Baclofen and Muscle Spasms: What Users Say

• MSd...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 30, 2016

For Muscle Spasm "First prescribed Baclofen orally for MS. Legs are turning into concrete. I was a zombie for about a year. 7 years ago I made the decision to have a baclofen pump implanted with meds going directly to my spine for my legs. Totally changed my life. No more zombie and spasms under control. (also had dilaudid in pump). Much smaller, concentrated doses going where they need to. It is now time to have surgery to implant another pump, 7-year battery life. I will have to go back on oral doses until healed from surgery. After that refill once a month and good for another 7 years. MS is getting worse but planning on giving it a hell of a fight... lol"

• Chu...
• March 2, 2013

For Muscle Spasm "I have severe back pain and nerve impingement. I have tried at least 7 medications that are used to treat this disorder. There are some that work better, but the side effects make it impossible to live a normal life. There are those that don't work at all. This is the only medication that I have taken that allows me to live a normal life. I can sit in a chair or ride in a car without my back spasms killing me. Baclofen is the only medicine I have found that allows me to work without spasms and not be so fatigued like a zombie."

• Cou...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 17, 2020

For Alcohol Withdrawal "Severe alcoholism for over a decade. Tried everything to stop. Started to take this in the morning instead of the first drink. Reduced w/d symptoms: sweating, anxiety, obsessive thoughts about drinking, tachycardia. It took a year or so of using baclofen while working hard to reduce drinking, but when I was ready, it gave me the ability to stop. It treated a host of related problems: panic, tremors from drinking for so long and the embarrassment that comes from that, balancing mood since it helped calm the mind, neuropathy from likely nerve damage, spasms, PTSD. Very dangerous to mix this with alcohol, so if you are not able to control yourself from mixing them to get an exaggerated alcohol effect, don't use it. I think the desire to quit or reduce was essential to its effectiveness. It worked for me the way naltrexone is supposed to. But without the anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure in normally pleasurable activities). I still get anhedonia occasionally, but on naltrexone, it was constant."

• Spi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 18, 2020

Baclofen for Spinal Spasticity "It literally saved me from neck surgery. I have a disc protrusion that bulges into my spinal cord. I’ve started taking this drug, and the bulge became smaller due to muscle relaxation. I can feel my fingers and have enough power in my arms again. One important thing is the withdrawal process. It takes several months to go down. Otherwise, I get spasms."

• suz...
• July 16, 2011

For Periodic Limb Movement Disorder "I've had MS for 25 years and suffer more with fatigue than anything else, but at night when I was overtired, I would get twitchy and had terrible restless legs. I now take 10 mg of baclofen each night and sleep soundly. I wake up feeling refreshed, something that I've not felt for a very long time, so I recommend this medication."

• Kka...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 21, 2019

"I have multiple sclerosis, and I am personally not a fan of taking too many medications. I take 5 daily, and 2 of them including biotin and vitamin D. I started taking baclofen for my complete body stiffness and involuntary muscle movements. Did it take them all away? No, but I can say that baclofen has helped me. I started at 20 mg at bedtime, I currently am up to 40 mg daily, and I’m sure that mg will continue to grow as my body adjusted very quickly to this medication. If you're stiff in pain, body jerks, weak extremities - I’d give this medicine a try. And I’m actually a real person. Thank you and good luck."

• Alb...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 18, 2022

For Neuralgia "I suffered both chronic and acute pain, apparently in one of my hips, but radiating through my leg for many months. I was reduced to climbing stairs a half step at a time. An MRI showed stenosis of my lower spine, but before the MRI, I developed severe muscle spasms of gluteus muscles. I was prescribed baclofen (Lioresal) as an antispasmodic, but my other symptoms were quickly relieved. The initial dosage of 10 mg t.i.d. was excessive for my low body weight and gave me severe headaches and destroyed my coordination. I gradually reduced the dosage and find that 5 mg once each morning works most days to keep my symptoms under control. If pain recurs, I take an additional 5 mg, plus 325 mg of acetaminophen - I also use this combination an hour before strenuous sporting exercise. I am male and in my mid 70s."

• Soa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2019

For Muscle Spasm "I fell and have had muscle spasms in my mid and upper back. Couldn’t sleep, it hurt so bad. Had a massage. Took a steam shower. Took Advil. Went to my doctor and got this rubbish drug. I took it as prescribed, and it’s like a placebo. It didn’t do anything at all. Calling back my doctor for something else first thing today!"

