Feedback on Soma Side Effects and Usage, page 25
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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: Difficult to stop them
Date: 5/30/2009
My doc prescribed it for tension — that was 1982. What can I say, it is more than difficult to stop them. Since then I developed vertigo because of an inner ear problem I had as a child — lots of throwing up an literally caused the fracture of the spine, T10, 11 & 12. Surgery went well but my back is not as good. Granted it is better than the fractures, but not much.
Rebe
Subj: Great pain reliever but
Date: 6/4/2009
I have several conditions DDD, Lumbar Spinal stenosis, Scoliosis. I have ESI injections every four mounts and take 3x 5mg Hydrocodone, 2 morning 600mg three evening 900mg neurontin, 3x 100mg tramadol, and 2x 350mg soma for pain. I can only take the soma at bed time or I stay in bed all day. The stuff knocks me out. It a great pain reliever but knocks out some people.
Everett
Subj: Soma IS mentally addictive!
Date: 6/4/2009
I was on them from 2005 till early this year(2009). I was given Carisoprodol(Soma) 350MG to take every 6-8 hours for a back injury. After a few operations my back is still messed up but the Soma taking had to stop. I stopped taking Hydromorphone in 2008, which was taken together with the Soma(that’s another nightmare story for another place). But as for the Soma, it is hard on your kidneys, will affect you mentally after long term use, and IS mentally addictive! ANYONE taking these pills long term will have a hard time getting off of them unless they taper down slowly and get them out of the house. Also if you can get them from another source(i.e. the street or mail-order), you are going to need some help from a friend or family member to stay away from them. Treatment may even be necessary.
I did it the hard way but relapse was always an option and I did it many many times until I finally had had enough. I would say to myself “that’s it, I am not doing it any more”, then something would irritate me or a simple normal challenge that life throws at you would be my excuse to get back on them again. Taking more than 2-350mg pills can cause slurred speech, blurred vision, acute bi-polar like behavior, the shakes and apathy. I have even had seizure like episodes after taking too many, or stopping them cold turkey. The power and effect of this drug is grossly underestimated in my opinion and should not be taken lightly. People have died from Soma overdose. I suggest you take them as directed and get off of them as soon as you can. Soma WILL put you in a situation where you will take more than you are supposed to eventually. Good luck and getting help is not a weakness, it actually shows you are strong enough to try to help yourself. 🙂
K.
Subj: Withdrawals outweigh relief
Date: 6/6/2009
I was prescribed Soma 4 times a day along with a high dosage of Methadone. I THOUGHT it helped with my chronic pain for 8 years. The withdrawals far outweigh any relief provided by the meds. Still detoxing after 10 weeks…
Lorna
Subj: GOOD results
Date: 6/11/2009
I have been taking Soma for over six months and have had only GOOD results, yet I take them only when I have muscle spasms… I only recently heard of the chance of addiction and it surprised me…I find it to be a very fuctioning medication that allows me to go about my day without the pain of the spasms and without feeling any side effects…
Scarlett
Subj: Doctor will not prescribe Soma
Date: 6/13/2009
I used Soma 10 years ago, it is the best pain releiver I have ever been on. Obviously my pain has become 10 times worse over the years, but my pain doctor absolutely will not prescribe me soma. I am on 10 mg percocet and 40 mg Opana. I would much rather have soma than Opana. Does anyone have an idea why she would be like this, and also, is soma a long acting pain killer?
Amanda
AskDocWeb: According to Michael Crookston, medical director of the Day Spring chemical dependency program at LDS Hospital, “Of all the muscle relaxants, (Soma) is the most abused. It should be a controlled substance. Virtually anyone in addiction treatment thinks it should be a controlled substance. I don’t prescribe it.”
Subj: Quit taking Soma cold turkey
Date: 6/17/2009
I am a 31 year old female who has been taking Soma for four months now and just quit taking them cold turkey. I wasn’t planning on stopping them this way since I had read so many people say they have had side effects but I thought I had more in the cabinet and did not. I was also taking Lortab with them. I have scoliosis which causes muscle spasms, a bulging disc in my lower back and now nerve problems with arms and legs sometimes falling asleep (or almost, they ache terribly at times). I have read that some people thought that Soma had worsened some of their syptoms and I almost believe this to be my case.
I have been Soma free since noon on Sunday and this is Wednesday. I am still taking the Lortab but only 1/2 2-3 times per day (maybe less today) and the Soma that I WAS taking was 350mg 3 times a day. I don’t think I am having withdrawals other than I am in a lot of pain, hence that’s why I was taking it, but I also was not able to sleep last night because my legs ached so bad and have had a headache for a couple of days now. But I started having headahces, about two severe ones a month, and I think it was related to the meds. I also noticed a lot of people put that Soma helps with anxiety. I did not realize but I think I was having anxiety attacks and maybe that was more of my problem than the pain. I thought that I was maybe feeling like that because the pain was so bad and it made me anxious and not able to focus…I think that is sort of what anxiety is…maybe??…and haven’t had any since I started Soma but I am feeling that way now…it seemed to make me relaxed and able to think clearly.
