Tizanidine and Dizziness: What Users Say

• joy...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 2, 2013

Tizanidine for Muscle Spasm "I have chronic pain from several herniated discs and spinal stenosis. I also have fibromyalgia. I began taking Zanaflex last month and the relief is wonderful. I no longer hurt and spasm all night, and now I can sleep instead. I take 4mg tabs, 2 at bedtime, and go immediately to bed as it makes me drowsy right away. I become dizzy if I stay up. I wake up rested with no hangover at all and feel good the next day. I take narcotics during the day for pain relief, and the addition of this to my regimen is great. I love it."

• egg...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 22, 2015

Tizanidine for Muscle Spasm "I've been on these for about 8 years. They work well on low back pain, DJD, and a bulging disc in my neck. Along with other painkillers, they work well, but don't drive while on them. They do make you sleepy quickly, and they also tend to lower your blood pressure, making you dizzy when standing up. You can get a good night's sleep on them. I take one 4 mg tablet 2 times a day."

• OLo...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 3, 2014

Tizanidine for Muscle Spasm "I found this to be a wonderful muscle relaxant with very few, if any, negative side effects. It worked well for me during many bouts of chronic back pain that kept me awake at night. It did make me a little bit sleepy and dizzy, but nothing that bothered me very much at all. At night, this wasn't even a concern, but I could easily take it during the day at work and perform and feel fine. This isn't exactly a 'pain' medication, but I did find that it worked almost as well for my particular back pain as the narcotic medicines I was also prescribed."

• Sli...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 15, 2019

For Muscle Spasm "I have terrible back issues from a herniated disc. Pain and muscle spasms constantly, and this drug tizanidine works! It has helped me so much that now I can do a heck of a lot more physical activity, and most importantly I CAN SLEEP. Without this drug, I was lucky to get 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night. It does make me dizzy sometimes, which sucks, but it's well worth it."

• Dru...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 6, 2015

Tizanidine for Muscle Spasm "Take this for neck spasms after surgery. Taking it now for 2 years. Had major surgery. Do not think this is good for me, anyway. I cannot stay awake when I take it, thus I have to take it only at night, and cannot drive. Please do not drive if you take this medication as it puts me right out. Told 3 doctors this, they will not give me another med for neck spasms and cramps so I use it as I can. It helps but does make me dizzy and extremely sleepy. If you have sleep apnea, be very cautious!"

• Rho...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 14, 2021

For Cluster Headaches "I suffer from chronic migraine and cluster headache attacks. This medication seemed like a godsend the first few days. My muscles were so relaxed, I swear every bone in my back, neck, and shoulders cracked. However, this came with a huge price. This medication made me feel hopelessly suicidal. I also had a tight chest, vomiting, dizziness, feeling like I might pass out, and felt like I was fevering (chills!). I had mental/mood changes as well - I went between euphoria/manic feeling to agitated/angry and suicidal within minutes. The bad side effects only came about a week into treatment. For reference, I was taking 2 mg once at night per day. I am two days without it and still suffering side effects. Please proceed with caution as this medication can be dangerous."

• bea...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 13, 2016

For Muscle Spasm "Works excellent for sleep. I have chronic neck pain and I am allowed to take this 4 times a day, 4 mg. However, it knocks me out and makes me very dizzy and just off. So unless I'm really hurting or have time for a nap, I only take it at night."

• Lov...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 26, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "I have MS and the associated chronic pain. My trapezius and entire neck and back are constantly in spasm mode. I do not sleep, more of a float above sleep. My nephrologist thought this would help my torso muscle spasms, several types of headaches, and facial muscle spasms plus help me sleep. No on all of the above. No sleep. No relief. A new headache was created by this, and it is causing constipation, dizziness, facial flushing, nausea, depression, and tummy pain. I took one 4 mg tablet and will not give it another chance. I am miserable enough, I do not need to add to my issues with this drug."

• con...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 23, 2012

Tizanidine "Zanaflex works when I use it for my tight shoulders leading to my back; however, I seem to be having some side effects that most people are just laughing off. I think my husband thinks I'm a little off. I have hallucinations - yes, I realize they are real. The other is when I start to move around all of the joints seem to be tight and the muscles spasming around them. It is about 5-10 minutes long. I lose my balance and one more thing, I have acute hearing loss at times too. That could be unrelated."

• Jan...
• January 24, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "My first muscle relaxer was Valium, which worked well, but after NY got crazy about controlled substances, I went to Flexeril, which did nothing. Then to Tizanidine. The first time I took it, I thought someone had given me LSD. I was tripping. It was wild and weird. I stopped taking it. One day, I was having the worst muscle spasms and took it again. This time, I just fell asleep. I had been on sleep meds, but nothing worked like Tizanidine. I stopped taking sleep meds and now just use Tizanidine for sleeping. I take one and a half 4 mg tablets (6 mg a night). If I'm having a bad night and have to take it more than once, I feel dizzy and nauseous the next day. The problem is that I can't take it during the day."

