Welcome to the list Karen. I know there are many people here who can give you better advice than me, so I'll let them chime in whenever they feel the need.
As for a baclofen pump, I wouldn't go that route until you have exhausted other spasticity medication. Almost all of them leave you somewhat fatigued, but I have been able to function pretty well on a lot more spasticity medications than you have mentioned. Talk to your doctor about all the other options available. A baclofen pump should be a last resort. At least in my opinion. Quadius On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 7:58 PM, karan alexander <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi, I was walking with my children 2 yrs ago & was struck by a teen who > went off the road & struck me as I was bent over. I am c4, 5 & 6 incomplete > with feeling to the toes, just very altered sensation. I was in the > hospital for almost 1 yr. I use a manual chair & to amazement, I have > bladder sensation & bowels. Although I have my share of spasms (I take 10mg > ditropn b.i.d), leakages at night and my bowels respond every 2-3 days with > no added help. Pre-accident was normally every day. I have lots of > tone/spasticity in L. leg & am considering baclofen pump. I only take 20mg > now of baclofen which does nothing. Any higher dose tires me & liver > function tests go abnormal. I am hooked on 25mcg fentanyl patches q48 hrs > and still have pain. I refuse to add more meds. I do not ever sleep for > more than an hr. every night. Waking in the a.m. is horrible - never used > to be. I want to wean off fentanyl. Since I transfer to toilet with the > transfer board (lots of work), I would love to find pants that help b/c I > can't pull them up under me. This injury has caused our world to turn upside > down & some days it is so overwhelming. My kids keep me going & God's > healing. I feel like I'm the only mom in the world going thru this. At > the time of the accident, I was 5wks from grad. college (RN). Since then, I > graduated & passed boards. Now what???? I LOVE nursing & it's not easy to > find it from a w/c. If I am assisted to stand, I can hold a walker for 5-10 > mins & a few steps - left leg hinders advancing it so dr. wants me to > consider pump. I have great use of my dominant hand & arm, left fingers are > closed. Anyway, I could go on forever, so thanks for listening. > >