I do know that there is another Soma “250” that is supposed to be better with not feeling drowsy and maybe this would be better for people who are only needed it for anxiety problems and not so much for the muscle problems but I’m not a doctor but I just wanted to point out that there was another one out there. BUT for those out there wondering about side effects as I was and read this blog, I have not noticed any crazy things happening other than feeling like I did before I started taking the pills. My shoulders feel like they are at my ears because my muscles are starting to tighten up. And I have difficulty getting up and down from a chair with my lower back hurting but the Soma didn’t really take care of that area much for me. I had been getting massages before and during the time of Soma and I plan to go back to that.
I am due to see a spine and neurogeon speacilist in about two weeks. I do not plan on getting a refill on my Soma or Lortab. I know this stuff is not good for you. The whole reason I got it was that I had been told several times by doctors to excercise and that was going to help build up my muscles in my core area to help with the pain and I thought if I could get through the pain from the excerices (take the Soma and Lortab) that I COULD actually excercise. I am a stay at home mom and let me tell you that I finally was able to do more with me kids and clean my house like it should be cleaned. I didn’t have the time to excercise because these pills were making me feel good enough to get all this OTHER stuff done that I didn’t do what I had planned – excercised. (You would think though that having a two year old and four year old that that would be enough excercise.)
I don’t want to be on any meds so I am trying my hardest to have positive thoughts. I am hoping that the specialist will see something on the MRI that can be fixed permanently. I hope that anyone who reads this knows that ANYTHING is possible if you set your mind to it and only you can make it happen.
Marie
Subj: Out of control
Date: 6/19/2009
My 27 yr old married daughter developed fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome following a motorcycle accident 9 years ago. After chiropractic & homeopathic treatment didn’t help, she was prescribed several muscle relaxants, & like everyone else on this site, Soma was the only one that helped her sleep & relieved her muscle spasms/pain. It gave her the ability to have a semi-normal quality of life. However, she’s had 2 children since then, & like everyone, over time, her tolerance to Soma increased, so she increased her dosage. Now, it’s out of control. She takes at least 30 350 mg pills a day, has tremors, stays in bed often, doesn’t bathe regularly or clean house, & sometimes has to take too much of her ADD medicine to counter-act the “drunk” behavior if she accidentally takes too much Soma. She says she’s in bad pain, & sometimes loses track of how many Soma she’s taken until she’s stumbly & can’t control her motor skills.
My granddaughters are 8 yrs old and 2 yrs old, & I’m terrified she’s going to die in her sleep or that she’s leaving the 2 yr old in her crib all day. Her husband works out of town, comes home & has to take care of all of them every night, cooking dinner, doing laundry, helping with homework. About half the week (when she has pills) she can get up & help a little. Their health insurance won’t pay for treatment for her to get off of these, & she’s spending soooo much money ordering them from different online pharmacies. Her husband is at the end of his rope, but won’t pay for her to go to treatment (he makes enough money to do this). I was helping out daily for several months even though we live out of town & I’m disabled & my husband is unemployed, until I finally realized that I was enabling her to continue to not take responsibility for her situation. I was hurting myself badly so she could be high in bed all day. They can no longer manage to come to dinner, go to a movie, attend family holidays, & have isolated themselves from church & friends.
I’ve researched local drug treatment options but they are all for narcotics & meth addictions; most of them didn’t even think Soma addiction was a problem! Now, I take the girls when I can, I pray, I talk to my daughter about getting help. I understand how terribly this fibromyalgia affects my girl, & am angry that many physicians don’t even “believe” in this malady. I’m not sure her husband really believes it, either. He’s from a healthy farm family, & since it’s not listed as a “disease” but rather a “syndrome,” he’s not convinced, even after all this time. As you can imagine, their marriage is strained to the max, as well. I’m angry that drug companies only just now have finally come out with the first medication to treat it. Sadly, when you tell most doctors that you’ve been diagnosed with fibro, many of them just think you’re a drug seeker, & want to put you on antidepressants, which don’t help. One of the reasons my daughter is somewhat afraid to enter drug treatment is that she is worried about the rest of living in terrible pain & sleeplessness for the rest of her life. She knows she’s addicted, that it’s affecting her family in a major way, but is exhausted from dealing with the whole thing, & doesn’t know what to do anymore.
My advice based on my family’s Soma nightmare – Soma is the best muscle relaxer out there, but if you take it, absolutely do NOT take more than you are prescribed, & don’t take it for chronic conditions – you run the risk of destroying your & your family’s lives. I believe that unless God intervenes, this situation will either end in my daughter’s death by accidental overdose. I am praying that my son-in-law will stop enabling her by paying for the meds, & instead find a way to pay to put her in treatment. Be very careful if you use Soma!
Worried Grandma
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