The say CP ages us faster. My muscles don't feel 26 even if I exercise constantly. I feel like mine has gotten worse.

Hi Ralph. I am 43 and got the bachlophen pump 3 years ago too. At this point I am still mobile but it is getting more painful and hard. My pump is keeping me moving for my kids whom are now 18 and 16. My goal was to get them to college while still bring active. My symptoms have increased lots. I go through periods when I can't swallow food so I put myself on liquid diets and my contractions are terrible when I get up. I have to budget 30 minutes a morning with heat packs before my arms will straighten. I have doubled my doses of bachlophen and still take oral muscle relaxers and anti tremor drugs. now I am in PT twice a week to try to keep going. You are not alone.

My CP is mild, and I can say it has gotten way worse with age. Everything, the spasms and pain that come with them increased to a baffling level. My muscles fatigue very fast now, I can only do half the work around the house that I used too - and if I over do it my body will suffer for days. I also now sometimes feel almost like I have chronic fatigue, or fibromyalgia etc, occasionally for no reason I have to force myself out of bed like I never slept the night before.

I hit the wall right around 40yo. Since then I get tremors where I had none, like my right hand. I have to do stretching twice as much as before. Had to go on Valium to keep symptoms at bay during work hours. It was so sudden that I was worried I had something like MS etc.

I have mild cp.......Which I've had since birth teen's and twenty's where ok, Wasn't until mid 30's it started to get worse, Now I'm in my late 30's (38) and now tremor's are getting really Bad, I've tried cutting out caffeine (except a cup of coffee a day)
But, it's not the caffeine. My balance is also getting worse........I could just be standing, and all-of-a-sudden I will spaz for no reason.
I fear I will Be in a wheel chair in the next 10-15 yr's . I don't wanna get out of bed in the morning either But, I force myself to go to the gym, I use to be able to lift like 40lb's on my arm's, my leg's, around 115lb's, Now I'm lucky if i'm able to lift half that.

I guess I can expect for everything to get worse as I get older, Huh?

Emma Rose, I've read the same thing, that cper's age faster then people without it.


i'M 42 now, and have noticed myself tripping over my words, when I'm talking to someone on the phone......And sometimes find it hard to even get words out, both on the phone and in person.

Hello everyone. I am not sure how mild everyone's CP is, but has anyone tried working out to improve stamina, balance, muscle tone etc? I have donebthis and I see I have developed a stronger trunk and all around great strength.

I started noticing I was getting worse around 25 (I'm 29 now) I go to physical therapy, aquatic therapy, acupuncture and yoga.

The aquatic therapy helps the most (90 degree pool) Then I follow that up with manual stretching and a workout meant to strengthen my core and hips.

The yoga I mostly do at home and find that this helps a lot as well.

I also use medical marijuana which has been a huge help and works far better for me then any pill ever did.

Yes, I worked all my life. Finally had to stop 2 years ago. Felt worthless. Had to find away to pull myself up. My body fights me everyday. I found this out you need to listen to it. Some-days give in & do nothing. Other days do things. Key note always excise even on bad days even if it is just stretching.

Regarding Baclofen. After you are on it for a long time you may become agitated. I discovered that when this occurs take dosage.

i am 48 year over the year took baclofen 4 time a day 20mg per dose u might w ant ask if your dotor if you really need to increase it and your kidney is like muscle so baclofen will effect that urinate it could age too be careful talk with your doctor

I have noticed how much more tired I get the older I am getting. I am 52. When I was younger there was no known difference between my fitness levels compared with a non-CP person. I am more mentally and physically tired now, but still manage my daily routine without too much of a problem. I just have to take rest more now.

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the site and I thought I would chime in here. I have mild spastic in my right side. So mild, in fact, I played HS baseball like the New York Yankee Jim Abbott. I also took up cycling in HS and college and even though I wasn't a good sprinter I could pull the "hammerheads" at a high pace for long periods of time. I also was a competitive time trial rider. All this being said, at 48 I have noticed accelerated deterioration in my joints...specifically my right ankle and lower back...to the point where I took early retirement from my career. I blame the back on the mirrored motion symptoms of hemiplegic spastic CP. Just as your good side fingers and hand want to mimic or mirror your bad fingers and hand when doing exercises, your torso muscles do the same thing, which according to my own research and putting two and two together from what orthopedic specialist tell me (they all say something different...Sheesh!), puts the spine in a lot of torsion. Over time this takes it's toll, especially when doing strenuous exercise. My L4/L5 and L5/S1 are a mess along with a pronounced curvature and my right ankle has severe arthritis from my outward rolling gait. In the last two years, I've started having muscle spasms in my right leg, which happens mostly at night. So I started taking Baclofen, which helps, but my typical night's sleep is still all over the map. If I get 6-8 hours of sleep one night, once a week, I consider that a good week. I recently lost a bunch of weight and started riding again...not near the speed or distance I did back in the day... and it seems to be helping even though I am a whole lot more fatigued than I used to be as a younger rider. I still have back pain, especially nerve pain and stingers in my right hip and all the way down to my toes, but I'm determined to stay ahead of it. So to make a long story short, I agree with CPPositive for the most part...It's primarily the physiological stress and strain on your joints from the erratic muscle behavior which make it feel worse. However, the other aspect which emboldens the worsening effect is this. Even though CP affected muscles do not technically worsen, they will get stiffer, shorter, and more atrophied if we don't maintain, at the very least, the same level of physical therapy we have always done. This is virtually impossible because the older we get as humans...not even mentioning the fact we are all blessed with CP...the easier and quicker it is to get exhausted both mentally and physically. So basically, when considering the whole spectrum of variables it takes a CP recipient to overcome, to maintain a consistent level of muscle tone throughout his or her lifespan, I think it's safe to say it does get worse.

With age, I have worsened. I am freaking out because it now is at a fast rate. I have a mild case but fear I need a walking aid. I have no balance now. Hurt and can't sleep. I try to workout 3 times a week and walk a few days, which is getting to be a challenge. Where do you find help? My family and friends don't understand how miserable I've become.

I am new to the group as well. Your question is why I joined. I have mild CP, mid 50's. I am freaking out. the speed of which I have worsened. It noticeably started in my 40's. I have frequent falls (many send me to ER) for lack of balance. I had a knee replacement 2 yrs ago and wonder if that has effected my balance. It may have made my leg longer. As far as exercise, I do strengthening 3 times a week and do a stretching program CLASSICAL STRETCH or walk on other days. I can't do yoga, no balance nor can I sit on floor. My walks have lessened for fear of tripping. Posture way worse. Confidence, worse. When I had knee issues, they gave my Diclofenac, I believe is an anti-inflammatory. If I missed a day my whole body hurt! My Dr. still lets me take it as long as I take something to protect my stomach. It helps! Back to exercise... I hurt for days, well all the time because of it. I don't want my muscles to go to mush, nor get weaker and have even less balance! I did try some weed, just to see if it helped, after reading this site. It helps greatly. Only problem is, it's not legal here. :(

Does it effect memory?

My husband is 42 with mild cp. He's starting to slow down a little but we have both put on marriage weight. Me more so than him. I need to loose about 20 and working on it. My cp is more in the mild-moderate range as I need assistance to get around and I'm 34. Invested in custom crutches which have helped keep me mobile. I recently broke down and bought a rollator walker (Nitro by Drive) so that I can get things to and from my classroom. I have a wheelchair for long trips. Can't tolerate a lot of the go-to medications and I'm allergic to some of them so It's Tylonol when I overdo it. I just started a new job teaching special ed. at a public school and feel like I'm not as fast as I used to and finding it irritating.