FINALLY!!! Good news: I GOT SOME HELP! -- Question about med prescribed.

Melissa765 · 03-22-2006, 11:42 PM

Yay!!! I'm so happy I could do a backflip (if my back would allow that). LOL I went to a spine specialist today (I'm not sure what her exact title was) but she prescribed Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), accupuncture, and aqua therapy. Anyway, I was wondering about the Cyclobenzaprine... The doctor was going to prescribe Neurontin, but after my mother nearly had a heart attack when hearing it (apparently someone in my family had some nerve damage from it), the doctor said we could try something else. I think she was going to try another pain medication, but then my mother asked about a muscle relaxer that she took (the cyclobenzaprine), and she said it would be okay. Now, my question is, isn't cyclobenzaprine used for an anti-anxiety medication??? I did a search on these boards and I found that someone who was depressed was prescribed it, and also, when my mother suggested it one night in the emergency room, the doctor said that it wouldn't help me because it was an anti-anxiety medication and I wasn't having anxiety. So what is it??? Anyone know???

mkf · 03-23-2006, 12:10 AM

Hi. I was given flexiril for muscle spasms in my foot and calf. It worked well for me for a while. Good luck to you - i hope it gives you some relief!

tsohl · 03-23-2006, 12:58 AM

Hello,
Cyclobenzaprine is the generic name for Flexeril and it is primarily prescribed as a muscle relaxant. Since it is a type of sedative, it is probably given to someone suffering from an anxiety attack to calm him/her down. As I'm sure you know, any one drug can often be used for more than one purpose. Neurontin, for example, is frequently prescribed to back pain sufferers as it helps to relieve nerve pain, but it is also used for seizures and that sort of thing. Hopefully the exercises in water and acupuncture will help more than the drug!

I tried Flexeril for my sciatic pain. It primarily just made me very, very sleepy or just pretty much knocked me out. I would suggest you be very careful the first times you take it in case you react as I did!

mamakitkat · 03-23-2006, 01:08 AM

Hi,
I have been taking flexeril for several years, it does help relax my muscles, but really isn't much of a pain reliever. I doo take 1500mg of neurontin a day, and it does help so much with the pain. It is primarily given to epileptic's for seizures. A cousin of mine has taken it for over then yrs for seizures with no problems at all. It really does depend on the patient.

Good luck with the treaments, sounds like your on the rite track.

Carol

Quietcook · 03-23-2006, 10:25 AM

Melissa,

Glad you are saw a spine specialist and maybe you are headed for some relief. The others are right about the meds being used in off-label ways such as the neurontin as well as the generic version, and anti-depressants being used for individuals in pain. Different things work in different ways and for some people, because our bodies are all different. However, I'd vote with her on trying an labelor approved use of a muscle relaxer before jumping into anti-seizure and anti-depressant meds. They can be tried if this or perhaps even adding a pain reliever doesn't work for you.

Should you come to need say neurontin or some of the other meds, you or your mom should ask the prescribing doc questions about any testing that might be recommended. For instance, even though one of the neurosurgeons I saw before finding a spine specialist prescribed neurotin, my primary care doc said he absolutely didn't want me to take it for the back pain. He said that people taking it should be closely monitored with blood labs for organ changes such as in the liver, and the prescribing doc had done no pre-prescribing test and had scheduled no routine labs so I would have been on it for 3 months before going back. Many docs who use it in the off-label way do not test, no matter what the dosage, so I'm glad my primary doc was willing to say no. I wasted one prescription (it was fairly expensive) but better that than risking organ damage that might not show up for a long time and no one checking it.

Hope all goes well with your and enjoy the aqua therapy.