Spastisty(sp)

[tammyrenae]

Ok is there anything I can do for spastisty?? I already strech 3 times a day and take baclofen. What has worked for you?? I will try anything.

[tammyrenae]

Thank You. yeah I figured that surgrey was a last resort and heck the way I walk right now there is no way I could do it. Thank You everyone for the advice, I will be going to my Dr with a bunch of questions.. And for the mj thing I would be it makes me sick just to smell it so I dont think that would be a good thing for me. Thank You Again...

[twopack]

Surgery is certainly a last resort.  Jerks and pain may be relieved but there is often a steep trade off price to pay for severance.  Give every other possibility a good hard try (or two) first.  There are no do-overs available if surgical remedies don't give the end product you expected.

Mary

[jensequitur]

Typically the meds for myoclonus are to slow down the nerve impulses, so that the damaged nerves don't send out signals and cause the myoclonus.  This means that you're going to feel tired if you're on a large dose.  However, I'm on two leviteracetam (keppra) every day - one in the morning, one in the evening.  I started at one and moved up to two when one didn't do it.  

So far I haven't noticed any real difference in my fatigue levels.  It does help with the myoclonus, but it doesn't eliminate it.  I'm trying to find a balance between being able to function and not jerking around while at work.

They can cut certain tendons, but that's what they do in cases of EXTREME spasticity.  I mean, it's when the muscle is in constant spasm, and you can't straighten your leg.  Although really these days they would just inject Botox into the leg muscle.

[tammyrenae]

oops not the side effects of myoclonus, I meant the side effects of the meds for it???

[tammyrenae]

Thank You I will ask my Dr about myoclonus. I go to him on May 4th and have a list already. I was told awhile ago by my olf fd that it was rls and the medicine he gave me made me tired all day and well to be blunt bitchy so i stopped taking it and now thinking about it I wonder if it was a sign of the ms. I would like to get off the baclofen cause it realy doesnt seem to do anything for me. I have read about where they can cut certain tendons in your leg,has anyone had this done and does it help? I dont want to have surgrey but heck Im willing to do anything that helps right now.And Oh I have read the side effects of going off baclofen and that scares me but I do know that you have to get off it slowly. What are the side effects of myoclonus? Thank You everyone for the advice and with helping..Tammy

[twopack]

I thought too your description sounded more like myoclonus than spasticity.  If this happens more at night it may be associated with a sleep disorder or a variant of RLS (restless leg/limb syndrome).  Those things are best treated with drugs like  Klonopin or Keppra rather than Baclofen.  It is also possible iron supplementation might be helpful to reduce symptom frequency (if your ferritin level tests below 50).

I would certainly ask my doc about weaning off the baclofen if it isn't helping.  There is no use in taking a drug that isn't making something better.  But ***WARNING*** this IS NOT a drug you want to go off of cold turkey.  Make sure the doctor gives you a tapering off dosage schedule.

Mary

[jensequitur]

I still get the morning stiff leg thingie, (when I move in the morning, everything freezes up, and I have to wait until it relaxes) and I still get the back myoclonus problem, but it does seem to be better.  I take one in the morning and one in the evening.

[ccorina]

Does the keppra help with the myoclonus?  I was taking gabapentin which didn't help at all, only helped with electrical things/creepy crawly sensations.  

I had to stop taking it because it was causing too much bruising.  

Corina

[jensequitur]

Hey, Tammy, your leg twitching sounds like myoclonus to me.  Baclofen won't help with that - it's a muscle relaxer.  You need some sort of drug like neurontin, gabapentin, or keppra - what I'm on.

[tammyrenae]

i take 50mg of baclofen a day and its doesnt seem to help at all. plus my legs twitch,more at night wheich sometimes it makes my whole body jump,and there are times i stay up later just so my husband can fall asleep. Massage hasnt been mentioned to me,will have to try that. I did pt twice a week but i dont feel it did anything. Forgot to mention that my walking is crap and my feet feel swollen(actually are not at all) so I have not drove since sept cause i can not tell when my foot touches the petal so i dont feel safe at all. My dr knows that I am going thru this and we have tried predisone,soloumedrol and some other steroid and then predisone again and that only worked the first time and the others did nothing. I will have to ask about the Flexaril but the last time I asked about the twitching he just uped my baclofen. Thank you for all the advice...

[Guitar_grrrl]

For me, it's Baclofen 60 mg/day (20 mg 3x/day).  Add some mj at bedtime, and the night time spasms are lessened to some degree.  I sometimes alternate the mj with 5 mg of Diazepam.  And stretch, stretch, stretch!  I think I've also gotten used to some spasticity.  This is where I am today...

[cashu17]

I take baclofen 10 mg twice during the day, 40 mg at bedtime, tizanidine 8 mg at bedtime, valium 3 mg at bedtime.

I also stretch and get weekly acupuncture treatments.  

In the past tried dantrolene, had terribly dizziness with it.

[Ojibajo]

I have physical therapy twice a week that includes message techniques to help with my spasticity and I have found that it helps quite a bit. I take Flexeril to help.

When I really have a hard time I try to get messages. Luckily I have a friend who is a medical message/manual therapist.

[crwriter]

Man I hate that stuff

[jensequitur]

I also use mj, but I haven't found a quantifiable improvement in my spasticity with that alone.  I did have a long period of time when I was experiencing spasticity, but my neurologist thought I wasn't, because he'd do the rap test and the muscle wouldn't curl up.  I didn't mention the mj use to him.  But I have to wonder if that's the reason why.

[COBOB]

I do what Jen does and add some marijuana at bedtime.  Even my Neuro thinks it is a good idea.

Bob

[jensequitur]

How much baclofen do you take?  I take 60 mg a day, and when I have spasms that aren't controlled by that, I take Flexaril as needed.