Spasticity
 

I've read a lot about spasticity but find it difficult to tell if what I'm experiencing is truly spasticity or just generalized pain with MS.

I have been having really bad pain in my lower right leg. It feels like it's generating from the inside. My leg isn't sore but just has a deep, dull ache all the time. I'm taking Neurontin for my right hand/arm and I'm hoping it will help my leg, too. It does make me loopy, though. :o I have no other pain relievers except Tylenol.

I go to the Neuro in the next month after I have another MRI on Tuesday the 15th. I want t ask him about pain relievers and what I can take to help me sleep at night. Seems like the pain gets worse at night but maybe that's because I don't have anything to distract me from it.

Does anyone else have pain with spasticity and what do you do about it? I hate to complain about every little ache and pain but this is interfering with my ability to get around.

I have pain with the spasticity. It's like living on the edge of a charley horse or a cramp when it's not bad, and it IS the full cramp when it is bad!

When I have the leg pain, I am scared to bend my leg because I am afraid it will go into the full cramp and stay there for days! There are times that pain is there for days, and then it will just disappear, as if the muscle just relaxed all at once. The hands - same thing. I will be steering my car and have to take one hand or the other off the wheel and stretch it out and massage it to try to relieve the "edge of cramp" feeling. I have to stretch my hands all the time when I am typing.

I have spasticity in both legs and both hands,and sometimes in my trunk area. I used to call the abdominal ones "lifejacket cramps" thinking I had my lifejacket cinched down too tight. I still get them now and I don't have the lifejacket on! I guess it could also be called the MS hug when it's abdominal, but whatever it is, the Baclofen helps! I'm on a minimal dose daily ( 10 mg TID) and I take tizanidine at bedtime for the night spazz. I just increase the Baclofen dose when it's really bad and go back to my usual dose when it goes away. :rolleyes:

( my doc knows this and agrees with my increasing the dose. He says I know my body better than he does, so go ahead and increase when needed and taper back when it's over.)

My spasticity feels like an almost Charley Horse. Does that make sense? I have spasms anywhere from my hips to my toes.
I sometimes have a dull pain with it.
I have a burning pain that I take Neurontin for. I am not too sure this pain has anything to do with my spasticity.
I take Flexeril, a muscle relaxant, for my spasticity.
My neurologist is treating two different symptoms: Burning pain and spasticity.
Hope this helps, someone else probably will add what their spasticity is like.
Good luck in getting relief. :)

I use a Thera Cane to relieve muscle spasms. It's a handheld device you use to work the spasm into a lesser state. You can get an order from your physician and maybe your insurance will pay for it or you can get one through a physical therapy regimen. It should not be too expensive, but you may need some instruction on use so as to not bruise or make your situation more painful.

Best of luck
(Broken Wings):p

That's exactly what mine feels like.....almost like a muscel cramp but not quite. Like you, I have to stretch my hands often throughout the day. I'm scared to stretch my legs too much because that will generate a cramp that lasts forever it seems! :eek:

I tend to have most of my symptoms on my right side - although I've had them on both sides at the same time.

I never know what I'm gonna get......the Neurontin at the dosage I'm on (600mg 3X daily) make me loopy as a goose and I cannot walk straight when I'm on it. I usually don't take all 3 doses but I do take the evening one. If my Neuro adds a pain medication to the mix I can only imagine what I'll be like. As it is now I rarely go out and when I do (like to the grocery store or drug store) I don't take my medication beforehand because I don't want to stagger. :o

I'm not complaining...really...I'm thankful I have access to these meds to help with the pain. Sometimes I just wonder what tomorrow holds.....guess we all do and we all just never know....

I've tried a couple of different meds for spasticity and the pain associated with it. One is Sinemet CR which is used primarily for Parkinsons. It worked great but the side effect of it was stomach upset. The neuro added an extra rx for 25 mg of Lodosyn which helped. But about 2 years ago, it just stopped working as the pain increased to the point that the med just wasn't touching the pain anymore.

I tried a couple of other meds, but finally tried Soma and it seems to be working (so far!). Like RW, it's just as she described! I also have a percussion type massager that I can grab at night to use if the charley horse takes hold. If it's in my feet, I massage my calf muscle to get it let loose...my massage therapist has shown me where the trigger points are to massage so my feet will relax, as well as where my calf muscles will relax. I hate those middle of the night cramps where I wake up screaming in pain!

I also take klonopin every night for RLS which helps but I still have that spasticity stuff that just never really seems to go away. I think I've been taking Soma for about 8 months. I know I started it while I was about halfway through the clinical trial because I had to get permission to take it.

I've never tried neurontin...it's been suggested, but I am so med sensitive that the doc says it will probably put me to sleep on the lowest dose! So, no point in me even trying it! :eek:

I can only take Soma at night!

