Robaxin - muscle relaxer - anybody taken it - harmful during w/d?

My drug addiction specialist has now given me Robaxin to take to help with the terribly tight muscles that come from constant anxiety and shaking and also to help me sleep.  Has anybody used this or any other kind of muscle relaxant to help them during w/d? 

    Also in my Worst Pills Best Pills books, it says it can be habit forming if taken for any length of time.  He gave me 10 days worth - 3 x a day and two pills at night.  I don't think I will take them that often, but if it is habit forming - shouldn't I stay away from it.  Does this mean that it works on the same neurotransmitters as the Klonopin did and will the Robaxin interfere with my healing? 

      Always on the alert .........  if anybody has any knowledge about this, please let me know.....I don't want to harm myself anymore than I already have.  Thanks a bunch?

Love Hoping2BFree

Please be very careful that it is not related to Baclofen...a skeletal muscle relaxer that also affects your GABA receptors!!!! it is a benzo in disguise and is the reason i am on this site, and weaning off of Ativan. i'd be very leery of anything with the word 'relaxant' in it. Please check it out VERY carefully. Sounds like you already have your doubts, and rightfully so.

 

jeanie

It has CNS depressant effects, so in my opinion, and obviously this is ONLY my personal opinion, slowing your CNS could possibly slow overall healing.  I think if you are in a position where you feel you absolutely must try using a muscle relaxer, proceed with caution, as you are, and also if you do decide to try them out, I'd take them very, very sparingly. 

 

Again, just my own thoughts on this...I'm sorry you are suffering so and I understand your desperation to find something to give you relief.

Thank you Jeanie and Bittersweet - this is so difficult, isn't it?  As soon as I read it could be habit forming - I knew there could be trouble.

I reminded him that my CNS is extremely hypersensitive and he said - this drug would cause no problem.  But how can I believe him after he

updosed my Prozac so high that it caused me horrible symptoms......he should have known better.  It's right there in the Ashton Manual - but he probably has never heard of the Ashton manual.  How can we ever get through this when all the medical help is so lacking in knowledge?  I guess we just hang on and wait....... 

if you are hypersensitve maybe dont take it, i cant tolerate it even before benzos it made my mind wacky.

 

yep even the nice medical support guy doesn't truly get it he thought 1 mg Clonaz = 10mg valium when Ashton sez 20mg.

I have been taking methocarbamol as needed (fairly rarely) and I've had no problems other than symptom relief for cramps and musclar constriction and painful spasming.  I don't know how bad your problems are, but if you're concerned you might want to try "taking as needed" as opposed to 3x a day whether you need it or not.

Great advice Sweet g - that's also what my husband said and so I will wait until my next worst day before I try it.  Glad it worked OK for you.

Hoping2BFree

Well,  this is a co-incidence!!  For the better part of this week, I've been having very painful muscles, especially my back...and decided to bite the bullet yesterday and take a Robax (OTC in Canada).  It relieved my back pain at least 50% and other muscular pain about 80%.  I took another early this a.m, even though my pain wasn't severe....(Just wanted to sleep, but it didn't help...just got 1.5 hours.).

 

I didn't take another today, as the pain  is almost gone.  It didn't rev my symptoms at all.

 

Kat

 

 

 

Thought I'd let you all know - I took one Robaxin (methocarbamol) the other night - no adverse effects at all - didn't sleep though either.

Hoping2BFree

I have used a muscle relaxer (Flexeril) on occasion during my taper and after with no adverse effects.  I only use it perhaps once or twice a month though.

This thread is very interesting to me as I have muscle soreness in my upper back. I can't exercise very much as I have cervical neck injuries. It seems to be at it's worse in the morning and sometimes I take two Tylenol and notice that the pain goes down some after I take my morning diazepam.

 

Frannie

This is one of those wonderful little drugs that is not a benzo but it does everything a benzo does

 

Methocarbamol is a central muscle relaxant used to treat skeletal muscle spasms. Under the trade name Robaxin, it is marketed by Actient Pharmaceuticals in the United States and Pfizer in Canada. Methocarbamol produces its clinical effects through agonism of the GABAA receptor, resulting in an exaggerated effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which occurs naturally in the brain.

It's a NON-benzo "benzo" if you know what I mean.  Clever little molecule made from Carbamic acid of the CARBAMATE family of chemicals.

 

VERY ADDICTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbamate  "FAMILY" .  It could evolve into the NEXT gen of addictive bullshit in the next 50 years.

