I have been taking Zanaflex for 6 months now,what would happen if I suddenly stopped taking it?

6 Jan 2012

On stopping a drug like Zanaflex you may notice that you have more trouble sleeping and you may have an increase in muscle spasm. Many drugs that are not controlled substances have to be discontinued slowly to avoid unpleasant effects. This has nothing to do with what makes them controlled. Drugs are made controlled subtances because of risk of abuse, not because they cause withdrwal. Drugs like corticosteroids (prednisone) are not controlled but you cant just suddenly stop after you have been on them a while or at high doses. Some blood pressure meds have to be tapered too because of unpleasant and dangerous effects from stopping too quickly. In the case of Zanaflex, if you are taking it as a muscle relaxant, it wont harm you to stop it without tapering but you might feel uncomfortable and have trouble sleeping for a few days to a few weeks.