Mine is cramping and PAIN. Sometimes feels like a charlie horse. I've been getting this pain in ummm..............my left side of my rear.:o Anyone else get this? It feels like a really bad pulled muscle in my backside. It comes and goes, but hurts like heck. My doc just gave me Zanaflex and seems to work but makes me dopey(er).

Said to take 4 a day!! Yeah right!

Yeah go ahead and take it! Be a zombie! That's why I don't take Zanaflex or Baclofen! Sometimes these doc's don't think we need to function during the day!

:eek:

No kiddin!! I am going to be taking at night, but guessing all 4 at once won't be a good thing!! :p I can't take Baclofen for that reason and I have no desire for the pump.

And you're right, I think they think we sit and home and just take drugs all day!

I guess we are all different. I cannot take Flexeril at all, but Baclofen is fine. The first couple weeks were hard to get used to it, but now I'm at 80 mg per day and it doesn't make me dopey at all. I just take it in increments throughout the day with the biggest dose at bed. Even still, I take at least 30 mg during the day and function fine.

It no longer really fully relieves the spasticity, but I function and can deal with it. At least I'm not getting "frozen" in a position anymore!:eek:

Oh I can't take Flexeril at all either. Knocks me on my butt and I feel like I have a hangover the next day! I've just started Zanaflex, so the jury is still out. I know my balance is off more with it. I have become aquainted with my walls more in the past few days!:p

I have some Flexiril from when I was in a car accident (2 years ago). If I take one at bedtime it doesn't really knock me out - but the next day I'm dragging so bad I can hardly function.

My leg is really giving me fits tonight - and the Neurontin isn't really taking care of it. I want to be able to function during the day and not be all doped up. I guess I'm going to have to make a choice...learn to deal with the pain or take the meds and sleep it away.

That's why I take the tizanidine ( Zanaflex generic) when I go to bed! It knocks me right out!

The Baclofen did it to me too, but I got used to it after a few weeks. I only used to take one a day when I first started. I titrated up to three a day. Now it's one upon waking, one at 8pm and one around 2am at work ( I'm a night worker so I'm all backwards!!) :D ( no comments from the peanut gallery now!) :cool:

see last relapse wasnt sure about it being this and it turned out it was my lower back messing with leg nerve, this time however my right calf is useless stepping on it ouch letting it down ouch elevate is my friend, I dont want to be eleveated, but nothing I have or am taking is working 4 alieves and a darvocdet work the best so far,

Mine is constant, and its the foot cramp/leg cramp, that hits just before the actual horrid moment, of the cramp, that precursor carmp, that horrid wake your @@@ out of bed type of foor or leg cramp, its that pre pain, right before the cramp, thats how mine feels 24/7 for last week or ten days now

been manipulating it ice heat whirl pool yes pain pills and alieves elevate it

it just bites big time, anyone have any ideas on over counter meds or theraphies I might be missing let me know in private or on here please, I have even played around with accu pressure points trying these to see if I can ease the discomfort(lol hitting me upsdie the head with 2 by 4:thud: is discomfort,) this sucks

happy sunday

peace all

The 2X4 to the head idea does sound painful....but it would take your mind off your leg!!:D

Mine are wicked painful too. The lower legs/calves/feet give me fits just as I'm falling asleep. Zanaflex on a sliding scale works best for me. Sometimes at night I might get up every half hour and take another one until I hit 8mg before I fall asleep.

Back spazzes are totally my undoing. If I laugh too hard or yawn too much, I go into a full body spaz via my back, it kills! Remember that elementary school thing, "stiff as a board, light as a feather"? It's a lie, stiff as a board is a solo act!

I will go completely straight and stiff for a few minutes whether standing, sitting, or lying down and have broken many objects from it. It happens fast and I am powerless to control it.

The other fun thing is "foot flutters", I get them when I've been sitting too long, my whole leg will move faster than any human should move for about 3 minutes. There is nothing I can do but wait it out. It's a trip to watch and it actually does kind of crackup me.:rolleyes::o

(((((((Herekitty))))))...I have muscle spasms in my upper back that have gotten increasingly worse over the last few months..I can't handle the pain meds, they make me so loopy I'm not aware of my surroundings, and that's no way to live..I've been in physical therapy, and it works great for the 1/2 hr I'm there..But by the time I'm home again, things are back to where they were..I've been keeping up the exercises they taught me and have a heating, vibrating pad for the car (woohoo!)..But I know these are just temporary fixes..I feel for you, and hope we all find a way to get rid of this pain!:hug:

Polar and others, I have had terrible pain in my rib cage area starting with my MID back.

Now it spasms so badly that at times I cannot breathe. I stretch, use meds etc but its worse when laying down.

I have wondered if this is part of spasticity which I do have in my legs all the time. X-rays and MRI does not reveal a problem with my mid back.

Could this be spasticity?

