Has anyone tried Flexeril or any other muscle relaxers? I took a Flexeril last night. (My fiance has them for a bad back.) My head and neck were so bad last night I needed something to help me sleep. I was in tears before I took it. It knocked me out good. I'm still trying to get out of my fog. It did help with a lot of the tension in my neck, but my head hurts pretty bad still. And I'm in such a fog this morning, I can't get myself going. I feel like I could sleep all day at the moment. Since a good deal of my tension is gone, especially the bad area at the base of my scull, I am wondering if a muscle relaxer wouldn't help if taken regularly. My tension and headache pain gets worse as the day goes on, the more active I am, so I am anticipating I will be back where I was yesterday, before the end of my work day. Maybe a regular dose would make a difference.
The drawback however is that there is no way I could continue to work if it makes me feel like I do now. I thought the brain fog from the Chiari was bad enough. Add a Flexeril to the mix and you might as well call the paddy wagon. LOL Not to mention the fact that it seemed to add to my lack of balance. So maybe this isn't a good thing?
I see a lot of past posts about Flexeril, Rese. As it sounds like you could use some additional strategies, perhaps this list from the World Arnold Chiari Association may be helpful to you: http://community.pressenter.net/~wacma/bhm-list.htm
Hi Rese, I have taken Flexeril for a different condition (Fibro) and unfortunately it didn't help me at all and did not make me sleepy. I have a friend who takes it for a strained arm and it knocks her out completely. I now take a different muscle relaxer (Robaxin) that helps with muscle stiffness but doesn't make me sleepy. The point is, medications often react differently for everyone and it is only thru trial that you will see what works for you. I personally find non-medication interventions to be more effective for me. I use a lot of mindfulness activities (such as deep breathing, meditation, and visualization). I just started a mindfulness group here you might be interested in checking out, you can see this under the groups tab. Please keep us updated on how you are doing. Hugs!
Before I got diagnosed my primary care doc put me on Zoloft, Flexeril, Ibuprofen, Vitamin D supplements, Proproanolol and eventually Klonopin. I have been in the ER in exquisite pain three times in the last year and have even been given morphine shots. She also suggested Melatonin and Benadryl to get to sleep. She thought I was suffering from stress-related anxiety. The river of meds they poured into me before I got diagnosed is really pretty scary. All I really need is to get a little piece of my skull and half my C1 removed. On track for a September decompression.
My advice to you is to use meds as a last resort unless the doc sees a clear and present medical emergency. Chiari is no joke, but a cocktail of drugs just can’t be the answer.
I've been taking Flexeril fairly consistently since my decompression this past November (neck/back).
My experience with the fog is that it passes after about day three, and I only take it at night before bed. I get partial relief from my pain, and am managing to avoid the painkillers most of the time. Most nights (a good day) I take 10mg, bad day 20mg.
I have seen other people say that acupuncture helps. I will have to look into that. Maybe my insurance will cover it. Right now, I don't have a pain med that helps with the pain. The Flexeril was mainly to help me sleep. I don't like taking to much pain meds because of other damage it can cause. I feel like it's a catch 22 some times.
I found cutting flexaril in half still works great but makes it easier to wake and not find myself so dry. On another subject, does chari have anything to do withlow vitamin D?
Zoe, Someone else mentioned Vitamin D and other vitamin deficiencies that could be a result of Chiari or related conditions. I'm not an expert here. I take calcium with Vitamin D in it because it helps the body absorb the calcium better. But I was doing that per my GYN when I started hormone therapy. I would ask your doctor about it and maybe someone with more experience in the group can shed some light here.
I have been prescribed many different muscle relaxers. I’m currently taking diazepam. Yes, at first I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. I stopped taking it. Every doctor I see finds it so important that I take it…and regularly. .not just when I’m having bad spasms. So they lowered the dose and I reluctantly agreed to stay on it. It has helped to some degree but it’s not magic. PLEASE PLEASE I implore you, whatever you decide, DO NOT take anything that wasn’t prescribed for you. It could be deadly if you are taking something that clashes with it…no matter how harmless it seems. And this class of drugs can effect your breathing. So as much as they help relax your muscles and help you sleep, you run the risk of not waking up if it doesn’t go through your doctor. (Sorry I had to say that, I know you are not 7 years old). Again, speak to your doctor. I’m not sure, but I don’t think flexeril is the common choice for regular use. But I do think your doctor can work with you to find the right dose of the right relaxer to be taken at the right times. I had to go through half a dozen and adjust all of them a few times. It WAS actually worth it for the small relief and slightly better sleep. It adds up. Hope you get relief fast! - gentle hugs from new York
jessica addressed the flexeril thing but I have to expand on the vitamin D issue. Yes some Chiarians are deficient, but unless you have been tested and found to be such you should not besupplementing. I seem to recall have read someplace here where a mother was giving her chld as many as 30- 50 THOUSAND units a day..... The adult amount is 2000 per day. In cases of severe deficiencies under medical supervision up to 50,000 unit once weekly are used. The world Chiari association states pretty clearly "Take calcium supplements to assist in bone enhancement especially after surgery. Be very cautious using vitamins and supplements- most have not been thoroughly tested for primary and side effects. As always, check with your doctor first." Read more at http://community.pressenter.net/~wacma/bhm-list.htm
Its important to remember that chiari effects the brainstem. Chiarians often do not react to things the way others do. You should not put anything into your body with out asking.
