Spasms -- suggestions, thoughts, advice?

[wifehasMS]

My wife has strong muscle spasms very frequently. These began sometime after her last hospitalization for a septic infection that caused almost complete renal failure and apparently destroyed a good bit of muscle tissue before they were able to stop it. She has to be strapped into her wheelchair with a gait belt to keep the spasms from knocking her out of the chair! They seem to happen by themselves with no apparent stimulation, and, they also happen at the slightest stimulation when ever someone tries to reposition her.
The Dr. recently prescribed baclofen at 10mg 3x/day, and just upped that to 15mg. she is also taking gabapentin which she has been taking for a few years now, originally prescribed when she was having some seizures. The seizures have not recurred.

Any thoughts?
Any advice?

Thanks,

[LR1234]

Magnesium supplements and a good B multi maybe (B vits needed to absorb magnesium)??? Its hard though to know if supps will interact in a negative way with the meds she is on.

[mattalleng]

Clonazepam? It's a benzodiazepine which decreases abnormal electrical activity in the brain ,I'm on it for RLS, it's an anti-seizure medication but considering your wife was already on anti-seizure medications and she is still having spasms it might not do anything, but I'm no doctor, maybe bring it up to your neurologist? couldn't hurt to ask.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000635

www.mattsms.blogspot.com

[jimmylegs]

i agree re magnesium.

re supplements, magnesium glycinate to be specific.

dietary sources include, among other things, dark leafy greens, almonds, certain types of fish...

link: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=75

What can high-magnesium foods do for you?
.Relax your nerves and muscles
.Build and strengthen bones
.Keep your blood circulating smoothly

What events can indicate a need for more high-magnesium foods?
.Muscle weakness, tremor, or spasm
.Heart arrhythmia, irregular contraction, or increased heart rate
.Softening and weakening of bone
.Imbalanced blood sugar levels
.Headaches
.Elevated blood pressure

Excellent sources of magnesium include Swiss chard and spinach. Avoid overcooking to minimize loss of magnesium.

as for bloodwork, ensure serum magnesium is at least 0.91 mmol/L

HTH!

[wifehasMS]

thank you all.
As it turns out, she is hospitalized yet again! This time for some nasty pressure sores that the home health nurse(s) had been treating. The Doctor there has given her magnesium supplements, unknown if it was for the spasms or what.
So, now she looks forward to maybe 4 months of inpatient wound care and rehab, as the wonderful world of MS turns.
Coincidentally, we just purchased a power chair with tilt for pressure relief on the exact same day she was taken to the hospital! We had finally found a good used one that we could afford to buy as her insurance wouldn't cover enough of the cost of a new one... see my " A Rant" thread.
regards,
Cliff

[jimmylegs]

ugh sounds nasty w. zinc is beneficial for wound healing, but is low in ms patients. aim for serum zinc levels in the neighbourhood of 18.2 - 18.4 umol/L!

glad to hear the doc used magnesium supplements. do you know what form?

JL