Baclofen

Common use

Baclofen is used for treating spasm of skeletal muscles, muscle clonus, cramping of muscles, rigidity, spinal cord injury and pain caused by disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Baclofen acts by relaxing skeletal muscles, the muscles that move the skeleton (and also called striated muscle).

Dosage and direction

Take Baclofen exactly as it was prescribed by your doctor. Do not take the medication in larger doses, or take it for long time. Take this medicine by mouth with a drink of water. Swallow it. The usual initial dose of Baclofen for adults is 5 mg given three times daily. The dose can be increased by 15 mg every three days to a maximum of 80 mg/day in divided doses.

Precautions

Your doctor needs to know you medical history, especially about kidney disease, diabetes, seizures, stroke, an unusual or allergic reaction to Baclofen, other medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives. You should tell you doctor if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant and if you are breast-feeding. If you suddenly stop taking your medicine, you may develop a severe reaction. The dose will be slowly lowered over time to avoid any side effects and your doctor have to control this process. Follow the advice of your doctor. You may get drowsy or dizzy when you first start taking the medicine or change doses. You should stand or sit up slowly. Do not drive, use machinery, or do anything that may need your attention and can be dangerous. Stop this kind of activity until you know how the medicine affects you.

Contraindications

Patients with an allergy to Baclofen should not take it. Before taking Baclofen, tell your doctor about your allergy to any other drugs. Also if you have kidney disease; epilepsy or other seizure disorder; or a history of stroke or blood clots, you have to discuss it with your doctor and it is possible that you will not take this drug.

Possible side effects

There are list of side effects that you should immediately inform your doctor or health care professional about. It includes allergic reactions like skin rash, itching or hives, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue, chest pain, constipation, low blood pressure, hallucinations, vomiting, respiratory depression, inability to sleep, and increased urinary frequency or urinary retention, seizure. Also there are other list of side effects that usually do not require medical attention but you should tell your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome. It includes confusion.

Drug interactions

Baclofen may interact with the following medicines and products: alcohol, antihistamines, medicines for depression, anxiety, and other mental conditions, medicines for pain like codeine, oxycodone, tramadol, and propoxyphene, medicines for sleep, phenobarbital. Use of Baclofen with other drugs may lead to additional reduction in brain function. For example, the use of Baclofen and tricyclic antidepressants together may cause muscle weakness; the use of Baclofen and monoamine oxidase inhibitors can result in greater depression of brain function as well as low blood pressure.

Missed dose

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.

Overdose

If you think you have taken too much of this medicine you should immediately contact a poison control center or emergency room.

Storage

Store at room temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C (59 and 86 degrees F). Keep container tightly closed and store it away from children.

Disclaimer

We provide only general information about medications which does not cover all directions, possible drug integrations, or precautions. Information on the site cannot be used for self-treatment and self-diagnosis. Any specific instructions for a particular patient should be agreed with your health care adviser or doctor in charge of the case. We disclaim reliability of this information and mistakes it could contain. We are not responsible for any direct, indirect, special or other indirect damage as a result of any use of the information on this site and also for consequences of self-treatment.