Cyclobenzaprine: What Is It? Side Effects & Interactions Cleveland Clinic

This can help keep levels of this drug from building up too much in your body. To help avoid interactions, your doctor should manage all of your medications carefully. Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications, vitamins, or herbs you’re taking. To find out how this drug might interact with something else you’re taking, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. If these effects are mild, they may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks.

At oral doses of up to 10 times the human dose, cyclobenzaprine did not adversely affect the reproductive performance or fertility of male or female rats. Cyclobenzaprine did not demonstrate mutagenic activity in the male mouse at dose levels of up to 20 times the human dose. For most patients, the recommended dose of Flexeril is 5 mg three times a day. Using Flexeril with other drugs that make you drowsy can worsen this effect. Ask your doctor before using opioid medication, a sleeping pill, a muscle relaxer, or medicine for anxiety or seizures. Take your time talking with your doctor about your options and listening to their medical advice.

Signs of Cyclobenzaprine Addiction

Skeletal muscle relaxants are widely used in treating musculoskeletal conditions. However, evidence of their effectiveness consists mainly of studies with poor methodologic design. In addition, these drugs have not been proven to be superior to acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for low back pain.

The use of significant lower dosing schedules in elderly patients may be prudent. The most common adverse reactions to cyclobenzaprine are somnolence, dry mucous membranes, dizziness, and confusion. Less commonly, tachycardia, dysarthria, disorientation, and hallucinations have been reported [2]. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur.

This document does not contain all possible drug interactions. Keep a list of all the products you use (including prescription/nonprescription drugs and herbal products) and share it with your doctor and pharmacist. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicines without your doctor’s approval. Cyclobenzaprine is most useful for cases of acute musculoskeletal pain and muscle spasms. It can be used on occasion for chronic pain, though it’s less suited for this kind of pain (5). Cyclobenzaprine is effective for relieving lower back and neck pain (6, 7).

Using Muscle Relaxants in Chronic Pain – Medscape

Using Muscle Relaxants in Chronic Pain.

Posted: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In two case reports, the authors described patients who quickly developed serotonin syndrome after initiating cyclobenzaprine in the short term. A post-marketing surveillance program was carried out in 7607 patients with acute musculoskeletal disorders, and included 297 patients treated with FLEXERIL 10 mg for 30 days or longer. The overall effectiveness of FLEXERIL was similar to that observed in the double-blind controlled studies; the overall incidence of adverse effects was less (see ADVERSE REACTIONS).

Other Interactions

It relaxes only the muscles and not the actual causative nerves behind the pain. For best results, doctors recommend combining the use of Flexeril with rest and physical therapy. Selection of a skeletal muscle relaxant should be individualized to the patient. If there are tender spots over the muscle or trigger points on physical examination, a skeletal muscle relaxant is a reasonable adjunct to analgesic treatment of low back pain.

• Your doctor may choose to speak to you about Flexeril, a commonly used muscle relaxant in cases of persistent pain.
• Muscle relaxers such as these act like a depressant for your body’s central nervous system.
• Among the most dreaded toxicities linked with cyclical antidepressants, overdoses affect fast-acting sodium channels in the cardiac conduction system.

After you eat the mixture, take a drink, and swish and swallow to make sure that you have received all the medication. Tell your care team if your symptoms do not start to get better or if they get worse. Talk to your care team about the use of this medication in children. We may receive advertising fees if you follow links to promoted online therapy websites. Join the thousands of people that have called a treatment provider for rehab information.

This includes dizziness, difficulty thinking, and drowsiness. As a result, they may be more likely to physically hurt themselves while abusing cyclobenzaprine and alcohol. It’s not advised to drink alcohol at all while they’re being treated with Flexeril.

Skeletal muscle relaxants may also be used as an alternative to NSAIDs in patients who are at risk of gastrointestinal or renal complications. In a small number of people, cyclobenzaprine and methocarbamol diclofenac with flexeril can cause more serious adverse effects such as allergic reactions with severe rash, swelling, and trouble breathing. If you experience these adverse effects, please seek emergency medical attention.