Baclofen bad drug

[Pcread]

I have been taking it for couple of years , I went to a new pain Dr and they pointed out that baclofen would give me withdrawal if stopped it doesn't help that much and I do not need to be addicted to something else I managed to get off oxy and I don't want to go Thu that in any form again . I was taking 80 mgs a day I am down to 40 and going down not to go back . I have back issues and have had surgery . I wish I never heard of the drug DR's should give all the facts before prescribed .

[monkeybus]

Yeah, I was taking 100mg of Baclofen every day for spasms. Cold turkey was impossible . Had to taper down .

Baclofen is a first line treatment , it's awful .

Gabapentin is far superior , in my opinion .

[SongStream]

My spasms are most active at night for some reason. Lately, I've been increasing my Baclofen dosage to 70 mgs which I find worrisome. The spasticity has also increased and the rigidity is more pronounced in the morning when I stretch - it takes me longer to get out of bed. All I can think of is that this disease has progressed further which I couldn't fathom it worsening. Are you saying that Gapapentin helps with the spasticity? I only take 300 mg at night for the neuropathic pain in my feet, again which is more active at night.

[julie_]

Baclofen was recommended for spasticity by my physio. I was never fond of taking medication my whole life and now with AMN I can't avoid it. My dosage was a maximum of 20mg per day, taken in 5mg doses. This went on for about 3 years. However, I had been reading here just recently that some people stopped taking baclofen because it made their legs weak. I was already beginning to wonder about that myself. I stopped taking it one day, made it through the day, including a workout after work, but I had trouble sleeping. I went back to taking it.

Fast forward two months later and I'm taking 4-aminopyridine (4-ap) at 20 mg per day (the max dosage). I reduced my baclofen to 5mg at bedtime to help me sleep. This went on for about 2 months. Then, one night, quite by accident, I forgot to take baclofen before bed. Happily, I slept well that night.

Now, I no longer take baclofen. I still take 4-ap, either 10 or 15 mgs per day, whatever I need to get me through until I get home. I have been sleeping well every night ever since.

Do I still have spasticity? Yes. Gait issues? Yes. Is it worse than before? Definitively no. Is there improvement? I would say yes because I am able to kick again. Do my legs feel stronger? Some days, yes, but not everyday. What I can say is that I'm no longer foggy in the head and I'm glad I don't need baclofen right now.

[monkeybus]

Gabapentin relaxes the hell out of you.

It eases my muscles, so , yes, it helps spasticity . Stops spasms stone dead. I can stop Gabapentin cold turkey, no problem at all. Baclofen is evil stuff.

Next week , however, I'm seeing about getting a Baclofen pump installed I don't mind taking Baclofen and as long as it goes straight into my spine and does not touch my brain.

Durimg the day I take 4-aminopyridine. As far as I am concerned it is the Supreme anti spasticity drug

I can not live without it.

And Piracetam, I have posted about Piracetam before, and it's use for anti spasticity.

Now I am taking low dose Naltrexone supposedly it helps with spasticity, today is my third day taking Naltrexone I shall report back.

[mariagno]

I take 300 mg Gabapentin in the morning and 900mg at bedtime.

With that, I take 20 mg of Baclofen in the morning and another 20 mg at bedtime.

The Gabapentin knocks down the pins and needles sensation and the baclofen takes care of the spasms.

I sleep well and function well although over the years I feel I have lost a little ability to stay focused on a task. It may be some ADD has crept in or it may be the medication

If I get a great nights sleep, all is good.

If I do not get 8 hours I have the option to take a provigil.

Been this way for 25 years.

[monkeybus in reply to mariagno]

Better living through chemistry .

[Pcread]

yes gabapentin is much better i take 300 mgs three times a day

[Pcread]

Yes your sleep gets messed up when stopin baclofen but it gets better after a while i heard from another person that had the same problem with it .

[monkeybus]

Baclofen makes me feel like electricity is shooting through my brain. Coming off Baclofen was hard. I've never experienced withdrawal before. Not going through that again.

I went through three neurologists before I convinced one to prescribe Gabapentin. It's a godsend. Gives me hallucinations if I take too much, but I'll buy that over Baclofen anytime.

I see that new spasticity drug CTP-354 is in clinical trials right now. Non sedating, supposed to very good.

[Pcread]

sounds good i will have to talk to my Dr.

[Allder]

To sleep i Take 3600mg gabapentin + 2mg (Clonazepam) dont know the English name on the medicin. I will test if the baclofen pump will help Me on about a month.

[monkeybus]

Clonazepam, I used to take that. Sub-lingual, melts on the tongue, minty.

And, that is a hefty Gabapentin dose. That is in the region of what I take. Anything to stop those spasms.