 

Also I'm on baclofen since many people including my addiction doc said it's offers a very stable platform to withdraw from without all the windows and waves and other benzo mayhem.  It slows much of the hyper electrical mayham in the brain and it's got the added plus of directly blocking/interfering with glutamate too so it provides some oxcitotoxic protection which can get nasty at the end of a taper with large clusters of NMDA receptors unprotected.  I did my first 10% drop and it was 3 days of pain and today I'm stable which is much faster than a benzo since the w/d take's 4 days to show up and then 2 weeks to play out so baclofen is not so bad in my books as a low level cross over drug.

 

Benzo's are like walking into a war zone wearing the best bullet proof vest money can buy.  There will be a few stray bullets that get through and make trouble. It can't protect every neuron from the excess glutamate at play around NMDA-R

 

Baclofen takes the stray bullets out of the equation, No need for a BP vest

Baclofen is "GUN CONTROL"    My doc says it's under used as a taper aid / jump aid.

 

Read PDF    - It blocks more than it binds and it's also a glutamate antagonist

 

http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2013/02/15/glutamate-one-more-piece-in-the-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-mecfs-puzzle-the-neuroinflammatory-series-pt-ii/

 

OTHER brilliant report http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-5381.1994.tb17168.x/pdf

 

agent baclofen (Lioresal) are still a matter of controversy.

In view of its close structural resemblance to GABA, the

drug was originally thought to be a GABA agonist. However,

subsequent studies found that baclofen has a low

affinity for GABA binding sites (Olsen et al., 1978) and

that its depressant action on cell firing is not antagonized

by bicuculline (Curtis et al., 1974). While it does not

appear that baclofen exerts its physiological effects via

the “classical” GABA receptors, recent work has suggested

that it may interact with a novel, bicucullineinsensitive

GABA binding site (Bowery et al., 1979).

 

The action of baclofen (5 PM) on the glutamate-induced

excitation of pyramidal neurons was investigated on 12

neurons in Ca2+-free medium and on 9 neurons in Ca2+-

containing medium. Baclofen reduced the glutamate-induced

excitation of pyramidal neurons by about 60%

under normal medium conditions (Fig. 3). Recovery from

this effect was seen about 4 min after the end of the

perfusion with the drug. By contrast, in the absence of

Ca2+ ions and in the presence of an increased Mg”+

concentration, the same concentration of baclofen (5 PM)

only marginally affected the responsiveness of pyramidal

cells to glutamate (Fig. 3).

As a further test of the

 

ALSO google -  Olsen et 1978 baclofen

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F16913318_The_blocking_action_of_baclofen_on_excitatory_transmission_in_the_rat_hippocampal_slice%2Ffile%2F3deec517569d352a25.pdf&ei=uYHRU6baKYiVjAKitIGoDA&usg=AFQjCNEj6qZkay2lRG2q_Yv3xuvthU-GxQ&bvm=bv.71667212,d.cGE

 

 

Dopamine as the ‘Gatekeeper’

Dopamine may still play a role in this scenario. Despite the recent focus on glutamate, the ‘dopamine hypothesis’  is well established and compounds that raise dopamine levels (e.g. Ritalin and Adderall) are standard treatments for ADHD and have also shown some promise in relieving fatigue and concentration difficulties in ME/CFS (Blockmans et al, 2006). It appears that dopamine plays a key role in regulating glutamate neurotransmission. Dopamine acts as a sort of ‘gatekeeper’ of glutamatergic input, boosting strong glutamate signals while suppressing weaker ones (Horvitz, 2002). Again an adequate level of dopamine is necessary to lower glutamate. Low dopamine means very high levels of glutamate release around neurons.

 

Read more: Glutamate – One More Piece in the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Puzzle? The Neuroinflammatory Series Pt. II http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2013/02/15/glutamate-one-more-piece-in-the-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-mecfs-puzzle-the-neuroinflammatory-series-pt-ii/

wow, great post Birdie ......i must say.

I've taken Robax Platinum, which is available OTC in Canada, but no longer so in the US.  It's a combination of Methocarbamol and ibuprofen.  It had noticeable muscle relaxing effects for a few hours, but I almost always had rebound symptoms the next day (anxiety, renewed muscle tightness).  IMO it isn't worth the risks to get just a few hours of relief......

wow, great post Birdie ......i must say.