• Sus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 14, 2023

"I was given 4 mg pills to take every 12 hours. The first dose knocked me out. I literally could not move. When I did get up to stand, I was extremely dizzy. I took it again in the morning and again the same exhausted feeling. I decided to continue thinking I’d get used to the drug and it would get better. Fast forward to day 6, and I’m now having horrible hot flashes. Waking up soaking wet and then freezing. Terrible headache and worse pain (taking for degenerative disc disease). I thought I was losing my mind. Extremely nervous and my mood swings all over the place that were giving me a crazy feeling. It’s been 2 days now since I stopped, and I’m almost back to “normal.” Still have a hot flush feeling every once in a while but not even close to what they were like. This medication is awful! I had switched from Flexaril after taking it for 12 years, it wasn’t working anymore. Now I don’t want to try anything else if this is what I’m going to go through."

• Tin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 26, 2023

For Muscle Spasm "I just got this on Thursday, 3/24/23. My first dose was a real eye-opener for me. Within 30 minutes, I was ready for bed, and let me say that was a good sleep for about 4 hours. I got up and took another one, and then I had a dry mouth and sipped some water. I went back to bed and had some scary and crazy dreams, one side effect of this medication. I also felt dizzy. We have to take the good with the bad, and I am hoping my sciatic nerve settles down because it's way off its chain."

• Anonymous
• August 18, 2012

For Muscle Spasm "After taking one pill as directed, I'm asleep within an hour and out cold for at least 2 hours after. Then I'm a little dizzy for a few hours. I don't suggest driving after you take this medicine. In my case, I had trouble keeping my eyes open."

• Voc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 2, 2022

For Muscle Spasm "Horrible experience for me! First time I took just 1 mg of tizanidine, I passed out on the sofa while watching TV, then became conscious a couple of hours later, my eyes still closed, feeling like I was slowly spinning around and tumbling head over heels. Opening my eyes, I felt scarily disconnected from my body, very dizzy and weak. My heart rate was fast, and blood pressure was high - even though the blood vessels on the backs of my hands were bulging out like I'd had too much BP med. I've tried 1 mg three different times (1/4 the dose I was prescribed), and it always had the same scary side effects, actually worse each time. Ironically, it was prescribed to relax my muscles and improve the quality of my sleep. Just the opposite happened in my case!"

• gir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 10, 2018

For Muscle Spasm "Very first dose last night. It caused severe dizziness, dry mouth, my heart was racing. I couldn't sit up without fainting. Spent several hours on the bathroom floor since I also felt nauseous. This med is not for me."

• Opl...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 19, 2019

For Muscle Spasm "I was prescribed tizanidine following the replacement of a spinal cord stimulator. The med made me so dizzy and drowsy it is difficult to evaluate its efficacy. I will follow the path of other reviewers and try a smaller dosage and re-evaluate."

• Hur...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 10, 2022

Tizanidine for Muscle Spasm "It helped me sleep, but it made me dizzy and my thinking was off. It also made me nauseated. I was hurting so bad I actually took it four times in about 48 hours, even with the nausea. I was still feeling really off 36 hours after the last dose and would not have trusted my judgment at work. My brain not feeling right was much more concerning to me than the nausea. I have taken Flexeril in the past, but I have never felt like this."

• diz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 1, 2022

For Muscle Spasm "I have lower back (SI as well) ongoing pain. This drug seemed to help the first time I took it, but today it makes me feel so dizzy and weak that I cannot get out of my chair or even care if I do. The pain is still there. My blood pressure dropped 20 points."

• Jam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2022

For Muscle Spasm "After reading the amazing reviews, I decided to try it this morning. I slept for only 1 hour and woke up with an extremely dry mouth, a migraine at the top of my head, and severe throbbing neck pain. Dizzy once I got up, and I couldn't go back to sleep, never again."

• Ano...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2025

For Muscle Spasm "I’ve been on this medication for chronic back issues for the past 2 years. Sometimes I have zero side effects. Occasionally I have mild dizziness and dry mouth. Less frequently I have severe visual hallucinations. Almost all are black and white, however, sometimes there are red flashing strobes."

• Sup...
• May 10, 2011

Tizanidine for Muscle Spasm "Make sure that you do not do anything where you need your balance. This medicine causes dizziness."

• All...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 11, 2013

For Muscle Spasm "This medicine is working okay on a daily basis for my symptoms. Does not cause nausea or extreme dizziness, but will make you sleepy."

• zfr...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 10, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "This drug helps with restless leg syndrome and muscle pains. I like how it works, but there are two side effects I don't like, but have learned to live with: dry mouth and dizziness."

• Jan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 22, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "One dose made me so wobbly, I fell over. I was not hurt, but never took another dose. Physical therapy for my leg pain and spasm due to back injury helped a lot, but you have to be patient."