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hi all gail wrote: > Do you know any Parkies who have taken Zanaflex? > Zanaflex, generic name Tizanidine Hydrochloride is > a very effective antispasmodic that is used for muscle > spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis. Muscles tend to go > into a tight contraction and not relax. This is referred > to as muscle spasticity. When contractions are strong > and painful they are called cramps. There are many > causes of muscle spasms and stiffness. In MS, the > medications Zanaflex, Baclofen and Valium are used > for this. My Parkie sister says at night she roams > the house, has trouble sleeping, can't turn over, > her legs become stiff and she can't relax them She > says her legs get so stiff they become sore. Yes, > she could take more Sinemet but she prefers > not to [Dx 1996 ... has 8 years now], so we were > talking about looking at other possible solutions. > She currently takes > Sinemet 25/100 four times a day, > Comtan 200 mg with the Sinemet [four times a day] and > Mirapex 1 mg three times a day. > Has anyone on the list heard of Parkies taking > Zanaflex or Baclofen for this purpose and what was > your experience? Zanaflex would be great because > it's fast acting, legs relax and tends to make you > very sleepy! is zanaflex indicated for parkinsonism? i understand that anti-spasmodics generally don't work on pd but i would have to do some digging to confirm this has edna discussed this with her neuro? when did the 'house-roaming' start? did her med cocktail recipe change around that time? from my own point of view polypharmacy holds much less appeal for me than bumping up the sinemet (i have never taken any pd med (my choice) other than sinemet and selegiline for 16 years = dx 1988) but edna's symptoms seem a tad contradictory in re stiffness vs restlessness vs cramps and i would suggest digging into the causes of these symptoms as a first step before adding to the medication combination complication scenario viz: 1. muscle stiffness is associated with low levodopa levels in pd e.g. if i am 'off' and 'stiff' i cannot walk at all nor can i turn over in bed my leg muscles are pretty unresponsive, but i feel the essence of that problem is in my legs but in my lower front trunk muscles i.e. the impulse to move a leg forward seems to me to start in the muscles between my waist and the top of my legs - and when i am 'off' that impulse is completely gone - nowhere to be found ... also, when i am really 'off' and lying down in an attempt to relax my muscles in general, i need to curl up on one side in order to stretch my back muscles, since, as they get stiffer and tighter before my meds 'kick-in', they seem to want to arch the wrong way - the idea of 'holding my stomach muscles in' or doing a 'pelvic tilt' to ease my back at that point is a complete non-starter 2. dystonia is associated with low levodopa levels in pd e.g. in the mornings as i am digesting my first morning sinemet i frequently have dystonia, which is very close to cramping i.e. my toes turn under and my knees start to bend and i deteriorate into a sort of silly duck walk but when i sit down the dystonia generally relaxes, also if i simply bend my leg back at the knee while standing still i can coax the curled toes or foot to uncurl at least temporarily 3. edna's 'house-roaming' restlessness and difficulty sleeping seem to me to be likely caused by high levodopa levels and this is what sounds contradictory can edna describe her symptoms in more detail? could she chart them (per my cancan chart) to see if there is a relationship to med intake time-wise? i'd really like to follow this up - i have never described my own symptoms in so much detail before and i realixe that i've seen very little info on the trunk muscle aspect of pd's muscular symptoms - would the term 'axial' movement apply here? despite all the gruesome details above, i'm quite comfortable with my sinemet intake - 6 x sinemet IR 100/10 6 x sinemet CR 100/25 and side effects - between 4 and 8 'off' periods per day which generally range in time from just ten minutes to an hour or so - the rest of the day i pretty much feel and move like a normal person as long as i eat regularly enough to keep the dyskinesias (associated with taking CR on an empty stomach) at bay! so that's me updated and edna/gail interrogated for now at least! janet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn