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← Return to Tizanidine /Zanaflex
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Hey @AlwaysHopeful I had recently had 2 back surgeries and the doc wanted to prescribe me flexeril for my back spasm during the healing process. I had two rods and about 50 screws put in my back. I told them they would have to do better than flexeril because I couldn't tell I was taking anything when I took it. So I take tons of meds, mainly for bipolar 1, and told them to find me something strong that doesn't interfere with all my other meds and zanaflex is what they came up with. I can tell that it works pretty good but you get the best relief when you take it with baclofen 2 a day. My ms doc said they could both be taken at the same time and the 2 of them together work really well.
Replies to "Hey @AlwaysHopeful I had recently had 2 back surgeries and the doc wanted to prescribe me..."
I did not have success, but I followed the titration schedule on the bottle, however, my doctor was sending me by mail a different schedule for titration and I thought the schedule on the bottle was the one I should follow. Now I have taped down the tizanidine and we are going to try tramadol and lidocaine patches 5% for four days and see how that goes.
I LOVE Lidoderm (lidocaine patches). They help me more than most oral medications. I’ve had problems with the generic brands because they either come off or are super sticky/gooey. I have just stuck with the name brand Lidoderm and they work great. Almost any other med I’ll use generic but this one I’ve seen a difference. If anyone knows a good company’s generic I’d love to know.
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Several of you have talked about tizanidine and how it works and how much you are taking. Since prescirption drugs can be much different for each user, we took your questions to a Mayo Clinic pharmacist for some additional information. Here is what she said:
"Taking more than 1 muscle relaxer at the same time or taking high doses of muscle relaxers increases the risk of respiratory depression (slowed breathing) that can be life threatening. Taking muscle relaxers with alcohol or other medications that slow breathing may also cause respiratory depression and is usually avoided.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that can require specialty, individualized care like that provided by our Mayo Clinic Specialty Pharmacy. Every patient is different. While an individual may be tolerating 2 muscle relaxers (baclofen and Zanaflex) dosed together, this could be very dangerous for another patient with acute pain or even a different MS patient.
Tizanidine can cause drowsiness, dizziness, weakness and low blood pressure. Patients should avoid activities that require mental alertness like driving while taking tizanidine because of these effects. It can also cause dry mouth for quite a few patients. Staying hydrated, sucking on hard candies and OTC products like Biotene can help ease these effects. Each treatment plan should be personalized and communicating with your healthcare team regarding your response to prescribed medications is essential."
She also mentioned, "Tizanidine inhibits motor and sensory neurons to reduce muscle spasms and pain. It has been effective in some patients not responding to baclofen. Sometimes it takes a mix of drug and non-drug treatments."
@AlwaysHopeful, are you having any better response with tizanidine?