Went to my appointment and all went well. The doctor said I would be a good candidate for the injections in my legs. There will be approximately 6 injections mostly in my hamstrings where I feel the most tightness. She is also going to inject my left ankle to help it from turning inward when I walk. The doctor video taped me walking so we could see the before and after. She did a complete exam and found clonus in both legs. She said I had remarkable leg strength. I was able to squat down at 90 degrees with both feet flat on the ground and hold it for several minutes. I told her I was a weightlifter and excercised my legs regularly. She was amazed and said to keep it up because it was making a remarkable difference in my muscle tone, strength and overall ability to walk.
The only bad thing is I have to wait until May 08 to get the injections because it takes a while to get approved through my insurance and then they have to order the medication through a special pharmacy which, takes about 30 days to get.
Once, I start the injections she will take me off the Baclofen. I will then start receiving regular injections every three months. She will alternate muscle groups from time to time as needed to help me walk better. I asked her about the effectiveness of the injections over a long period of time (for example 10 years). I have been on Baclofen for about 6 years and am taking the max dose which, no longer seems to work. It appears my body has developed a tolerance for the medication and is no longer as effective.
She said this is completely opposite with the injections. The effects of the injections will be the same now as in like 20 years from now. She has had patients for 20 years that have been taking injections and still getting the same benefits as when they started. As for the dosage, she said it will be a "respectable" amount and would adjust it from there. She said something about "600" but I didn't understand if that was cc's.
It was a very thorough and informative appointment. We also talked about the Baclofen pump but I told her that was completely out of the question.