Is Flexeril a Narcotic? Muscle Relaxants vs Opioids

This effect can make activities such as driving difficult and unsafe. Cyclobenzaprine likely treats fibromyalgia by increasing the effects of norepinephrine, a substance in your brain and spinal cord that helps reduce pain signals. Other drugs may interact with cyclobenzaprine, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Overdose symptoms may include severe drowsiness, vomiting, fast heartbeats, tremors, agitation, or hallucinations.

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Your doctor may choose to speak to you about Flexeril, a commonly used muscle relaxant in cases of persistent pain. Conservative treatment is the first line of treatment with all muscle spasm. Cyclobenzaprine may help with acute musculoskeletal pain, while baclofen may help relieve chronic pain and spasticity due to a neurological origin. Your medical history will help determine the safest medication for you.

What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication?

A typical prescription of generic Skelaxin would have an out-of-pocket cost of $147, but you can use a SingleCare coupon to bring the price down to less than $50. Any drug information published on RxList.com regarding general drug information, drug side effects, drug usage, dosage, and more are sourced from the original drug documentation found how long does it take for flexeril to start working in its FDA drug monograph. Abrupt discontinuation of baclofen may cause seizures and hallucinations, high fever, rebound spasticity, muscle rigidity, and rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown and wasting). Amitriptyline also is used with caution in patients with prostate enlargement because of the risk of increasing the inability to urinate.

• A manufacturer’s coupon comes from the drug company that makes Baclofen or Flexeril.
• However, cyclobenzaprine and other muscle relaxants can be abused if they’re taken in excessive doses, so patients should be careful to adhere to their doctor’s instructions.
• Any missing drug warnings or information does not in any way guarantee the safety, effectiveness, or the lack of adverse effects of any drug.
• And when cyclobenzaprine and alcohol, opioids, or drugs are used in combination, that risk becomes even higher.

Flexeril depresses the central nervous system, an effect some find desirable, which can lead to misuse. An individual might abuse Flexeril in order to feel relaxed, mildly euphoric, or sedated. Flexeril produces a variety of anticholinergic effects in high doses, altering the activity of brain neurotransmitters. Additionally, Flexeril users may experience mild withdrawal symptoms if the drug is used chronically in high doses. Another potential side effect of Flexeril is overdose if an individual takes too much of the drug.

What Is Cyclobenzaprine?

It has a half-life of 18 hours so it will stay in the body for about 90 hours. If a person has liver or kidney problems, the drug may remain in the body for longer. This is because the liver will take longer to process the drug through. It’s important that someone on Flexeril let the test administrator know they’re taking Flexeril.

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Baclofen’s drug interactions can include prescription medications, over the counter medications, vitamins, and herbal products. Since this is such a broad range of potential interacting substances, inform your doctor of medications, vitamins, and supplements that you are taking. You should not use Baclofen if you have kidney disease, epilepsy, a history of blood clots or stroke, or are a narcotics user.

Flexeril is used together with rest and physical therapy to treat skeletal muscle conditions such as pain, injury, or spasms. At-home remedies like cold and heat therapy, and manual therapies like physical therapy and chiropractic care may have therapeutic effects for pain. Steroid, anesthetic, or radiofrequency denervation injections may be necessary to combat some forms of pain and inflammation. Common side effects of cyclobenzaprine include drowsiness and dizziness.

It works by blocking nerve impulses (or pain sensations) that are sent to your brain. Cyclobenzaprine was originally intended for use as an antidepressant (8). As such, if you’re on other antidepressants while taking cyclobenzaprine, your doctor should closely monitor your treatment course (8).

Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp. People often misuse this drug for a number of reasons because of the high created when the substance works with receptors in the brain. It’s important to understand that using any medication for non-medical purposes, especially with the intention of achieving a high, can be dangerous and should be avoided. Are you, or someone you know abusing Cyclobenzaprine to get high? Drugs like Flexeril are commonly misused recreationally and can lead to addiction.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex (updated 3 Sep 2023), Cerner Multum™ (updated 28 Aug 2023), ASHP (updated 10 Aug 2023) and others. Yes, cyclobenzaprine can make you very sleepy and this side effect may get worse with higher doses. Drowsiness is the most commonly reported side effect in studies, occurring in up to 38% (38 out of 100) of people. Avoid or limit the use of alcohol or other sedating medicines while being treated with cyclobenzaprine.