Feedback on Soma Side Effects and Usage, page 2

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If you’ve used Soma, please help others by adding your feedback. What would you tell your best friend about this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history.

Subj: Cutting back on Soma
Date: 11/15/2003
I was just told by my MD that taking as much Soma for as long as I have been taking it can be addictive and hard to get off of. I have found that I take a lot of medications that are not good to mix with Soma. No one told me these things and I am glad I have looked into this drug. Can cutting back on Soma cause nausea? I have been having that problem since I started cutting back and hopefully off of this drug.

Marylee

Subj: Soma
Date: 1/15/2004
I used soma for a couple of months after a wreck. It made me very drowsy, so I could not use it during the day. I used it at night to calm the back spasms along with anti-inflams to help me get rest. Worked great and I would highly recommend for muscle spasms. I used the soma, anti-inflams in conjunction with physical rehabilitation.

Mark

Subj: Drug abuse in school
Date: 4/22/2004
I’m in high school and I’ve been trying to find some facts on somas. One of my friends, who is healthy in all respects, takes somas in dose’s of about 5 to 7 pills at a time to get a kind of high. I’ve been looking around but I can’t find any good information on some of the dangers in O.D. ing. I want to help him to stop, but when I talk to him I want to have some good facts about what the dangers are of overdosing on somas. I was hoping you might be able find or know of something useful. He’s my friend and I don’t want something bad to happen to him. Thank you for your time.

Anonomus

AskDocWeb: Those who overdose on Soma can have any number of unpleasant experiences including their throat swelling closed, paralysis, extreme agitation or tremors, vomiting with blood in it, difficulty breathing, severe weakness and swelling of various parts of the body, especially the lips, tongue and face.

Subj: Long-term soma use?
Date: 5/5/2004
My husband started taking soma about four years ago, after a car accident with minor injuries. Eventually, he had surgey for a torn rotator cuff. That was in fall of 2000. His doctor still prescribes soma, and he takes it every day (for no apparent reason that I am aware of). I’ve noticed lately a lot of dementia-like symptoms that seem to be getting progressively worse (he’s 50 with no major medical problems). He is forgetful, repeats himself, has a hard time following directions, etc. I can’t find any info on the effects of long-term soma use. Could there be a connection?

No Name

AskDocWeb: How about it? Anyone have experience with long-term soma use?

Subj: 5 years of Soma
Date: 5/22/2004
I have been using soma for back and neck problems for about 5 years. Are there any long term side affects. Soma does work really well on the pain but DO NOT have any alcohol or operate machinery. It has been very helpful and would highly recommend it for back and neck pain.

Tony

AskDocWeb: We didn’t find any long-term studies but then, 5 years is a long time for most people. Are you having any long-term side effects?

Subj: Soma and decreasing panic disorder
Date: 5/25/2004
A couple of months ago, I fell & hurt my lower back. For weeks I had sever muscle spasms. Soma did a wonderful job of stopping the muscle spasms…so I could at least sleep.

My question is: Are there any links between Soma and decreasing panic disorder? For many years I’ve had panic attacks, for the last few weeks (after taking Soma), the attacks have become less frequent in amount and severity. Thank you for taking the time to read/respond to my question!

Christie

AskDocWeb: Yes, there does seem to be a link. The more relaxed you are, the harder it is to panic.

Subj: Overdose
Date: 6/12/2004
My advice to those using or thinking about using somas is, DON’T! Unless they are prescribed by a doctor and you follow the directions, these can be deadly little pills. I’m 23 now and when I was in high school, my friends and I tried somas in Mexico. My best friend took about 5 somas and her heart stopped. When we got to the hospital they had to shock her 2 times to get her back up again. The doctor told us that the heart is a muscle and taking too many muscle relaxers can eventually relax you so much that your heart will stop. Other effects she experienced were tremors and inability to control her movements. We were 18 at the time and were told that we were lucky to be alive. After that night she still had tremors in her hands and they have gone away since, but we were told that they can stay with you for months or even a lifetime depending on how badly you affect you heart and brain. Be Careful!

Maria

AskDocWeb: Overdosing on any medication is a bad idea.

Subj: Anyone?
Date: 6/30/2004
Anyone that has Spasmodic Torticollis take this drug? Just wondering how it works for ST. I don’t have a severe case from what I’ve seen and heard. I take baclofen to help the muscles relax, but I am also trying to find something for the constant muscle spasms themselves. Thanks in adv. for the help!

Brian

Subj: Soma for Fibromyalgia symptoms
Date: 9/21/2004
I’ve been taking Soma for about a year for Fibromyalgia symptoms. It helps prevent restless leg when I take one pill at night. My heart rate has become lower (55 to 65) but I don’t know if this happened before or after I started Soma.

Liz

Subj: Xanax and Soma

Date: 10/23/2004

I have taken xanax for many years for severe anxiety disorder and PTSD. I also have many herniated discs from a bad accident. I found out about soma from a friend, who unfortunately I didn’t know was taking 20-30 and more per day/night and died of a soma overdose in her sleep. I have to confess when I stated taking it, it did make my back feel better, although it made me a bit lethargic. I also realized that I could cut down on xanax usage by mixing in with soma. Xanax is a controlled substance, is terrible to detox off of. I found that there was a time when I could just take 1-3 a day, but in the last few years, when I have soma available to me, I take as many as 5-6 with trazadone (or seroquil) just to be able to sleep.

