Help! Spasticity in the back of my thighs is driving me crazy
Hi, I have had MS for 8 months and during my second relapse last November, I developed spasticity in the back of my thighs. It is so painful and is constant. I was wondering if others dealt much with this and what they did. I am on Baclofen 60 mg total a day and do daily stretching. I have an appointment with a spasticity specialist next week but just need to know that I'm not alone and ideas on what other people do for it.
You are definitely not alone. I have terrible spasticity in the back of my thighs (hamstrings). It is so excruciatingly painful. I'm also on 60mg if Baclofen throughout the day and also take a 2mg tablet of Tizanadine as needed. I feel like none of it is working. I get relief from stretching but it's only very temporary. I am going to be getting Botox injected into my hamstrings and calves in a couple of weeks. I am hoping it will give me some relief. The pain keeps me up at night and is just miserable. So yeah-I hear ya!
I can also guarantee you aren't alone! My lower hamstring gets as hard as a rock with terrible pain that either keeps me from sleep or wakes me up. Sooooooo.....my MS medical team (MS primary doc, MS rehab doc, PT) have had me try a million different things to wrangle it loose. I can say I've definitely found what DOESN'T work for me or it works, but not long enough to count. Exercise, heating pad, hot water bottle and acupressure don't help me. I stretch CONSTANTLY which helps a little with the pain, but doesn't last long. What you've probably noticed is even if your muscle loosens up a little it's
quick to snap right back into being a rock, right?! What does work for me: Baclofen 20-40mg every 6.hrs, Tizanidine 8-16mg every 6 hrs, Gabapentin for pain 600mg in am and afternoon and 1200mg at bedtime, Tramadol 100-150mg 3 times a day as needed for pain, and Cymbalta 60mg at bedtime for pain. My PT JUST had me try a TENS Unit for pain and I wish I had it my whole life. It'll take too much space here to explain it, so just check it out in Google. No RX needed. It works to minimize pain anywhere on my body. I have a crappy back and this does wonders for it. Last but not least is Botox injections. I just got injected so I need to wait to see if things loosen up, but I've heard from everyone these work great. Okay. That's it. I'm so sorry this is long. I just wanted to give you an idea how much time and effort and trial and error it takes to find some help with this problem. I like to say that every MS patient is like a snowflake, so what works for one person for spasms may not work at all for someone else. Good luck to you. It's frustrating as hell, I know. Just try and hang in there as best you can and hopefully some help is right around the corner.
