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Methocarbamol and Drowsiness: What Users Say

Brand names: Robaxin, Tanlor Carbacot

Drowsiness: mentioned by 27 users (9.0%)

Based on user experiences from 299 Methocarbamol reviews, the following table shows the most commonly mentioned side effects.

All user comments are moderated by Drugs.com. Each review is verified for relevance and screened for inappropriate content. Side effects are user-reported and not clinically verified.

drowsiness 9.0%
insomnia 6.7%
headaches 4.3%
nausea 4.3%
dizziness 4.0%
muscle spasms 3.7%
pain 2.3%
upset stomach 2.3%
chest pain 2.0%
sleepy 2.0%

Reviews for Methocarbamol

Commonly mentioned side effects
  • Get...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 1, 2013

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "My doctor prescribed me this for muscle spasms in my neck and through my right shoulder/arm. And by the time I was able to take it, the spasms had quit on their own. I never threw out the meds and recently my spasms started back up again, which they do on occasion. My spasms are severe - literally preventing me from being functional for upwards of 3 days. Robaxin actually works and releases a lot of the stress and pain from my spasms. Only downside is it takes upwards of an hour and a half or longer for me to feel the effects. Zero noticeable side effects besides some mild drowsiness, which is no biggie. Helps me sleep at night through the pain. I'd recommend this medicine."

8 / 10
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244 Report
  • Aun...
  • Taken for 10 years or more
  • January 27, 2019

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I have taken Methocarbamol for 20 years, and it's the only muscle relaxant I can take. It's the only one that doesn't have side effects for me. It's the best muscle relaxant I have ever taken, and I've tried all of them. I wish it wasn't so expensive though, and I can't figure out why it is. A lot more people would take it if it wasn't so expensive!! It doesn't cause drowsiness, headaches, blurred vision, or heart palpitations, and I don't have side effects from the other medicines I take, and I take some that are on the list that says side effects."

10 / 10
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79 Report
  • Bam...
  • July 8, 2013

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "Have muscle spasms in lower back. I've been prescribed Flexeril, Soma, and now Robaxin 750mg 3 x a day, along with Vicoprofen 3 x day as well. So far so good! Works way better for me than Flexeril. Didn't like the sedative effects of Soma. Take this and rest, for me it does the trick."

9 / 10
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97 Report

Frequently asked questions

  • Lit...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 4, 2020

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "On Christmas 2019, I was subjected to the Heimlich Maneuver after a piece of roast beef swallowed wrong caused me to choke and wheeze. I couldn't breathe. Luckily, there was a waiter who knew the Heimlich Maneuver. He saved me. Unfortunately, I ended up with extreme bruising and pain in my chest. X-rays determined I did not have any actual rib fractures. My doctor prescribed 750 mg tablets of Robaxin, taken 4 times a day. When I first took it, it made me rather groggy. That feeling lasted for a few hours. And it did upset my stomach somewhat. The Robaxin did not make my pain go away completely but lessened it enough so I could relax and feel fairly comfortable. The pain became an annoyance rather than agony. My health insurance plan didn't cover it, and I'm sure the side effects will lessen as I get used to having the medication in my system."

7 / 10
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48 Report
  • tab...
  • May 16, 2013

For Muscle Spasm "I am in pain all the time having rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. I have been taking Lortabs to help with the pain. Recently, I suffered from sciatica. The doctors ordered naproxen and methocarbamol for the sciatic pain. WOW! This medicine eased not only my pain from the sciatica but also pain from the rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. It made me want to sleep a lot at first, but I am getting over that as time goes on."

9 / 10
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85 Report

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  • Rel...
  • Taken for 10 years or more
  • September 27, 2024

"I have dealt with costochondritis for 25 years. It first presented as the most acute form known as Tietze syndrome. I had a very large bump protruding from my anterior left chest. I was injected directly in the bump, and provided a strong anti-inflammatory. I was symptom-free for some time thereafter. At about twice a year regularity, I now have the more generalized issue of chest pain - front to back - stabbing and burning. I was fortunate to have a physician who tried a muscle relaxer to address this one time. It was the most immediate and extended relief I had ever had. So, for the past decade or so, I have been using that approach. The first one was cyclobenzaprine, which works very well, but essentially puts me to sleep for a day. However, with methocarbamol, I can take it during the day and not be drowsy. I can work, or drive, and be a human again. I have never actually finished my prescription in any year. I end up discarding and getting a new Rx at each annual physical."

10 / 10
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7 Report
  • Dga...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 29, 2019

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I took this for several days. Took at 8 pm, 6 am still wide awake and still in pain. So not only was I in horrible pain, I was trying to function with no sleep. Got a different med that worked. New Dr. (military) prescribed it again. I told her it didn't work. But had to prove it. Took it again. Same thing. It kept me up all night and didn't help the pain."