Getting off of soma is not very difficult. It may cause some insomnia and whatever muscle pain was there before will feel as bad if not worse, but to my knowledge no one has died when they stopped taking it (not true of stopping xanax abruptly–can cause possible seizures and/or stroke). Sometimes I really want to stop and when my prescriptions run out early I do stop. But when I can fill a new prescription, I feel like peace and tranquility are mine again. I’m not sure if I am a drug addict in denial or I found something that does what it says it will. But beware, not everyone has the same tolerance-mine was built over 6 years of use. It also slows down your metabolism and makes you gain weight. I have heard that a deadly overdose is normally brachacardia, but that, other than an overdose, soma works on only skeletal muscles and not smooth muscles like the heart and digestive system.

I had never taken ‘illegal’ drugs or drank alcohol. But I’m starting to wonder where the border is with what is and is not legal, because the giant pharmaceutical companies are putting out more junk and more addictive ‘legal’ drugs, than anything that can be smuggled into this country. And you can also buy just about any pill you want online and the FDA does NOTHING about it. Some drug pushing is OK while other drug pushing will land you in jail? What gives? Think about it. Any feedback, anyone?

Sally

Subj: Soma and fibromyalgia
Date: 10/24/2004
I have been taking Soma for a few years for fibromyalgia, 3 to 4 350mg a day. I have gone 5 days without it with no withdrawal symptoms. The last year I could swear after I take a Soma my muscle pain increases. But Soma does help with my anxiety and I also take a mild painkiller that helps with muscle pain. I hope I have helped a few questions I’ve read here.

T. C.

Subj: How long is Soma in your system?
Date: 12/2/2004

I took 2 Soma early this a.m. for muscle spasms. I completely forgot that I have a drug screening tomorrow for a new job. How long does Soma stay in your system or in other words, will this show up on my drug screen? Thanks.

Jaycee

AskDocWeb: 14 days, sorry.

Subj: Overcoming withdrawal
Date: 12/10/2004
I was addicted to Lorcet (pain medication) and every time I tried getting off them the physical withdrawals were so bad I laid in bed dying. I winged myself off of the pain medication by taking somas. Somas eased the tension and took the edge off. This is for those trying to overcome the withdrawals of pain meds. I took somas apx 5 days which was not enough to make me physically addicted to them.

Misty

Subj: FDA and Soma
Date: 2/10/2005
I’ve been taking soma for 5 or 6 years for fibromyalgia, tight neck muscles, etc. One to two at night. I tried some other drugs initially (Flexoril, etc.) but they made me feel “hung over”. I work with numbers and details all day and it doesn’t seem to have an effect on that. I questions long term heart effects. Shouldn’t FDA be monitoring this?

Susan

Subj: Soma is great
Date: 2/11/2005
Soma is great. I build up an immunity to it really quick but any drug I take doesn’t work that well on me so its not just soma. No matter what muscle is hurting or aching soma takes care of it. I have been taking it off and on for 2 years and have never gone through any withdrawals or never felt addicted to it. I think you have to take it on an empty stomach for it to work well though.

Jake

Subj: Soma and IBS
Date: 2/21/2005
Does anyone know if Soma makes irritable bowel syndrome worse? Thanks 🙂

AskDocWeb: Soma can cause diarrhea and blood in the stool so yes, if you have IBS it would make it worse.

Subj: Depressed
Date: 3/2/2005
Why does it make you so depressed?

Jeremy

AskDocWeb: Depression is one of the side effects that needs to be reported to your doctor. Sounds like your dosage needs to be reduced.

Subj: Combining soma
Date: 3/5/2005
I have been taking an soma/asprin compound pill for a couple of years now because of chronic whiplash and I refuse to take anything stronger (anti-inflamatory wise) than asprin because of a stomach condition that will not tolerate it. The only problem I’ve found is that it is easy to build up a tolerance to it, and the effectiveness decreases. When I need something stronger or an alternate, I combine asprin with flexeril(script required). Flexeril seems more effective as far as its tranquilizing effect, and it defitenly has a noticeable half-life the next morning (I only take them at night), making it tempting to sleep in more than usual. The main thing is to resist the temptation to combine the two; every time I have tried that I get extremely cranky the next day! I wake up early and alert with the soma compound, no problems at all.

Vince

Subj: Hurts to breathe
Date: 3/9/2005
I got in a car accident and my Dr. prescribed Soma just at night before I go to bed. I have noticed that it hurts to breathe now. I can’t get in to see the Dr. until next week. Could this be a side effect of using Soma? Thank you.

Pick-up

AskDocWeb: Yes, it could. We would discontinue use of Soma. If the pain is anything more than minor, seek immediate medical attention. Read more feedback about Soma. Soma reportPage 2345678910Last Page 48


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