Comparing Flexeril vs Zanaflex

For Muscle Spasm I've taken Flexeril off and on since 'late '98 when I was (mis)diagnosed with muscle-spasms (ER trip was due to a kidney stone). Flex was great at relieving muscles spasms for 7 out of 10 days Rx-d. I took it for all 10 days, tho' the low-back spasms were gone after day 7--the kidney-stone-pain, however, remained. I've been taking it "as needed" (having fractured my T12 or L1 vertebra when I was 8, herniated discs, etc--at this writing, I'm 59) for about 6 months, per my PCP. After the first bottle, I told him about the soporific/zombie effects and he now requires me to take it only when I go to bed to sleep. Flex has a 1/2 life of 18-23 hours. Thus, it doesn't wear off fast. A bit of Melatonin helps me get better-than-zombie sleep. :)

For Muscle Spasm I am taking 10mg twice daily, it sort of helps. I have osteo arthritis of the spine, shoulders and it makes my muscles cramp up. Why do they say to only take it for 10 days? What would happen on day 11?

For Muscle Spasm I have been taking zanaflex for about 2 years. The best thing about this medicine is it helps me sleep and for me there is no grogginess in the morning. I'm totally alert. Not like with other muscle relaxants. However the medicine usually last about 3-4 hours so it's quite common to wake up in the middle of the night. I give it an 8 because it does work really well for me however I wish the effects would last a little longer to get a full nights rest and also because I can't take it in the day because it knocks me out.....cold.

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.