[Sophia85]

I'm having another acute flare up of back pain. So the VA has given me Tylenol 3 and Flexeril. So far it seems to be helping a little bit but not too much. Just curious if anyone has any experience with this drug for back pain and/or radicular nerve pain?

[AirMarshall]

Yes, I've used Flexeril for neck spasm and lower back spasms. It is a muscle relaxer, not a pain reliever. It works great for me, I love it.

a.m.

[skridge]

Sophia85, on Feb 19 2007, 09:43 PM, said:

I'm having another acute flare up of back pain. So the VA has given me Tylenol 3 and Flexeril. So far it seems to be helping a little bit but not too much. Just curious if anyone has any experience with this drug for back pain and/or radicular nerve pain?

i take flex for my back spasms, and it works better than anything else for me. and ive been thru a lot or meds.

for pain, i take kadian, and it is excelent. all it is is time release morphine. no buzz, just cuts out the background pain. sadly, im to the point that it doesn't work as well anymore, and im already taking 180mg a day, so they don't want to up it

arg.

also think about the heating pad, that helps me a lot!

[scarlet_faery]

I've been on Flexeril since 1996 for my Fibromyalgia. One pill doesn't cut it anymore. So I take three pills at a time now. Shhhh...don't tell the doctor.

[AirMarshall]

One nice thing about Flexeril is that it's available as generic. Skelaxin is newer but works about 30 - 40% better for me.

a.m.

[mitten]

Like everyone else, I take it for back spasms and I love it. I think it works best if you are trying to move the spasm out at the same time. Flexeril and bed rest killed me, but if I was walking or trying to do the stretching exercises fro the physical therapist, it was awesome!!

[LikeMinded]

I think Flexeril works similarly to the tricyclics as well as the SSNRIs (i.e. Cymbalta and Effexor). Chemically, it's actually a tricyclic molecule itself.

I'm not surprised by all this, as Flexeril has similar side effects to the TCAs (dry mouth, drowsiness).

Also, Cymbalta is approved for diabetic and postherpetic neuralgia pains, so make of that what you will.



I've never tried Flexeril before, and I doubt either my pdoc or Ndoc will add it to a regimen containing Cymbalta. Skelaxin, however, seems to work fairly well for my episodes of both of my calves cramping tight to all holy hell (the only other thing that relieves that is walking around, and that makes my feet and knees hurt!).

[glarg]

recently i got some new mr's, methocarbamol, they make me feel really high, but don't do a lot for the spasms, so they are useless for me. might work for you though, seem like a pretty stout pill.

i'm having painful twitchs. like twitch storms across my back and other areas. anyone have a good med for that? muscle relaxers don't work.

[tiredoftherapy21]

I was put on flexeril for my fibromyalgia, some days it helped the pain and muscle soreness, but some days it didnt..I guess it just depends on the person adn what you are using it for.

[mel1]

I have taken skelaxin and tramadol. The tramadol doesn't do much, unless I were to up the dose. Again. But I don't think that would be a good idea. The skelaxin, I didn't like because it made me drowsy and depressy. It was a bad drowsy. It made me in a really bad mood. My gdoc prescribed Arthrotec and that works really really good for pain, and-bonus- it almost always knocks out my migraines. It is expensive. Even with my ins., it cost 50$ a month. It is basically a really strong NSAID plus a prostaglandin added for ulcer prevention. Note: You cannot take this med. if you are pregnant, plan on becoming pregnant, or plan on accidently becoming pregnant. It could have 2 unwanted side effects: spontaneous abortion, or deformity. Oh- it also makes me ravenoulsly hungry.

[Antiks]

Flexeril in my opinion sucks. It gives me this nasty next-day hangover that never goes away.

[mel1]

I just started taking Soma and I love it! It works really well and has the added side effect of making me feel good, maybe because I'm not in excruciation pain. I was taking Darvocet, which works awesome for my pain, but seemed to make me feel depressed.

[Victoria]

I've never used Flexeril, but have tossed the idea around with my pcp. We decided to double the dose of Soma for now, when needed, and see how that works first. I have been using Soma before, during and after c-spine surgery with an interval of post-op percocet and valium (then back to tylenol and Soma, ice and heat for relief)...

The thread caught my eye as I've been interested in side effects and the comparison of Soma v. Flexeril.
Vic

This post has been edited by Victoria: 19 August 2007 - 06:55 PM

[goldenbvtterfly]

I flat out refuse to take Flexeril; it turned my dad into a vegetable for about two weeks (he would only get out of bed to eat, bathe, and use the restroom). When the pain specialist wrote the prescription, I had to stop myself from screaming at her, I was pissed.

I am hypersensitive to anything with even slight anticholinergic properties, so I don't want to know how Flexeril would affect me (I accidentally poisoned myself with a Brugmansia in my garden a few years ago while pruning away parts that had been eaten by bugs [as a scientifically minded person, you'd think I'd learn to wash my hands after working with something dangerous >.O]; ever since, I have not been able to take so much as 25mg of Benadryl without feeling sick for a week).

[pixie_b]

I have been on and off Flexeril since I was 9 years old. I have also tried soma and skelaxin, they did NOTHING for me. Flexeril does cause a fog when you first start it. After I am off for a while I get the feeling I am walking in a pool when I take the first few doses. I have recently decided I will not come off it again until I finally have my spine corrected. The spasms always suck worse than a little fogginess.

[Polissa23]

Sophia85, on Feb 19 2007, 09:43 PM, said:

I'm having another acute flare up of back pain. So the VA has given me Tylenol 3 and Flexeril. So far it seems to be helping a little bit but not too much. Just curious if anyone has any experience with this drug for back pain and/or radicular nerve pain?

my dr. gave me flexeril. it helps a little with the muscle pain. its a muscle relaxer. but its ok.