Ativan (lorazepam) for Muscle Spasms . . .
 

Just wondering how many of you take lorazepam for muscle spasms and did you eventually get used to the drowsy side effects?

Baclofen is out for me unless I want to spend my life feeling hung over and grumpy. NOT!!! Valium is great but then I sleep all the time, even on a wee little baby dose. So the neuro prescribed lorazepam. I normally don't take it and just deal but as of late, I really need to keep my mobility smooth, be as pain free as possible, and be able to drive. Any suggestions, comments, or ideas would be great.

No, my neuro prescribed zanaflex after I weaned off of baclofen, which didn't work well for me. I started with the tablets, but switched to the capsules because the tabs didn't work well, either.
Keep us up to date on how it's working...:hug:

I used to take valium, but only at night or naptime. I hated Baclofen. I have a friend who took Ativan at night. I'm not taking anything now but will still take an occasional Valium, if needed.

I try to deal with only exerise now, because I hate the drugged up feeling and the hangovers.

as far as i know, and i may be wrong, but ativan is used for anxiety and to help you sleep. i don't think it's a good drug for muscle tightness, spasms.

I occasionally take clonazepam for spasticity. But I only take 1/2 of a pill, and usually it is at night. My only experience with lorazeapm if that I have taken prior to a few of my MRI's. It did not make me sleepy; just relaxed me a bit. I am not sure about driving while taking it.

Baclofen did not work for me even at 60 mg and did not make me sleepy. Zanaflex made me nauseated.

When my symptoms over-ride all the meds, meditation, and relaxation techniques I throw at them, Ativan has given me that extra relaxation to regain some control over pain. Getting it prescribed, though, is not so easy.

Hi TK,

Lorazepam, as well as the Valium you took are in a category of meds called Benzodiazepine.

I have not taken Lorazepam but I do use Klonopin which is also a Benzo. Klonopin has become a multi-purpose med for me. It does help with spasticity and pain but I found at a high dose (6 mg) it caused leg weakness.

As far as drowsiness (personal experience) -- I react strangely with meds and benzos are no different. I have used Klonopin on a regular basis but I have also taken it only as needed. My reaction each time is always a suprise. Sometimes it makes me tired, sometimes it doesn't and sometimes I feel more alert on it.

Sometimes I am okay to drive after taking Klonopin, sometimes I'm not.

Unfortunately, most medications used to treat spasticity causes drowsiness.

I take Lorazepam for anxiety. Maybe it is also for spasms. The sx's kinda go together...

I'm with Snoops and Barb on the Klonopin.

Mine helps my burning mouth, but has some very other nice side effects - my sensory symptoms (buzzing, tingling etc) decreased immensely, I was able to quit smoking cold turkey on it (from a very unhealthy 2 pack a day habit), it lowered my anxiety levels tremendously, and ultimately my stress levels... I can't say enough good things about the drug for what it's done for me.

I only take .25 mg 3 times daily. Very low dose.

For spasms, I upped my bedtime dose to .5 mg instead of my regular .25mg during a leg spam incident lasting a few nights, and it helped tremendously then too. :) Was able to get through that and back to my lower dose.

The problems with Klonopin are that it's very habit forming, and tough to taper off (I've never fully stopped since I started taking it, but I know from missing a dose, the body reminds me!).

Before my CCSVI treatment, I used to take 1 ativan just before bed to help with the restless legs/myclonus. The only time I would take it during the day was if the muscle spasms got really violent. I did find that it made me drowsy though.

I'm with Snoops, Barb and Laura.
I have taken Klonopin for 25 years for it's anti-tremor properties. It relaxes the muscle cramps and spasms too. Then it went generic to Clonazepam.

I do find different drug companies make it a bit different. Mylan Pharma is stronger than the one Teva Pharma makes. I don't know why.

Then there is a fast dissolving one. It dissolves before you get it down.:eek:

I take .50 mg 3 times a day or may slip in an extra .50 mg if I am up. I need to take it every 5 to 6 hours. I works for me and yes I am sure I am addicted to it after all this time. That and LDN are all I take for MS.

Lady, that's similar to my case, only 2 pill form medications, one being the Clonazepam, other Cesamet (Nabilone). Those help ease the pain, and then my relapses are either controlled by luck, or my Swank-like eating for the past 2+ years. :)

I don't believe we have the brand "klonopin" at all in Canada, or else the doctors only write the generic due to cost. Cesamet... I'm dreaming of the day that a generic form's available!

I had asked for 'wafers' at one time, as I had read that Klonopin/Clonazepam comes in a wafer form. The pharmacy here confirmed that yes, in the US they have wafers, here nope. Which is unfortunate, I wanted to try a mouth-dissolving form since I take it for burning mouth syndrome.

I can tell you it's the only medication that has helped to significantly decrease the severity of burning mouth. For us with this condition - MS or not - it's a life saver.

Ativan
 

I was given low doses of Ativan to help take the edge off of mild vertigo. It works plus takes the edge off the panic that goes with it. I can't say enough about Ativan....at the low dose .05 mg 2x daily when dizzy, I don't get sleepy and I can drive much better due to the calming of the vertigo.
My vertigo is mild and makes me feel as though I've lost my sense of gravity and float a bit off kilter.:eek: However; after doing some reading here, I think I'd like to try the Klonopin!
M.S. has increased my anxiety (from out of nowhere to complete phobia!) and that has been quite the fight for me. The slight vertigo has made me feel like I'm crazy and has made me scared to drive. I'm so afraid of becoming house-bound.
Back to your question....I can see how Ativan would help with the spasticity as it relaxes you....but they will watch how much you take due to the addictive factor. Keep fighting the good fight and keep trying to find what works for you.:hug:

I never get hung-over or grumpy effects on baclofen but then I took it since 1989 for paraplegia 4x/day and upped it to 6x/day since 2006 for MS. I still get bad spasms constantly though. I'd rather increase it to 8x/day then take Ativan. I have skitzo relatives on it and they seem way more sedated then I ever wanna be! :) I still have tons of energy ever since I started pushing wheelchair 1.2 miles/day earlier this yr. Miss swimming I hate cold!

karilann, ask about the medication 'Serc', or it's equivalent where you are, for vertigo. Non-addictive, can take with anything from what I have read about it. If you have a compounding facility in your area, they may be able to make it.

My understanding is this medication (available in Canada by prescription) isn't available world-wide, but when I had severe vertigo I was prescribed it. When I had severe vertigo again, I went back and asked for it by name.

It reduced the V by 80%. It's a drug used to treat Meniere's Disease, and was a life saver as far as the V was concerned in my case.

Rushing off to work in a sec, I'm not sure which drug info sheets/sites can be linked here, but just search for "Serc" and you'll find it.