Muscle Relaxers: Flexeril vs. Soma

[Love2cook]

My Dr. just switched me from Flexeril to Soma.

I asked to try something other than Flexeril because I was noticing 1) It didn't seem to really help my muscle cramps 2) I seemed to be much "crabbier" and short tempered while on it. Almost like it was a depressant. And I didn't need a negative attitude on top of everything else right now! Flexeril made me very sleepy at first but that soon wore off and I could take it during the day with out being too out of it.

I am interested to hear others experiences with either of the two meds. Does one help more than another?

I have only taken Soma once so far and I got very sleepy, kind of drunk feeling and got a very bad headache. Not sure if the headache was from the Soma or just sinuses. I may give it another try but not during the day when I need to be alert!
Thanks, once again, for any input you can give me!

Elaine

[Iwant2heal]

Hello,

I am not the most knowledgable person when it comes to painkillers, but I was on flexeril for two weeks. I went off it and switched to a combo of tylenol with codeine and naproxin. I went off the flexeril because it really didn't seem to help with my pain either. I didn't find that the Flexeril made me depressed, but it definately made me too tired and just plainly "out of it". The first pill I took made me sleep for 12 hours but it seemed like I built a resistance up very quickly. To get any kind of painkiller effect I was taking the maximum dose in a just a few days (I am a really tiny woman so usually I only take 1/2 of what the prescription says because drugs seem to really effect me).

I do not know anything about Soma, I hope you find the drug that's right for you

[babyboula]

I was told Soma should only be used for a short period of time; that Soma loses it's potency after a few weeks of use. Beyond making me very sleepy, I couldn't tell if it worked even in the beginning. Flexeril worked just slighty better than Soma for me. At the time I was also taking Percocet and Etodolac, and all I can say is I was very doped up and still in a lot of pain.

[acme]

I took Flexeril for years before my Fusion surgery.( Made me sleeply but worked) I don't recall being depressed! My Doc never offered me anything different!

[LS56]

My doc admitted to me a couple of months ago that both of these drugs are simply sleeping pills; they just use the term "muscle relaxant" because it sounds better to pain sufferers. I didn't ask if all drugs that were called "muscle relaxers" were truly sleeping pills, or whether there were some true ones out there.