable.
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Sometimes I think unless you take. Then stop. How do you know the difference. Iv experimented over the last year, and found taking them made me feel worse. Just try and see, donāt be frightened to stop again, itās easier than giving up smoking. Lol
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Hi, I think baclofen is a good drug at reducing spasmsā¦but yes, they can make your legs weaker, but 5mg is a very low dose and it may need to be increasedā¦but steady yeh? x
pollx
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I take 10mg twice a day and have done for 4years, I initially took a higher dose then reduced. In the same 4years I have gone from RR to SP my walking is significantly worse. I really donāt blame the Baclofen I believe it is simply a progression of the disease. I could be wrong but I am not prepared to stop taking Baclofen and risk the spasms I was having 4 years ago returning. I am sure if my MS Nurse or GP thought Baclofen was causing my deterioration they would advise me to stop taking it.
My advice to your husband is to try it and see.
Jan x
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Hi, Iāve been on it just over two months. At first it made me feel unwell and my legs did feel a bit weaker (thatās when I was on 10mg twice a day). Iāve gone back to 10mg once a day when I get up as thatās when Iām stiffest. Since then im feeling much better. On the plus side it greatly helps my stiffness and my bladder is behaving itself ( should I be worrying about retention) On the downside Iāve put on 1/2 stone since taking it (is that a coincidence I ask myself or am I just being a pig?) I didnāt see anything about weight gain in the side effects.
Heather.
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Had to stop baclofen 5mg after two weeks. It certainly stopped leg spasms at night and eased stiffness, however it relaxed all my muscles to the extent that I was so āfloppyā I couldnāt stand up!
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Iām on 40mg of Baclofen a day and can honestly say theyāve helped a lot. The spasms havenāt gone completely but the intenseness of them has eased. I combine them with gabapentin too. Tell your hubby to give them a go. Julie x
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My neurologist has suggested I go on this a letter he sent to Ms nurse just waiting for them to contact me, if it eases stiffness I will be taking it.
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Thanks all for your responses. As yet he has still not got the medication so will have to follow that up.
I do remember a few years ago he tried a tablet for his tremors and it was also for epilepsy called Primidone and I noticed his face had dropped Bellās Palsy so this had to be stopped and the face went back to normal.
Some of these side effects are terrible.