spasms and medication

Hi everyone I am new and no diagnosis. Currently been told have atypical chronic fatiguee and waiting for referral to see a neuro i have seen privately to the nhs. I have numbness pain and weakness all down left side for nearly 18 months now. Left foot issues going numb when i walk burning toes etc and lots of other issues. My question is about spasms and what medication works. I get bad body head and left leg spasms. My neck and shoulder in right side has seized up very painful. Doc said today its in spasm and given me naproxen. I am also on nortriptyline. Should i just up my nortriptyline? I dont understand why i am getting bad spasms still does anybody else experience bad spasmsi would appreciate any advice or help this is not going away. Sorry for any typos etc Thanks

Hi I take baclofen for spasms and spasticity. I`m on 30mg. Most people are told to find their own dosage for control.

I still get some foot spasms and have tried increasing the dose, but that makes me have wetting and tongue swallowing. So when a spams happens, I change position as quickly as I can…which isnt easy!

luv Pollx

Hello and welcome :slight_smile:

The first thing I would do, if I were you, is try the naproxen. If it works, then the spasms are unlikely to be neurological.

If it doesn’t work, then I would go back to the GP and ask for baclofen. If they agree to prescribe it, start on a very low dose and increase it very gradually (e.g. 5 or 10mg the first week, increase to 10 or 15mg the second week, etc). This will help to prevent side effects, but it’s important to not take too much because it can make muscles too weak which, if your left side is already weak, may make falls more likely - increasing the dose very gradually will help you to work out what is the minimum amount that works, without it causing other problems.

As far as what causes spasms goes, there are several different causes. It could be something as simple as sleeping awkwardly, but if it’s neurological, then it is often a problem with the connection between the brain and the muscles that tells the muscles when to relax. This connection is called the “upper motor neuron”.

Btw, I am not a medic so please discuss all of this with your GP.

Karen x

Thank you both that’s very helpful. I am still trying the prescribed medication. It’s helped a little bit i am still getting my normal spasms which make my whole body twitch (electric shock like’ and head going side to side and left thigh spasms which I am on nortriptyline for. The worst thing at the mo is nausea i feel really sick sometimes. This morning i also woke up with pressure in my lower abdomen /pelvis area and squeezing feeling around my hips. Ive got so many strange things going on at the mo. Don’t want to run to docs for everything. Is nausea common too? Ive felt like i may be sick but dont Thanks T x

Definitely see your GP about the abdominal pain and nausea. It may be related to your other symptoms, but it could be something else and need treatment. Baclofen may help your other spasms too, if your GP agrees it’s worth a try. Kx