• my...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 8, 2018

For Muscle Spasm "I have been on baclofen for 3 days, and I'm having more spasms than ever before - to the point it's cramping. I am not able to use my right arm, and I'm right-handed. I get spasms when I use the bathroom. I'm ready to go to the ER, that's how bad it is. I drink more water, thinking that will help subside the spasm, but that's not working. Are these side effects? I have had headaches, also, it causes blood pressure to go up."

• PBH...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 8, 2021

For Trigeminal Neuralgia "I have had TN for over 20 years. I have been on everything you can possibly think of (pills, pain shots, acupuncture). My neurologist pushed me for years to get MVD surgery, which I finally did after 12 years of pain (no meds worked), the surgery provided no relief. I am currently back on Neurontin, Tegretol, Baclofen, and Aimovig monthly shots - I'm maxed out on the medication and still having pain. I do have a few good days, which are when I either don't come home from work and sit on the floor and cry and wonder how I can keep going. I'm afraid to come off any of the meds because maybe something is getting me those good days, but what is it? I do feel like the baclofen is a big part of my relief because when I doubled it, I had some ease. Unfortunately, I have side effects with the baclofen also. I have what I call tics, which are like muscle spasms, I also have sounds in my ears that feel like I'm underwater, then there are the feeling drunk side effects sometimes, along with others."

• Tie...
• December 29, 2015

Baclofen for Muscle Spasm "Loss of leg with riding lawn mower. Still have side effects! The leg I still have jerks, and I still feel the pain of the lawn mower going over my leg. Not at all times, but when they do, I can't get the pain or the spasms to let up!"

• Spr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 24, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "I have very bad muscle spasms and cramps that turn my foot completely sideways and splay all my toes. It’s excruciating pain. Baclofen made it worse. The day I tried it, I had the spasms 12 times during the night. Won’t be taking it again. I guess crying and screaming is my option."

• Sas...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 5, 2023

"I take one 10 mg a night, and it helps my pain from severe scoliosis. The pain can be so bad sometimes, and baclofen helps with the spasms I have from scoliosis. I have had six back surgeries in the past. I'm 43 years old now. The doctor told me I can take two a day now. It works."

• mar...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 20, 2021

For Muscle Spasm "This is going to seem strange, but I took baclofen for a year or so circa 2017 and don’t specifically remember why at the moment. But I had a lot left over. Within the past 6 months, I started getting strong, long-lasting muscle spasms in my calves. The type of spasm that involuntarily turned my ankle and twisted my pinky toe. Nothing helped. And then I remembered my leftover baclofen. I took it while a spasm was in progress at 4 am, and it stopped immediately."

• kat...
• August 30, 2015

Baclofen for Neuralgia "I started taking this medication 5 days ago. It's 12:48 am, I've been up now for an hour, sick to my stomach. I'm having a hard time when I try to lie down, my throat feels like it's swelling, unable to sleep. I actually woke up throwing up. Plus, I'm still having a terrible muscle spasm in my right lower back."

• Tri...
• February 23, 2018

For Muscle Spasm "I have stiff, trapped muscles that I used to take Klonopin off-label to help relax them. PM doc won't prescribe them, but will write for 20 baclofen 10 mg a month. I have the worst tendonitis and neck spasms ever from taking them. Can't win."

• Suf...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 23, 2018

"I have been taking baclofen for 2 years for muscle spasms. It's helped a lot, but I still get spasms from time to time. Since taking them, I'm not sure if this is a coincidence, but I have gained a lot of weight, joint pain in legs, knees, feet, and ankles, with swelling in feet and legs. Hip joints also have pain and weakness. I just read some side effects, some are rare but still possible. I asked my doctor if it's possible that it was caused by the medication, and he assured me it's not. I am asking if anyone else has any of the side effects I'm having."

• Yuk...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2021

For Muscle Spasm "Baclofen helped with the muscle spasms long enough for me to get to sleep, but the effects didn't carry into the next day. It made me slightly manic, like I'd had way too much coffee, but not enough to be dangerous. I had a doctor tell me not to make major life decisions on this drug, and I see why. The worst of it, though, is the vivid, terrifying nightmares where I felt like I was in real danger and woke up screaming. They don't wear off fast either - I couldn't find my phone and remember thinking I'd left it in my dream. I woke up and thought some dream entity had replaced my sleeping partner. And of course, my partner doesn't sleep well when I wake up screaming."

• ver...
• March 17, 2013

For Cerebral Spasticity "I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia) when I was 2. I've been taking baclofen for 2 years, and it's been helping me tremendously for stiffness of my legs and muscle spasm!"