Baclofen side effects...

[LizinTX]

Does baclofen upset your stomach or your children's stomachs? Our NP keeps trying to get Sarah on this drug, well actually a couple of years ago we were on it, but it upset her stomach to the point where she refused to eat. She is a very small girl anyways, and we are excited with every pound she gains. So when she refused to eat, I took her off the baclofen. Now her NP is starting to pressure us into putting her back on it. She is 10 years old and weighs 50 lbs, her BMI was finally in the 3% range and we all clapped.

I feel like I am trading one set of problems for another. So back to the question, does this drug upset your/ or your childrens tummy (whoever is taking it), and if so, then how do you deal with that?

[admin]

I have not really had a problem with it upsetting my stomach but I am quite a bit older and cannot answer to the effects of the medication on younger children. I have only had to take oral baclofen a couple times when I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms due to the low level of medication in my baclofen pump. Maybe try a lower dose and see if it still has the same ill effects.

[jlweissmi]

I've not heard of this what is the advantage or use of this drug?

[LizinTX]

It is a muscle relaxer, and is an antispastic agent. When we first was using it, it was because she would be so tight that physical therapy alone wasn't really helping. So this did help the muscles release somewhat, so that we could then stretch her out. Like I said though, it upset her stomach to the point where she refused to eat, she also had hallucinations which is a side effect. So I took her off of it as soon as we could stretch her out regularly without it.

We only took it in a pill form though, and it wasn't until I came to this site, that I found out it can also be used in a pump.

But now she is starting to complain of muscle cramps in her hands and legs from her hips to her feet, and even her back. Not all at once though, you know, sometimes her hands hurt, then a day or so later it will be her feet.

Sorry, I was kind of rambly there, did I answer your question?

[jlweissmi]

yeah thanks. DOn't you hate these tough choices...one medication would help one thing but cause problems in other areas. I hate that. Why do there have to be side effects. I really hope it works out.

[sarahsmom]

Wow no one has mentioned this for Sarah. I'm wondering if its because she's not 3 yet. But she has really really tight muscles. The only meds Sarah is on is Trileptal for seizures.

[Tevins]

I am sitting here in the hospital now with me son, who had a baclofen pump placed on Sept. 16th. He will have his pump removed on Monday. He is 9 yrs old, and also weighs 50 lbs. The pump has been a disaster for us. After 2 days, the pump shifted, and causes him lots of pain and discomfort. Not to mention after about a week, 2 days after removing the stitches, fluid started to literally pour out of his incision. We really thought that we were helping him only to send him through what in hind site seem so unfair to him. We were told that 50 lbs was sufficient enough weight and that there shouldn't be any problems. Due to the size of the pump, I believe the he should have weighed more and maybe doctors shouldn't place these pumps in children who weigh 50 lbs or less. I cannot tell you what is an acceptable weight, but for my son, and i'm not a doctor, they should have known that the pump was entirely too big to be put into my son. I would love to hear from anyone who has a better experience with a child 50 lbs or less. Please, you comments are so needed.

[admin]

Hi Tevins,
Sorry to hear about all the complications your son is having. It sounds like they gave your son the larger pump. They do have a new one that is quite a bit smaller. Also, it sounds like the docs may not have secured the pump very well. I know that when the pump was first introduced, many people had problems with them shifting because the doctors were not securing them to anything. Now they stitch them in to eliminate problems with shifting.

[LizinTX]

Small little update~ it wasn't the Baclofen that was upsetting her stomach. After extensive testing, she has stomach ulcers, a hiatal hernia and an adult size case of gastric reflux. So it will take lots of time for all of that to heal, then maybe we will revisit the Baclofen.

Just wanted others to know that apparantly she has other things going on, and it isn't the Baclofen's fault.

[sarahsmom]

Hello everyone.. Tevins, I hope your son is doing better today and that his surgery yesterday was a success. I'm so sorry to hear about that, but hopefully he will get better soon.

Liz, poor Sarah. I hope she's going to feel better soon. Maybe this is why she had a hard time eating and gaining weight? Luckily you were able to find out what the problem is, so that you can treat it correctly.

As for my Sarah, some of her therapists were talking to me today about a Baclofen pump for Sarah. They recommended a physiatrist in town who's very good at figuring out if these things would work well for a child or not. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go talk to him first and see about having a trial run (without implanting anything). I wish it was more like an insulin pump instead of something that was surgical. But I'm going to keep an open mind and first get all the facts and see if this is something that would help Sarah. I wish she was older so that she can tell me how she feels about something.