Tizanidine and Nightmares: What Users Say

• Red...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 27, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "First and foremost, this tizanidine side effect does not go away. It will knock you out! You will feel drunk and fall asleep. Second, when I first started taking this, I would have sleep paralysis/nightmares where I felt like something was beside the bed or in the dark corner of the room and I could not move or speak. I was trying to call out my husband's name but again I couldn't move or speak! But that has gone away. Have fun. Don't try to take this at work. You will fall asleep. I take Adderall as well."

• tha...
• August 21, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "Taking tizanidine for muscle spasticity. Began taking it in Dec. 2019. After 14 years, this is the first drug that has had any real effect on my upper back and shoulder. First dose was rough. It felt like all the pain I'd felt over the years hit my neck at once. After that my body relaxed and the next dose was just fine. Life was great and then a month ago they changed manufacturers, and I had the neck pain attack, but not as bad this time. However, that first night and every night since for 3 weeks I have incredibly gruesome nightmares. If you watched Backcountry and Annihilation, you will get a taste of what was waking me at 4 am every day. I checked the manufacturer, Dr. Reddy's Lab, and they've had issues in the past with potency. My doc said changing the manufacturer doesn't matter, so I changed doctors instead. The product still kept the muscle spasms at bay. Time for a different brand. The drug gets a 9 because the only side effect for me are the dark dreams."

• Jec...
• December 12, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "Great for the lower back spasm I was experiencing. I was prescribed Dr. Reddy Tizanidine, 4 mg/8 hrs. I did not read the side effects, and the NP did not mention any. Upon taking it, about 30 minutes in, I was extremely thirsty, more than ever in my entire life. I laid down and fell almost instantly into the best sleep in a LONG time. However, it was a deeeeep sleep! I had one of the most horrific nightmares ever! I am not talking about just going to the store in my underwear kind of dream, I’m talking about bloody, horrible nightmares. These were so real and so vivid that I can STILL remember them 2 days later. I woke up and went to pee, 1 hour later vivid dream, pee, repeat all night. At one point, I even heard voices talking outside my house. I couldn’t understand what they were saying."

• mjd...
• August 30, 2014

For Muscle Spasm "Worked great when I first started the meds, but slowly had to increase the dosage for relief. I have fibromyalgia. I take 12 to 16 mg at night. I have started having hallucinations and terrible nightmares. It causes really bad dry mouth. It doesn't help me sleep anymore. I will see if there is something else out there."

• txn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2013

For Muscle Spasm "The doctor put me on this medicine a couple of weeks ago. They seem to help with my muscle tightness in my back, but it makes me very sleepy, so I can't really take it during the day. I take it about 30 mins to an hour before bed and sleep well, but it gives me very disturbing, scary dreams. I thought maybe it was from the other medicines I take, but apparently I'm not the only one who has bad dreams when taken."

• txn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2013

For Muscle Spasm "The doctor put me on this medicine a couple of weeks ago. They seem to help with my muscle tightness in my back, but it makes me very sleepy, so I can't really take it during the day. I take it about 30 mins to an hour before bed and sleep well, but it gives me very disturbing, scary dreams. I thought maybe it was from the other medicines I take, but apparently I'm not the only one who has bad dreams when taken."

• Sca...
• December 15, 2015

For Muscle Spasm "My doctor gave this to me for I had to get off my meloxicam for a month. Three days into taking this medication, I have had the worst nightmares ever, things that you couldn't even imagine to the point that I thought dead people were in my house and I'm talking to myself and my husband getting mad because I'm talking and screaming very loud in my sleep. Heart rate is very high, dropped my blood pressure just from three days. I would take some serious precautions when taking this medication. And I still don't know if it works or not, the dreams scared me so bad that I think I'm cured...."

• Mik...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 19, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "Tizanidine works pretty well for the pain from the muscle spasms around my broken vertebrae, but the side effect of the dreams... the dreams are so vivid. I have to make sure things didn’t happen the next morning, as well as some extremely vivid nightmares, so bad I wake up thinking it’s still going on. Wish this side effect wasn’t there."

• Fri...
• August 3, 2011

For Muscle Spasm "This is my 3rd month on Tizanidine. Was on 2 mg four times a day for severe low back and neck spasms and pain from an injury sustained while in Iraq. Also been on many types of relaxers and other pain medicines with no significant relief until my doctor wrote me a prescription for tizanidine. Since I've been on it, daily activities have increased, taken 2-6 hour road trips with no major problems, and been able to increase my nightly naps and turn those into dream-filled lapses in reality for close to 6 hrs/night! Cut Ambien use in half. Now on 4 mg three times a day. The only negatives I have for this medicine are it doesn't last long enough, dry mouth is bad, dreams are sometimes too vivid, causing nightmares, and hallucinations have occurred due to user error. Follow doctor's orders while using this medicine."

• Tir...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 30, 2021

For Muscle Spasm "I am on 4 mg tizanidine, and it knocks me out. When I'm awake, I'm still having way too much lower back pain. I'm having horrible demons attack me in my dreams, and my son said I keep violently jerking myself awake. He is 15, and he hears it, and it scared him. So I can now sleep for about 6 hours, but I spend all day in pain. I don't leave the house anymore because I can't walk for very long, so I'm still trying to find a daytime solution."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 29, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "This was prescribed for spasms, but I found it also lowers my BP. My BP and heart rate have been crazy over 5 years. At times, my BP is too low, and heart rate is too high. Top too low, bottom high. A lot of the beta blockers and channel blockers would drop my BP too low too fast. I couldn't be on any of them regularly because of this, so I just use Tiz. To lower my pressure and at night to sleep at times, but seems to give me nightmares and depression. Also, my mom takes it at night, and it lowers her BP and knocks her out. She doesn't move all night."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 5, 2017

For Muscle Spasm "Caused me to have nightmares really badly!!"

• Jim...
• November 28, 2020

For Muscle Spasm "I have bad nightmares on Zanaflex. Should I stop taking it?"