1 / 10
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52 Report
  • Zbb...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 15, 2020

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "Aggravated a herniated disc, which resulted in sciatic pain down the back of one leg, and for some reason a muscle in my right side. The side pain was with excruciating spasms, my back would seize up from one side across to the other side. Flexeril did nothing. Couldn’t take it, so went to ER, and the doctor gave me a Toradol shot and 750 mg Robaxin. I slept from 11:30 pm till 8:30 am, hadn't slept that long in probably 10 years. Woke up, pain was much less, but spasms started up a little, so I took another at 12 pm. Started feeling a little dizzy and drowsy soon after, so I slept for about 5 hours, and at 8 pm was still drowsy. The pain was there, which I could deal with using 800 mg Motrin, but the spasms were gone. After reading about the 30 or so side effects, and spasms gone, I'm good. I won’t take any more."

9 / 10
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36 Report
  • Adi...
  • February 8, 2012

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I was given this medication for degenerative disc disease and muscle spasms. I only take it at night because it has heavy sedative effects. I.e., I take it at 7:00 pm, go to bed, and if I wake up at 10:30 to use the bathroom, I feel like I'm drunk, stumbling, and uncoordinated. It makes you sleep through, unfortunately, it didn't do much to help the pain. I still wake up with pain in my back."

3 / 10
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66 Report
  • kid...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • March 3, 2016

For Muscle Spasm "This drug is wonderful. Broke my neck and just had a fusion, and this totally killed my spasms. Doesn't keep me up. I get a little drowsy, which I like as it eases the tension, but I totally recommend this. Almost like a Soma kind of effect for me."

9 / 10
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42 Report
  • Gra...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 2, 2023

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I allegedly have a bulging disc causing muscle spasms in my left leg and numbness in my foot. Robaxin doesn’t seem to do anything for me. Even at a higher dose, I feel no effects. Not even grogginess or sleepiness."

1 / 10
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13 Report
  • Gra...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 2, 2023

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I allegedly have a bulging disc causing muscle spasms in my left leg and numbness in my foot. Robaxin doesn’t seem to do anything for me. Even at a higher dose, I feel no effects. Not even grogginess or sleepiness."

1 / 10
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13 Report
  • Reo...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 21, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "This was prescribed to me for back pain. I had a pinched nerve in the middle of my back. I've also had back pain due to muscle spasms/strained muscle. This is by far the best med I've taken so far (cyclobenzaprine, Flexeril, Hydrocodone to name a few). Most medications either make me too drowsy, constipated, or leave odd mucus on my stool. Methocarbamol leaves me functional and eliminates spasms. It makes me slightly woozy feeling if I haven't eaten anything, but that's only for about 20 minutes, then it seems to go away. These taste horrible, but if I'm in pain, I don't care. 9/10 for this. I'm not a heavy med user, and I honestly don't like taking medication. As soon as my pain became manageable, I stopped taking these. But they do work."

9 / 10
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35 Report
  • mli...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • May 21, 2019

For Muscle Spasm "I take Robaxin for body pain (suspected fibromyalgia) and migraine headaches. I maybe take it 8 times a month. I'm very sensitive to medications, so I started with 250 mg (half a 500 mg pill), and it turned me into a paperweight for 6 hours. No pain, just sleep. I woke up feeling unrested. Since that first time, I stick with a low dose of 125 mg (500 mg pill quartered), which takes the edge off of body pain and migraine pain. It seems to take a long time to kick in-30-45 minutes or so, but then it's great. No high, slight drowsiness, much less pain. With body pain, it makes the difference between a day in bed and a day up and doing low-key things. With a migraine, it makes it possible to veg out to a TV show instead of just staying in total darkness."

8 / 10
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28 Report
  • Ano...
  • August 13, 2016

For Muscle Spasm "I was prescribed this medication to treat musculoskeletal issues in my upper back. The pain was chronic, I've had it off and on for almost a decade, and it was severe enough to impact my day-to-day life. This medicine eased the pain almost entirely without crazy side effects. It is the only medication that has ever worked for me. I've been on Soma and Flexeril in the past, and both did nothing for my pain, they just made me groggy enough that I didn't care as much."

10 / 10
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36 Report
  • Bus...
  • March 7, 2010

For Muscle Spasm "I take for sciatica, ruptured L4/5 disc, osteoarthritis in knees, hips, and spine. Tramadol and Neurontin for pain and maintenance dose of 750 mg. Methocarbamol 2X daily for spasm. The combination is excellent and helps restless leg syndrome and paresthesia too. I was able to reduce daily sleep medicine to usage 'as needed.' Side Effect: Exacerbates urge type of urinary incontinence, drowsiness."

