First night off Baclofen

Well… Last night was Peyton’s first night off of his baclofen in preparation for his surgery in a few weeks, which means; it was not a good night sleep for dad. Due to Peyton's spasticity he gets severe muscle spasms, pain and stiffness throughout his lower body, more so at night. His orthopedic surgeon prescribed baclofen and valium that he usually takes at night to help combat the spasms and let him rest.

Most people are familiar with baclofen as it is a muscle relaxer and an anti-spastic agent. It is used to treat muscle symptoms such as: spasms, pain, and stiffness. To read more on this drug and its uses you may visit: http://www.drugs.com/baclofen.html.

It is going to be a very difficult few weeks for Peyton but having him off the anti-spastic medicine will provide Dr. Park with the ability to isolate the ventral rootlets in the spinal cord that are causing the spasticity. If Peyton is still taking baclofen, it could interfere with the readings, making it appear that he is not as spastic; therefore, making more difficult for Dr. Park and his team to identify the rootlets that need to be cut.

We are still able to give Peyton his valium, but that is just not enough to help him as valium will relax him, but the spasms that are usually dulled by the baclofen overpower that causing extreme discomfort, as demonstrated last night by his waking consistently every 90 minutes.

We feel so bad for him and wish there was more that we could do for him, but at the same time we understand the need to be off of the baclofen until the surgery and will continue to get up with him and console him the best that we can. We pray he catches a break and can get a good night sleep. If he is anything like his daddy, when he doesn't get sleep he gets sick...and we DO NOT need that right now!