I was prescribed Soma by my neurologist after he diagnosed me with having tension and migraine headaches. I take one at night before bed. My "regular" doctor who was to continue writing the prescription for me said that I could not be on them for any extended amount of time because the risk of becoming addicted to them was too great. They have since put me on Fioricet which works great for the headaches but I am so groggy and I feel a little drunk?? Has anyone else experinced this problem with the Soma and the Fioricet?
Soma for chronic tension/migraine headaches?
Question posted by emily5300 on 16 June 2011
Last updated on 8 January 2024 by MRIIWR
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
5 Answers
MRIIWR
8 Jan 2024
Yes I have it make you feel like you can’t cope and ready to pass out. I’ve been there.
windybay
15 Dec 2011
That feeling of feeling drunk will go away after you have been on them for awhile providing you were really having pain. People who take this who are not having pain get the high from it & that is why Drs dont want to prescribe it as it is also addictive, but if you need it then the Dr. should give it to you. They dont live with the pain but you do.
Bhedge
6 July 2011
Fioricet for migraine has Tylenol mixed with a barbiturate and caffeine. Some have codeine with them. The barbiturate is a "downer" or tranquilizer-like medicine. It works somewhat like a muscle relaxant so this is where the grogginess comes from. I've used it before, and it works for awhile, but I became used to it very easily and then it stops working.
I would ask your doctor to instead give you Flexeril. This is a muscle relaxant and I have managed my tension migraines successfully for years with flexeril combined with Excedrin Migraine (tylenol, aspirin and caffeine). If you have tension migraines, all the regular migraines drugs like the triptans (Imitrex, Zomig) won't work for you. You need to relax the muscles that are gripping your skull. The Excedrin Migraine helps with the pain. Of course you can only take the Flexeril before sleep because it causes sleepiness, but that's why I combine it with the Excedrin Migraine.
Try this and see if it helps, cause if the Fioricet you are taking has codeine in it, you'll probably end up with rebound headaches, which will require more powerful drugs, and then you'll end up in a cycle of repeated headaches. Even if the fioricet you are taking doesn't have codeine, you'll eventually get used to it and it won't work anymore. Hope this helps.
Inactive
17 June 2011
Hi Emily,
I am confused, are you taking both fiorcet and soma at the same time or are you now just on fiorcet? (sorry, just woke up, so I may have read your question wrong!) Would you be so kind as to clarify this for me?
If you are taking both I would think the combo would cause one to feel intoxicated indeed!!
Best wishes to you Emily,
emily5300
18 June 2011
No I am not taking them both at the same time. My primary care physician decided I didn't need to be taking the Soma. He said they were far too addictive. I have yet to see where they are addictive. I take mine at night and go right to sleep. He just put me on the Fioricet and I think they make me feel drunk not to mention really sleepy.
Inactive
18 June 2011
Hi emily,
I agree, I do not find Soma to be the least bit addictive. But there are several people on our site that DO find Soma to be quite addictive. I take half of a soma about once a month though.
DzooBaby said that Soma is going to be taken off the market soon (at least I THINK it was her) because of addiction problems. Perhaps your doc wants to make a preemtive strike by taking you off of them before they are 86'd by the government? It's an idea.
Lara
Inactive
17 June 2011
Are you taking both Soma and Fioricet at the same time? Soma is a good muscle relaxer and I used it for a long time with other meds for migraine, never had any addiction problem.
What did happen though, is Soma is hard on your liver, between the Soma and Lortab I was taking when the Axert med didn't abort the migraine, my liver became very sick.
They thought I had audio immune liver disease, ANA was positive twice. But... liver biopsy was negative, it was all the meds.
I dropped all pain and muscle relaxer meds for 6 months, with 15-17 migraines a month, this was hell. I never felt any kind of "withdrawal" though, my doc said I did not have an "addictive personality".
Now I use Axert still to abort the migraine, when it doesn't work i use Stadol NS 10mg and Xanax. The good thing about the Stadol is that it is a nasal spray, totally bypasses the liver and kidneys :)
I tried Fioricet before but got pretty bad rebound headaches from that. I hope you get control of the migraines, I sure wish someone would find a way to CURE migrainers.
Related topics
soma, migraine, headache, chronic
Further information
- Soma uses and safety info
- Soma prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Soma (detailed)
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