Baclofen

Mom visited the ALS clinic today. The doctor says her muscle strength isn't that bad, but her muscles are very stiff. He prescribed Baclofen. Wondering if anyone would share their experiences with this drug. Mom is 80, so we're always worrying about side effects which usually are worse in the elderly.

Thanks,

Kim

Baclofen is regularly prescribed for spasticity in ALS patients. it can may you tired and feel weak until you get use to it. my husband was on it for some time with no major problems--but he is only 50.

My husband has been on Baclofen for an extended period and appears to have no problem with it.

my PALS felt tired and weak and so only took it for maybe a couple of weeks, didn't like how he felt and stopped.

Barbie are you saying this should go away after taking it a while?

What does your doctor say?
Do you not believe him?

Doctor just said some side effects are a little worse in the elderly and to start the dose low and gradually creep up. We're starting 10mg at night.

I take tizanidine 4 muscle spasms. I've used it since 2009. It has the advantage of having both 2 and 4 mg strengths, as well as drying out the mouth, which is a good thing for me, now. It does lower the blood pressure slightly, but the disease and the difficulty of moving with it seems to be raising mine anyway. It's generic, so it's not terribly expensive. Every patient is different, and the proper drug for every patient is different, but I thought I would mention. Good luck
Hollister

Hi Kim,

There are many discussions regarding Baclofen (which I am on, too, btw).

If you go to the Search link at the top of the page, select Advanced, put in "baclofen" (without the quotes!) as the Keyword, under that select "Search titles only", and click the "Search Now" button, you will see ~10 threads on Baclofen including this one!

8^)

GregK
Colorado Springs