> Subj: Re: RE: Definitions
> Date: 97-03-26 18:43:09 EST
> From: OB5906(AT)aol.com
> Resent-from: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
> Reply-to: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
> To: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
>
> Barbara,
> I have terrible stiffness in both thighs when I first stand and attempt to
> walk after sitting. It is extremely painful and I feel like a robot
walking
> until the muscles do what they are supposed to. The doctor says this is
> spasticity. He put me on Baclofen three months ago. It definitely helps. I
> also get awful calf cramps mostly at night, but once in a while in the day
> too. Do you experience that?
> Carolyn
>
>
Carolyn,
I have some stiffness in my legs and when I try to stand and walk after
sitting for a while, but not as severely as yours sounds, and not with pain.
I know what you mean by walking like a robot! (When I first started walking
by myself, my husband, reminiscent of those old Frankenstein-type movies,
would say, "Igor! She walks!" ) I do have chronic, sometimes severe pain in
my back. It also flares up when I've been still awhile or sometimes when I'm
in certain positions. One time trying to reach behind me caused severe pain
for some time, but it doesn't always occur when I reach behind me. One time I
experienced extremely severe pain while washing my hair in the shower and was
miserable for a long time, yet I do that every day without problems, usually.
So I've wondered if that is spasticity or a muscle spasm or just a plain old
pain. I was on Baclofen for a few weeks, but it seemed to greatly increase
frequency of urination. I was thinking then that spasticity was the trembling
or twitching of muscles, and the baclofen didn't seem to be doing anything
for that, so I went off of it. My back pain was not as severe then, so I
don't know if it would've helped that or not. I'm on Carbamazepine now and
take Tylenol when it's at its worst, and that takes the edge off of it. But a
lot of the time it's hardly noticeable.
Barbara