12 replies to this topic

[bigsmiles]

May i just ask you all if its common for spasms to affect breathing? Im asking because since coming home from hospital the spasms have become so much worse when sitting in his chair and he does seem to be struggling to get his breath. They have got so much worse and he is taking 90mgs of Baclofen daily and also Tramadol for pain relief.

[Simon]

Its usual in high tetra's which is c5 up really to get diaphragmatic spasm, this literally stops me breathing temporarily. However, his level shouldn't get this. It could just be the adjustment to sitting in a chair, its bloody tiring initially! Took me 5 yrs plus to get used to 6 or more hours, at first after 2 hours I was knackered.
As a precaution take his blood pressure when sat, if its low this could also be the cause.

[bigsmiles]

Thanks Simon, he does have very low blood pressure and has had for a long time.

[bigsmiles]

Hi LoraB, he is a smoker and is trying hard to give them up ( 5 a day at the moment) so i don't want to go on at him. Not sure about the asthma as it only tends to be when hes getting the spasms but could be i guess.

[ParaforGod]

Hi,
When I first came home from the hospital 6yrs. ago I also had spasms that took my breat away. It seemed I would never get my breath. This happened when I would go from sitting to laying down after being up allday. I can say now I can go all day long and it dosen't happen anymore. I still get spasms but not as often and I can breath. Good Luck

[itsjustme]

I'm not a smoker and the spasms take my breath too the same as ParaforGod. I'm 2 1/2 years post paralyzation and when I get in bed at night after being in my chair all day, going from sitting to laying, the spasms come up into my stomach and diaphram I guess and take my breath.

I just posted on Pink Ali's spasm topic about having a Baclofen pump trial done a couple of weeks ago and it was an amazing experience for someone like me with spasms and rigidity off the scale to sit in my chair completely relaxed, comfortable and at ease for the most part of an entire day without jerking and stiffening.

The doctor is really encouraging me to have the pump implanted to vastly improve the quality of my life. The lady from Medtronics was there and she doesn't understand why more of us who are miserable living with our spasms aren't racing to get in line.

I'm trying to get some feedback from more paralyzed who have them. Of all of the hundreds who are reading these topics are there really so few who have the pump? My trial experience was really wonderful but I still have lots of questions and I would rather hear from our own than the company who makes it.

[bigsmiles]

Hi Lora, hes been home only a couple of weeks and had been in hospital for almost two months (stuck in bed) Even before going in had spent months in bed to keep of his pressure sore. Hes going back in for yet another op on the 26th (hip op) so he will remain in bed for longer still. I know he can deal with the spasms when hes lying down so at the moment is only up for two hours daily as this is all he can manage. Hopefully we can get something sorted when he goes back into hospital...thanks all

[cvelusc]

bigsmiles, on Oct 21 2006, 11:06 AM, said:

[snip]
I know he can deal with the spasms when hes lying down so at the moment is only up for two hours daily as this is all he can manage. Hopefully we can get something sorted when he goes back into hospital...thanks all

I hope the operations go smoothly and he heals quickly. I can remember those long days/weeks/months after my accident when I could only leave the bed for a few hours. I don't know how I survived -- probably the pain meds dulled my senses and made life easier. Good luck with everything.

[bigsmiles]

Thankyou for that

[RacingAxe]

I had some severe spasms about a week after leaving inpatient therapy. I am a T11-T12 complete and didn't know what was causing it. It started after a day of sitting in my wheelchair, having some pain in my right kidney area. When I laid down on my exercise mat that night, my back started to spasm and I had a hard time breathing. Later on that night I woke up and started to feel the pain come back and m muscles start to tighten. It got to the point where I thought I was going to pass out because I could only take gasping breaths. I had a UTI for about 1month, untreated, that I thought may be contributing. Went to the hospital and they gave me some antibiotic for the UTI and morphine for the spasms. I was okay until the following evening as long as I didn't try to recline or lay down. I had another spasm attack following dinner and went back to the hospital. The pain was severe, and I could only think about possible causes. Perhaps kidney stones, blood clots from my legs moving into my lungs, or maybe something else. They did ultrasound on my legs to look for clots and found none. They also did a CAT scan of my lungs and found 'higher density tissue' in my right lung. They interpretted this as pneumonia though I had no other simptoms prior or since. They gave me a Vallium to ease the spasms. I still had them every time I laid down for a couple weeks after but they diminished in intensity. I had pain (in the lung diaphragm) when I would take a deep breath, sneeze, or hiccup. It's been about three weeks since it started and I feel pretty good now, though I did start some pressure sores from sitting in my chair for two days straight. I fell asleep sitting up and didn't have much strength to do pressure reliefs so be careful if sitting for a long time.