8 / 10
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41 Report
  • Ste...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 10, 2019

For Muscle Spasm "I have a tear, a herniated disc, disc desiccation, down in my L5 and S1. I’ve been off my meds for about a week now (tramadol & Celebrex) due to not being able to see my spine doctor, and I’ve been in excruciating pain. I feel it down my legs, knees, hips, feet, and my back. Anyways, I ended up seeing another doctor, and he prescribed me methocarbamol 750 mg, and the only thing it did was knock me out for 4 hrs. I was still in pain, and I couldn’t believe it. This pill is not for me. I feel like I have more of nerve damage than muscle spasm, that’s why I believe it did not work. No lie, I’m better off taking a sleeping pill than taking a muscle relaxer because till this day I have not found a use for those pills."

2 / 10
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22 Report
  • lud...
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • March 16, 2017

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I liked that I had no drowsiness on the medication. It only helped with mild back spasms, not moderate or severe spasms. I loved that it did help with gastrointestinal spasms and diarrhea due to Crohn's disease."

5 / 10
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24 Report
  • Ent...
  • September 19, 2009

For Muscle Spasm "Lower to mid back pain (unexplained) - This medicine works well. It has a slight drowsy side effect but takes away most of my pain. I can get through my day without the distraction of a constant stabbing pain. Well worth the side effect."

9 / 10
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37 Report
  • J H...
  • February 14, 2018

For Muscle Spasm "I don't think this stuff works at all, it just makes me feel kinda drowsy. The muscles and back/neck/shoulder still hurt, still spasm. Nothing at all has changed, and if I stop taking them, I start having, like, blinding headaches and flashes of light in my vision. Even the doc says that wouldn't happen, but it does. I have actually noticed that since I started taking this, I'm having a lot more issues with other areas of my body, like I'm having leg cramps, and my neck suddenly hurts a lot more often. Also, my muscles just feel weird. Once I'm off this stuff, I'm never using it again."

2 / 10
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14 Report
  • Joy...
  • Taken for 6 months to 1 year
  • July 16, 2021

Methocarbamol for Muscle Spasm "I was in a car accident and suffered a concussion and whiplash. It has been 8 months since my accident and I still have a lot of issues. I had dropped down to one pill a day, but then the severe head pain came back. I have now started back to 3 a day at 750 mg. I still have pain, but I can function. Everything else I have tried has made me very sleepy and groggy. I have also had a nerve block, 10 injections in my neck, dry needling, and 6 1/2 months of PT, which was very helpful. I don't like pills and am very sensitive to most, but Robaxin seems to be the only one I can tolerate."

9 / 10
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5 Report
  • Mar...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 13, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "This is the second episode I have had with sciatic pain (rookie). Anyway, this is the second time I have been prescribed Robaxin for that pain. The first time, I didn't think it helped, but after taking it again, I know it doesn't help with my pain at all. It did make me sleepy, but there's nothing worse than being so drowsy but not being able to fall asleep because the pain is so bad. On top of that, my prescription is for 120 tablets. Just seems to be the automatic prescription my Dr. gives for this. I would much rather have a week's supply of something that will take care of the pain so I can sleep."

3 / 10
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7 Report
  • Cih...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 29, 2021

For Muscle Spasm "So I've had 6 bad injuries on my L4, L5, S1 and pulled my back out moving a dresser. I have always run straight to opiate pain meds (as no other muscle relaxants have ever worked for me), but I found 4 old Robaxacet I had stashed - I never tried these before, but within 20 minutes I could stand up. Not sure about side effects... I'm hoping it makes me drowsy as I'm a month off of methadone and looking to sleep. But pain is gone... and so fast! Only took a 500 mg/200 mg ibuprofen."

10 / 10
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4 Report
  • dru...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • April 3, 2025

"My surgeon prescribed oxycodone and Valium for spasms and pain, post-op. The oxycodone dulled the pain, but it was still unbearable. The Valium didn't seem to work. During my post-op, he prescribed methocarbamol. Methocarbamol was awesome. Not only did it eliminate the spasms, but it also provided pain relief. I continued to take methocarbamol instead of the oxy since oxy causes constipation and a whole other host of side effects. The only side effects that I had from methocarbamol were a little confusion, blurry vision, and sleepiness."

9 / 10
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0 Report
  • Liz...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 20, 2016

"I am not sure if I am an alcoholic or just loved to abuse alcohol. It started while I was in a bad relationship, got worse after it ended, and I could always stop if I had to (pregnancy, university exams, etc.). I stopped binge drinking to put myself to sleep at night (6-10 in 3-4 hrs per night) - I wanted to just be healthier. I found that one week after I stopped drinking, I was craving a drink and got a headache. I took Tylenol Extra Strength Back Pain that I had left over from healing after labor, and it helped me sleep well that night. The downside is I was drowsy until about 12 hrs after I took it (4 hrs after I woke up). But it helped me get over that craving. I only needed to take 1 of them, one time."

10 / 10
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1 Report

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Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or remove inappropriate content. Reviews appearing to come from parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any medication and should not replace the expertise and judgment of healthcare professionals.