Using Zanaflex-anyone else??

[Guest guest]

Hi all-I'm a mostly read only list member who appreciates all the info I get

from this list.

About 6 weeks ago my doc started me on samples of Zanaflex. I alredy take

OxyContin (40mg 4 times a day) and Paxil (20 mg) for

chronic back pain resulting from work related injuries over 3 years ago.

In addition to the lower back constant pain, which OC seems to help, I have

terrible sciatica pin. I was getting caudal lumbar

injections of steroid for dealing with this pain but last Feb that quit working

for me....what a awful experience to have to go thru

again. I have had surgery and don't want to consider that again....this is just

info to let you know where I'm coming from.

I have had fairly good results with Zanaflex however I'm afraid that the side

effects-tinnitis, dizzyness, lethargy to start with-

aren't going away.

For me, the whole point of pain medication is to enable me to have as normal a

life as possible, not to spend every day abed, unable

to function...and that's where I have been pretty much the whole month of

December.

Another problem is that I have had weight loss surgery and my stomach is very

small, compared to a normal persons tummy. So I

also get nausea when I take the meds on an empty tummy. Since I take my meds

prior to getting out of bed--so that I CAN get

out of bed if you know what I mean--this has become a real problem.

There is very little information on medication absorption following weight loss

surgery-neither my surgeon or the pain clinic have

any documented scoop. There are a few WLS patients who are also pain patients

on the WLS lists but most of us have " this is

what works for me " info.

The positive side is that I have lost 70 lbs since last August, no longer use a

CPAP, insulin and have cut back from 5 hypertension

meds to 3. There has been no decrease in pain meds or in pain however.

I'm looking for more information from anyone who has used Zanaflex. It's hard

to make a decision on continued use of this med

Wishing all of you a blessed Yule

Crone elle in Oregon

[Guest guest]

I take Zanaflex, but I do not take the oxycontin. I am not sure where

your side effects are coming from. It could be taking them together. You

may have to space out the zanaflex and the oxy. Take one then 2 hours

later(or what ever time spacing you have) take the other one.

I take most of my Zanaflex at night so I do not spend all day tired. I

take 1/3 of my dose in the morning, 1/3 in the afternoon and the last

2/3 at bedtime. It helps with sleeping, no spasms, and in the morning I

also feel better. You have to try different time arrangements, some meds

don't sit in your stomach well together.

Wish you all a Happy Holiday Season!!

Stella From Milwaukee, Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

Hi Crone elle.

I¹ve been using Zanaflex now for about... hrm...really bad on timelines...

2-3 months I¹d say. I¹ve had pretty good relief, muscle-wise in my neck and

shoulders, and some degree in my legs as well. Mostly, I was given Zanaflex

to help decrease the number of trigger points in my neck and head. I was

popping a migraine every other/ every day for weeks before, and now I¹m down

to about one a month, which is a drastic improvement. Before, I had gotten

to the point where Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) became like M & Ms.

I posed this very same question here, a while back. I also posed it to a

bunch of other groups. The reactions I got were a mixed bag. People seem to

run really hot or really cold on this one. Lots of people seem to get side

effects from it. Mine were much as you described, and mercifully they almost

all went away by the third week, with the exception being a sense of

³fullness² in the head, much like when you first go on an SSRI like Paxil. I

had the exact same feeling going onto, or up-dosing on Paxil, when I took

it. That feeling comes and goes with me, and I can live with it, as opposed

to constant migraines.

Other people seem to get headaches when using Zanaflex. Also, a small

percentage of people get hallucinations, which I have not. This does seem to

be a side-effect laden drug, from all the responses I got.

Re: taking meds with food, before getting out of bed. I have a LOT of GI

problems, and I had the same dilemma. My pain meds were the ONLY meds

getting me moving in the mornings, especially in winter. I also had to eat

with them, or suffer the rest of the day. I Œsolved¹ my problem by keeping a

Nutri-Grain bar and a bottle of water on my nightstand, and eating that

right before taking them.

Of course it doesn¹t have to be a Nutri-Grain bar. It can be a Twinkee or

whatever. : D

Hope some of this helps ya.

---

Robbie in FL, AS/ReA (RS) 18 + years and counting.

feralelf@...