Baclofen

[marsha2306]

In addition to RLS I have a very painful (nerve) condition which I be also been taking Gabapentin for. My nerve pain has gotten seriously out of control even with the Gabapentin so I want to see if Baclofen will work better. In order to start the Baclofen I have to first wean down the Gabapentin. Does anyone here take Baclofen and have good results? I’m very nervous about my RLS while cutting down the Gabapentin. Want to be confident the Baclofen will help before I go through this.

[ookla]

I tried baclofen. It didn't do anything for my rls. If you do try it, I hope it works for you. Best of luck, fellow sufferer, I hope you find relief.

[Zbirth1]

Welcome. I’m not familiar with baclofen. What is it used for? I will be following the replies on your post with interest as I too have several nerve problems going on in my legs. Hoping you can find some peaceful 😴😴😴

[Heatherlss]

Hope you find some relief marsha. I've read that weaning off gaba involves some difficulty in falling asleep. Hopefully it won't be too bad for you. Only thing I would suggest is that you wean down slowly and steadily.

[restlessstoz]

Hi Marsha, I used to be on gabapentin and gabapentin and didn't have any issues??? I was also told by Dr B that the baclofen wouldn't help RL and to go off it which I did. I did feel it may have helped initially but I was on so many different drugs that I don't really know what helped and what didn't. Good luck with your journey and I hope you can find some good advise to consider.

[marsha2306 in reply to restlessstoz]

We’re you on both meds at the same time. If so, how much? I have a lot of nerve pain and gabapentin isn’t doing the job anymore which why I want to try Baclofen. But I also use the gabapentin for my RLS so I really don’t know what to do.

[restlessstoz in reply to marsha2306]

I was on a huge dose of Gabapentin- 2,800 mg a day which was too much. According to Dr B, doses of 600 are absorbed better than at a higher dose. I was only ever on 10 mg of baclofen. Anyway, with the desire to be drug free and have a baseline to work from, I decided to go off it - gabapentin, all together.

Baclofen was the second drug I went off as Dr B said that it wasn't useful as a RL treatment anyway. Good luck Marsha. It's a real agony this journey we're on, the only thing that makes it bearable is the company along the way so keep in touch.

[marsha2306 in reply to restlessstoz]

Thank you! I have such a problem because most of the meds you can take for nerve pain make RLS worse. My nerve pain is horrible

[restlessstoz in reply to marsha2306]

Did you try Lyrica, it's supposed to be better tolerated than gaba and you need a smaller dose? I'm on it at the moment and trying to work out a suitable dose and hopefully not augmenting on it.

[marsha2306 in reply to restlessstoz]

I gained a lot of weight on lyrica

[marsha2306 in reply to restlessstoz]

Just spoke to my doc. I’m going to try 600 Gabapentin in the morning and at 600 night plus 5 mg Baclofen mid day. If the 5 mg doesn’t cause problems, i can increase to 10 mid day.

I am too afraid to go off Gabapentin before i try Baclofen.

[restlessstoz in reply to marsha2306]

Good luck with it Marsha. I do hope it will help you and you tolerate it well. It does sound as if your doctor is doing his best to find the solution for you.

[marsha2306 in reply to restlessstoz]

He’s great and always works closely to find solutions.

[restlessstoz]

Sorry, I meant gabapentin and baclofen!....

[Skifam]

Baclofen is a muscle relaxant and can relieve spasms and nerve pain. It will make you drowsy so you can’t drive after taking it. I’ve taken it for muscle spasms and inflammation caused by sciatica. Nerve pain can be so debilitating I know, but I’ve only taken it for short periods until the inflammation subsides. I’ve never heard it used for RLS before as I don’t think it’s meant for everyday long term use. However, I could be wrong so it’s best if you check with a neurologist first before using it for RLS. Good luck to you and I hope your nerve pain subsides soon.

[Koko1026]

I actually take gabapentin, baclofen, and tramadol to treat my RLS.. works for me

[marsha2306 in reply to Koko1026]

Doses? Gabapentin and Baclofen together?

[Lukeism]

Baclofen makes my rls unbearable. I might be an absolute outlier but it’s torture in a bottle for me. Maybe you should try lyrica for your nerve pain. Instead of baclofen for a muscle relaxant I’d use norflex.

[Sara_2611]

I've never taken it thanks very much good luck make sure you keep your gp uptodate

[marsha2306]

I will. My GP is my prescribing doctor

[Hofmeyr1]

I have had RLS for 25 years now and the last 5 years has seen an increase in its severity and regularity. The type of attacks I get are just before sleep at night or when drowsy after lunch etc in both cases it stops me from sleeping for quite some time. For last few years I take 10mg of Baclofin combined with 2.5 mg oxpola (Mirapex or pramipexole) daily. Through experimenting i found the optimum time to ingest is 6pm. very important to stick to this time. If i forget then i get an attack lasting several hours and of course keeping me from sleeping. I do not have any nerve pain and dont know anything about its treatment, but for me Baclofin definitely works and works better together with Oxpola. To be specific; it works 80 - 85% of the time; if my routine suddenly changes it affects it eficacy for sure. Hope this helps

[Grammieof4 in reply to Hofmeyr1]

thank you!