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Does anyone take a low dose of baclofen? I wake up and I'm stiff as a board.

Hi Cas-

I took Baclofen a couple years ago for spasticity in my right foot and it made me loopy. I've had my share of back problems over the years and one way I deal with it is gentle exercise. I try to do it as soon as I get up in the morning and it helps a lot. I also use a TENS unit for pain (I have a herniated disc) and that also mitigates my back stiffness.

Hi,

I do. My feeling is they give you the wrong advice on how to use it. Initially I was told to start at 5mg in the morning then go to 5mg morning at night then go to 10mg and 5mg then 10mg morning and night and then possibly add more.

All I could manage was 5mg at night for the first few months. I was fiddling around with magnesium and took 500mg of magnesium diglycinate morning, noon, 6pm and bedtime as well as the baclofen. Eventually I got up to 10mg Baclofen at night just before I went to sleep.

It did help with spasticity but the initial effect is you feel weak. I think this occurs because as the spasticity eases, the muscles that have not been doing anything need to work. You have actually become reliant on the tightness for mobility and balance so you will be generally weaker when it releases.
If you persist with walking, climbing stairs and, if you can, exercise the weakness disappears after a few days as the muscles wake up. If you plan to do nothing then don't bother taking anything because you do need to work the muscles.

Be very wary of the doses they tell you that you should take. I had physios sneering at me for taking 5mg and telling me it was subclinical. When I saw the senior doctor in charging of rehabilitation she smiled and said "some people can only handle 2.5mg"

If you go down that path also look at botox for spasticity in the leg. They work well together although they don't interact as medications.

Regards,

Thank you for the post Scott1! I think Baclofen is a good drug if you choose to go that route. That was interesting what you said about dosing. I stopped taking it as it made me dizzy and seemed to counteract what I was trying to achieve. I admit I am more sensitive to those type of drugs and I prefer not to take them if I don't have to. I'll check the dosage again, but I think you make an excellent point.

I tried taking baclofen around the clock without much benefit. Just constipation. My problem with stiffness is later in the day, so I do a long stretching/massage regimin before bed. I also take 10 mg baclofen at bedtime. I think it helps me sleep a little.

I think everyone is so different in how the med works, that it takes some trial and error so to speak to determine what really works for the particular individual. HUD

Scott1 wrote:Hi,

I do. My feeling is they give you the wrong advice on how to use it. Initially I was told to start at 5mg in the morning then go to 5mg morning at night then go to 10mg and 5mg then 10mg morning and night and then possibly add more.

All I could manage was 5mg at night for the first few months. I was fiddling around with magnesium and took 500mg of magnesium diglycinate morning, noon, 6pm and bedtime as well as the baclofen. Eventually I got up to 10mg Baclofen at night just before I went to sleep.

It did help with spasticity but the initial effect is you feel weak. I think this occurs because as the spasticity eases, the muscles that have not been doing anything need to work. You have actually become reliant on the tightness for mobility and balance so you will be generally weaker when it releases.
If you persist with walking, climbing stairs and, if you can, exercise the weakness disappears after a few days as the muscles wake up. If you plan to do nothing then don't bother taking anything because you do need to work the muscles.

Be very wary of the doses they tell you that you should take. I had physios sneering at me for taking 5mg and telling me it was subclinical. When I saw the senior doctor in charging of rehabilitation she smiled and said "some people can only handle 2.5mg"

If you go down that path also look at botox for spasticity in the leg. They work well together although they don't interact as medications.

Regards,

This makes ALOT of sense. I think my dosage was too high. You have given me some hope.