 

Glad you enjoyed it Morreweg  :yippee: :yippee:

 

Stay happy, keep those dopamine levels high and keep the glutamate away, eat, sing, exercise and get some sunshine everyday

I've taken Robax Platinum, which is available OTC in Canada, but no longer so in the US.  It's a combination of Methocarbamol and ibuprofen.  It had noticeable muscle relaxing effects for a few hours, but I almost always had rebound symptoms the next day (anxiety, renewed muscle tightness).  IMO it isn't worth the risks to get just a few hours of relief......

 

It's like a benzo (Carbamic acid drug)  mixed with ibuprofen?  Ouch my gabaA hurts just thinking about it.  This will be the next big Non-Benzo they slip to the masses I bet. We need to watch out for it and the rehabs will be selling it for the next big benzo cure for a $15,000 fee with free lunch, TV and pool added.

Okay, so I'm really trying to get a good understanding of this whole GABA thing, but admittedly I'm still wearing my dummy hat. 

 

Wondering if anyone can help me out and just tell me whether Cyclobenzaprine aka Flexeril (muscle relaxant) also works the same way on the GABA receptors? 

 

I use it every so often and do get some relief, but don't want to do anything to jeopardize my w/d.  Any advice/input would be appreciated.

 

 

Hoping2Bfree,

 

I wouldn't recommend any relaxant. Or at least I'd be very suspicious. When you say what your doctor says I can't help but think how often we have read here what so many doctors have said about benzos along the years. It can't be that they only make mistakes when it comes to benzos, but everything else they know mud better.

 

Here I wouldn't trust people who haven't finished their taper, including me. As I would not trust people claiming they're using an amazing drug. I was claiming for ten years or more how my drug was so good. Now I would regret if anybody would have started to use benzos because of me. You'll find many threads in internet where people are fanatic about their benzos. We here know differently.

 

I think that we might be able to learn to see through some of this rhetoric. When we hear people babbling about these new effective safe meds we know that they don't really know a lot. They are, in most cases, just repeating what they hear. And we have heard even doctors do that: repeating what they hear. Plus we really wonder: how can a psychiatrist who has practiced medicine, say, 30 years, not clearly know all this we here know? How come his/her colleagues don't know? We know we're not rare cases.

 

It's difficult not to trust your doctor, but for me that is the very core thing to be able to get rid of benzos. I mean, it's hard, because we have to deal with doctors and even here we say that "of course this is only my opinion and you have to consult your doctor". But we don't quite mean that, because people have told here how very rare it is to meet a doctor who is ashtonesque. It seems like there is only one Ashton and maybe a handful of good doctors (in this area) spread all over the world.

 

I get really puzzled when I read people writing what their doctor, even addiction specialist, says. When at the same time people have complained about (most) clinics treating addiction, how they are not suitable places for us. I would be very careful to use it as an argument "what my doctor says". As I would be very careful with trusting anybody who said that I got this medicine and now I'm feeling great. I was feeling great most of the time I took benzos.

 

What I would never trust is what the drug company itself has written or what has been released via medical authorities. We all know that it means nothing when they say that this or that drug isn't addictive or it's easy to get rid of if you stop taking it reducing the dose gradually. We here reduce our doses gradually (except those who did c/t). We know we do the right thing, but it can be really hard. So hard that we are wondering, if we could maybe take some pills for that.

Okay, so I'm really trying to get a good understanding of this whole GABA thing, but admittedly I'm still wearing my dummy hat. 

 

Wondering if anyone can help me out and just tell me whether Cyclobenzaprine aka Flexeril (muscle relaxant) also works the same way on the GABA receptors? 

 

I use it every so often and do get some relief, but don't want to do anything to jeopardize my w/d.  Any advice/input would be appreciated.

 

i found this about Cyclobenzaprine.

http://quizlet.com/15105002/centrally-acting-skeletal-muscle-relaxants-flash-cards/

Okay, so I'm really trying to get a good understanding of this whole GABA thing, but admittedly I'm still wearing my dummy hat. 

 

Wondering if anyone can help me out and just tell me whether Cyclobenzaprine aka Flexeril (muscle relaxant) also works the same way on the GABA receptors? 

 

I use it every so often and do get some relief, but don't want to do anything to jeopardize my w/d.  Any advice/input would be appreciated.

 

i found this about Cyclobenzaprine.

http://quizlet.com/15105002/centrally-acting-skeletal-muscle-relaxants-flash-cards/

 

Thks, Morreweg, but that seems to be part of the quiz on that site.  From everything I've read, I can't seem to find anything pertaining to GABA.  So maybe that's a good thing.  Thanks, anyway.