Understanding Carisoprodol (Soma)
Carisoprodol is sold as the brand Soma. It is a prescription muscle relaxant! As a controlled substance, it is only for short-term use. Patients take it for up to three weeks, but not for longer than that. This is because they will experience severe side effects! The side effects include symptoms of withdrawal. Patients must also be careful when they stop taking this medication. They need to do so under a doctor's close supervision!
Carisoprodol helps patients achieve muscle pain relief. It is among the recommended muscle relaxant pills for muscle injuries. It also works on injuries to ligaments, joints, and tendons! Doctors will also prescribe it as short-term pain relief for back spasms. This medication is even an effective sprained ankle treatment! Of course, individuals need to understand this medication and how it works as a muscle strain treatment first.
How It Works
Carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant medication. It was approved in 1959. Patients take it orally, not topically or by injection! Researchers say that this medication prevents nerves from sending the brain pain signals. Thus, even if the nerves are in pain, patients do not feel it. The brain cannot interpret pain signals when none reach it! Other evidence indicates that this medication also changes how nerves in the brain that control pain work. It also works in the patient's spine! However, this medication is a controlled substance. It is because it is often habit-forming!
Learn about the uses for this medication next.
Uses
This medication is amazing for certain injuries and the pain that they cause. Examples of this include ligament sprains, muscle strains, and tendon strains! Many patients take this medication alongside a physical therapy routine so their injury heals faster! This medication allows the muscles to relax, which helps the body heal the injury more effectively. This type of injury takes a few weeks to heal. This is great, since patients cannot take carisoprodol for long periods!
Doctors also prescribe this medication to treat pain from broken bones and similar injuries. Once again, this is for a short period only! This medication is taken three times daily: in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Patients choose to take it with or without food.
Reveal the side effects of this medication next.
Side Effects
This medication has several side effects! Many of them are similar to other medications that relax the muscles, including dizziness, lethargy, and drowsiness. Nausea, excess gas, vomiting, and an overall upset stomach are common side effects as well! Many patients also experience side effects related to their mood. Examples of this are irritability, depression, and nervousness!
Individuals often deal with insomnia, blurred vision, and headaches as well. Hiccups are also a known side effect! This medication also carries dependence as a side effect. Thus, patients only take this medication for short periods! This also helps with the withdrawal symptoms that occur when patients stop taking it.
Get information on precautions for this medication next.
Precautions
As mentioned, this medication is only for short periods. Patients must not take it for longer than three weeks! This makes it unsuitable for chronic pain. Taking this medication for longer increases the risk of dependence and withdrawal when patients stop it. When patients stop taking carisoprodol, they must do so under the supervision of their doctor. This way, their doctor helps them manage withdrawal symptoms! It is also vital for patients to follow their doctor's dosage instructions. Specifically, this means how much of this medication to take and when. Following these instructions reduces the risk of side effects, dependence, and withdrawal! Skipping a dose is not recommended, nor is taking extra ones.
In addition, patients must avoid drinking alcohol when they are on this medication. It interacts with alcohol because both relax the muscles and slow the patient's nervous system down! This medication is not recommended for pregnant women, since the effect on the baby has not been proven safe. Additionally, this medication has been found in high concentrations in breast milk. Thus, nursing mothers must not take it either!
Keep reading to learn about the medication interactions next.
Medication Interactions
Patients need to tell their doctor about their current medications before being prescribed this one. This is because many medication interactions will occur if they do not do so! Carisoprodol interacts with other medications that slow down the nervous system. Examples include anxiety medications, including benzodiazepines, and barbiturates. Anxiety medications that interact with carisoprodol include lorazepam and clonazepam. Although their primary use is for anxiety, they also act as muscle relaxants. This is why they cause an interaction! Opioids are another class of medication that interacts with carisoprodol.
Some medications stop the patient's body from getting rid of carisoprodol properly. One example is omeprazole! When the body cannot eliminate these medications the way it should, patients experience more side effects. Their risk of dependence also increases! In contrast, rifampin and St. John's Wort make the patient eliminate carisoprodol faster. This reduces its effectiveness!