Jan

I get that in my ribcage area, too, sometimes Jan. Sort of the area between my back and my front - but not exactly my side :confused: if that makes any sense. I can't take a deep breath when it's acting up and that can be very scary sometimes. I've never had problems with my back so I'm guessing it has to be spasticity??

Jan..
I'm no doctor, but if you've had it checked out and other back problems have been ruled out, I'd say it's a good chance it's spasticity..Have you seen a neuro about it?

One symptom of spasticity is spasms, but not everyone with spasticity has a hard time with the "charlie horse-type" spasms. I have a few times, but the spasticity pain symptoms I've experienced most often are usually quite different then that.

For me, the spasticity usually gets both limbs (arms &/or legs) at the same time, and can feel like:

- a dull ache, like a tooth ache
- the meat being pulled off my bones
- "cold to the bones" ache sensation (very painful)
- like my tendons are being taxed to the max (very painful)
- muscle stiffness
- small little twitches (spasms) under the skin, but don't hurt

I don't do much exercises when I am in the midst of an attack (that usually includes severe spasticity), but I do a lot of stretching exercises when I am not. I have often worn braces at night when it is really bad, so that I don't contort my limbs in weird ways. Antidepressants can help somewhat, but LDN has been my ticket to almost complete relief from this symptom.

Cherie

I'm on neurontin (sp?) for other nerve pain, but I found it doesn't really help me with the spasticity. I do hate that "almost" charlie horse feeling in my legs I get from time to time. :(

There are only a few things that have seemed to help it so far. The first is doing stretches when it's not hurting. The other is my new friend the heating pad. I sit for a few hours with it, switching it on and off so I don't get overheated.

I do know if it gets worse, I'll ask the doc for meds. Not sure if pain reliever or a muscle relaxer would work better for this. :confused:

Hope you feel better soon. :hug:

I've used baclofen for about 10 years and it helps my spasticity immeasureably (sp?).
I asked my doctor for it when I read about it, and I now use about 60 mg. a day, and it does lessen the stiffness of M.S. I couldn't live without it. I've never noticed any side-effects from it. Whenever a person's muscles are stiffened I guess pain can result. Just be sure to ask your doctor for something to lessen your M.S. spasticity. I've never used anything but baclofen, but I'm sure there are other drugs that do the same thing. Baclofen isn't meant to be a pain-reliever, but a spasticity-reliever, which in turn relieves pain.
Good luck with whatever you try.....

Thanks for this Cherie!

While I posted about the "near charley horse" thing, I also have the muscle stiffness, those flickering small twitches under the skin, and that never ending tendon thing!! I tend to blow some things off, but the stiffness from spasticity is one of my MAJOR problems these days! I walk funny, I can't bend down because my legs are straight stiff, I can't even tie my own shoes sometimes cause my legs won't bend enough for me to get my feet anywhere near my hands!!:mad:

You know, something I forgot to mention was that after I got used to the Baclofen and got past the dopey feeling, I noticed that I had less fatigue. I attribute that to not having my muscles constantly fighting me. The constant pain and muscle tightness was actually wearing me down more than I thought.

The other thing I do is to go get a really good 1 hour long Swedish massage every couple of months. That really helps, too.

I could never get past the "doped up" feeling with Baclofen. It just wasn't the drug for me at all (not many are!)

I get deep tissue massage once a week to help with the spasticity/tightness in my calves, thighs and feet. If I go more than 2 weeks without one, she can hardly touch my calf muscles they are that tender. She is a certified massage therapist and has worked with several MS patients. She's been working with me for 4 years now.

I feel so bad for all you guys who have pain with your spasticity! I guess mine is easy in comparison. I have muscle stiffness, mostly in my right leg, which makes it very difficult to walk or function in any other meaningful way.

I'm really considering asking the neuro for some 'roids and see if that'll help. I'm on 60mg Baclofen already, and that helps some. I can definitely tell when I don't take it!

Cherie you descibed me perfect.... I don't have the charley horse feeling but you explained it perfectly! I hate the "cold to the bones" that is the worst!!!

I do take Baclofen and seems to help most of the time

I've had spasticity in nearly every muscle in my body at one time or another. It's constant in my legs and back and nearly constant in my arms. It's the kind of spasticity in which the pain seems to emanate from the bones, but the tightness occasionally works its way to the surface. My throat and stomach are more prone to charley horse-type spasms.

I take a daily cocktail of Neurontin, Baclofen & Zanaflex and am on a maxed out dose of all three. They keep me functional, but hardly pain free. When I'm in really bad shape, I take Valium & Tramadol, which dull the pain enough for me to function more normally.

Maybe it's that I have a high tolerance for the meds, but I don't get a dopey feeling from any of them. Sometimes I wish I would, so that I could simply forget about the pain and the constant reminder of my MS!

You may need a combination of meds to address your spasticity. Ask your neuro for his/her opinion.

I take 10mgs of baclofen at night and that works for my spasticity in my legs.