Rese Hull said:
Zoe, Someone else mentioned Vitamin D and other vitamin deficiencies that could be a result of Chiari or related conditions. I'm not an expert here. I take calcium with Vitamin D in it because it helps the body absorb the calcium better. But I was doing that per my GYN when I started hormone therapy. I would ask your doctor about it and maybe someone with more experience in the group can shed some light here.
I have taken Flexeril, and it did work on the muscle spasms I was experiencing, but it made me so groggy and out of it the next day(I took it 2 hrs. before bed) that I had to stop. For me, being groggy and lifeless for the entire next day was not something I could deal with. I used it for about one month, only at bed time, and did not build up a tolerance for it. I know a few folks that take it, and they have no problem with it. Everyone's body is different. I use aleve at night now. Does not work like a muscle relaxant, but helps me. Aleve, according to package instruction, it is not to be used long term, so I wean myself off it for a few months at a time. I hope I am not chewing up my stomach, but it is hard for me to go without it.
Talk to your Dr. You may have to try a few different meds. until you can find the one that works best for you.
I've taken so many different kinds of muscle relaxers that I thought that maybe I could be of help here.
Of course you know that everyone reacts to meds differently, what works for one, doesn't phase the other, so really getting with your CM Doctor and telling him of this experience may be the catalyst for him to begin the trial on different types, at different doses to see what works best for you.
I think it is possible to get the right med, at the right dose that can help with muscle tightness, and pain without being too foggy, or dizzy each time, and you may be lucky enough to have a hit the very first time!
I currently take Zanaflex, but this is after trying many others, and I am able to break it in half, which gives me the option of taking half the dose, this was at the Doctor's suggestion.
I agree about checking with your Dr about any vitamins, they can even do a quick blood test to see if you are deficient, that way you are getting the maximum dose for the best results without additional complications.
My mother was given such a high dose of D3 that I made the pharmacy call the Dr office to make sure it was correct, but it was to help speed healing after a hip break, but she was being closely watched by the orth surgeon and her Internist, and it was for a limited amount of time.
First, I wouldn’t recommend chiropractor without talking to your Neurologist first!
Second, never take anything the doc didn’t prescribe to you.
Each of us are different and we need to make sure we are talking through the issues and the Meds that we take with our dr. Try relaxation techniques, ice and moist heat. I have those days when it feels like nothing works. I call the doc office and I have even had trigger point injections, nerve blocks. They have me working with a pain management dr, a Rumatologist and my Neuro guy. You have to have a team, one that will work together. They know me, listen and research. Write down your daily issues, your pain, your lows and level if pain. When you have loss of feeling in your arms, or whatever it is, write it down, save the dates, what you were doing. All of these things will help with what your doctors will do to help you.
Sorry for the long message but our condition, defect, is not simple, it’s a bit complicated and most don’t understand it. I have had two decompression surgeries and still dealing with daily issues. I wake up everyday hoping today will be better than the last! And I’m thankful for the new!
Roni Jo
I was on Flexiril post-op and it did nothing. Didn’t even make me sleepy. Now on my bad days I have a RX for diclofenac (sp?), initially that helped somewhat but made me very sleepy. The last few times I’ve taken it (I HATE taking drugs) it hasn’t done anything. I find that most of the time taking the maximum daily dosage of a migraine-formulated NSAID can control my neck/back pain. However, on the really severe days I’m a bad medical professional and self-prescribe Robaxin. Someone else on here mentioned that pleasant little pill. It does work, it will make you very loopy and very sleepy, but those can be minimized by eating a good meal before taking it.
I was prescribed Flexeril before I got a diagnosis for my chiari.The first med in my case that helped my symtoms of sleeplessness at that time Flexeril was given for what was discribed as fibro myalgia.It worked good for me and for years.