My doctor gave me zanaflex 4mg and took me off flexeril because i told her that the flexeril was like taking water,i had noticed no difference whatsoever in the month of taking them. So my question is,zanaflex is a stronger muscle relaxer? I sure hope so because i have not slept in months due to pain,they gave me sleeping pills,but i didnt want to get myself hooked on those,so i stopped taking them. Im also on percocets,xanax,zoloft and aldactone. I just want to know if anyone took zanaflex before,and if so,did it work,and also did it make you feel weird/funky? I havent taken one yet,i am such a paranoid freak about feeling weird,lol,seriously,i know that sounds stupid,but i just have to be in control of my mind,or it freaks me out. thanks:)
Flexeril-zanaflex?
Question posted by teal on 13 Feb 2010
Last updated on 10 February 2025 (11 weeks ago) by NeopHog
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3 Answers
I've found that the Zanaflex 4mg works better than Flexeril, though neither works as well as good old Soma. There is an addiction potential for all of these drugs, but I think that liver damage is a real issue at higher dosages with the Zanaflex, so, while it can be habit forming, the liver would start complaining loudly if Zanaflex is used long term at too high a dosage. The main thing I've noticed is that the Zanaflex seems to work longer than the Flexeril, but it seem to make me pretty drowsy, as well, which, for me, is not an attractive trait. I also haven't had any urges for it when I run out.
I myself have had a very sore and stiff neck suddenly would not pop for any reason and oh how it hurt! So told my doctor and we started out on Soma, i didnt like those; they gave me a morning headache. So switched to Flexerill and it wasnt helping anything, and then to Zanaflex 4 mg. NOTHING. I told my doctor out of all of them, the Soma helped relax it best and I'd take it again and get used to the headache in morning. I also take Klonopin for anxiety/panic/S.O.D and Celexa/depression and Lamictal/mood stabilizer. just and fyi....maybe this will help....maybe not...:)
i wrote to you regarding these 2 meds before and i think you asked a similar question..i've taken both but i feel zanaflex works much better(i take 6mg).neither med should make you feel "weird" they should just help relieve muscle spasms.they are not a pain reliever or sleeping pill they are both used to treat muscle spasms.the first 2 nights i took zanaflex i felt drowsy but that's it.i've been taking zanaflex for a long time now and seems to help with my muscle spasms but doesn't take them away completely.no muscle relaxer is stronger than the other they are all basically the same thing.i'm surprised your not getting sleep taking xanax they can make you really drowsy.also percocet is not for long term pain relief if your in pain instead of taking more meds maybe your doctor should change your pain medication to a longer acting one.you have to be very careful with taking sleeping pills,pain meds and muscle ...
relaxers with xanax it's a very dangerous combo and could become a very dangerous cycle of just taking more and more meds.more meds usually isn't the answer.percocet is a shorter acting pain reliever so if your in pain maybe you should talk to your doctor about other options for pain relief.also from experience no medication for sleep has helped me at all i tried every sleep med there is to take and nothing has ever worked.if you can't sleep do to pain again i would suggested talking to your doctor about another pain med. b/c zanaflex is only going to help treat muscle spasms.
also xanax which is a benzodiazepine can be used as a muscle relaxer as well as treating panic disorders,benzos are actually considered the strongest muscle relaxers .zanaflex is more of a skeletal muscle relaxant .all of these meds.xanax,prcocet ,zanaflex are considered addicting.xanax after used for a long period of time is not good either it wasn't meant for long term use and can actually have a reverse effect if used daily for a while.it can cause the body to have more pain and make you have sort of withdraw effects which are painful cramps ,spasms,etc,etc... percocet like i said wasn't meant for long term use either,all of thses meds are very addicting and xanax is something that you can't just stop taking or you could die from stopping cold turkey.if you have long term pain and your doctor is treating you with short acting medications maybe you should discuss this with him/her.if you google you can find out tons of info.
on the meds you are taking maybe you need to see a pain specialist if your not already and they can preccribe longer acting meds for whatever condition you have.from my experience when i saw a regular doctor all they do is prescribe pills for whatever symptom you complain about they will just give you a pill for it.it has happened to me for years until i finally started seeing a pain management specialist.they can getb to the root of the problem and prescribe the correct meds.i actually felt worse the more meds i was prescribed there is even a study that says when patients took less meds but the correct meds they felt so much better.more is not the answer it can honestly make you feel worse and worse.
i was reading some stuff online cause i can't sleep at all and all the info about muscle relaxers came down to the same thing they all have the same efficiency.one site said soma is the strongest but benzos like valium and klonopin are more powerful.other sites said zanaflex and soma are just as powerful but most sites said they all have the same efficiency just some work differently than others so it depends where your having muscle spasms.
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