A scary few days — the side effects of a powerful medication
Image via CrunchBas
This has been a first, and, I hope, a last.
The past few days have been a bizarre time feeling my body react in ways it never has before, to a drug prescribed for my agonizing lower back spasm that sent me to the ER last weekend and to my GP this week for a follow-up.
I was bellowing in pain and he slammed a needle full of super-Motrin into me. That helped enormously within the hour.
I was given three additional prescriptions to follow up with for the next week: a steroid, Prednisone (no problems), Flexeril (a muscle relaxant I was to take three times a day, warning it would make me drowsy and unable to drive — not a workable combo for a woman who is self-employed and lives in the suburbs) and codeine for the pain.
I took one Flexeril on Friday morning. I am still feeling its noxious effects: jittery as hell, can’t focus, disoriented, sore stomach, hellishly thirsty.
Thank heaven for Facebook, where I mentioned how horrible I was feeling, and did not name the drug; a colleague who’s a medical writer immediately guessed what I’d taken and told me her reaction to it was so severe she felt she was having a grand mal seizure.
I did ask, as I always ask whenever I am given a prescription, what side effects to expect. I wasn’t told of many. I read the labels carefully as well, and hoped — as we all generally do — for the best.
After only one pill, I felt so ill and and so weird I went back to my local pharmacist and said, “What is going on?!” He suggested I tough it out and take the pills 3/day as prescribed.
I am normally a compliant patient, but have not put this drug back into my body since Friday.
In one of life’s odder coincidences, I had a lower back Xray today — and the assistant in the room, a woman my age, was still on her meds for a back spasm a week ago; Flexeril made her vomit and her pain-killers, she told me, were useless. So, as I’m lying on the table and posing like a Gumby doll, I urged her to ask her doctor for codeine pills — normal stuff for Canadians, who can buy it generically and by its popular brand name, 222s.
This is why I go to the hospital, right? To offer medical advice.
We take it where we can get it!
I’ve been a medical writer and know, as we all do (?), that drugs sent to market, even after years of extensive testing, often produce unpleasant side effects — while they also work really well, with no side effects, for millions of others.
One of my most powerful stories, for the Canadian women’s magazine Chatelaine, was about the life-altering effects that can be produced by the drug Mirapex, commonly prescribed for Parkinson’s Disease patients. It provoked, in the three women I profiled, an uncontrollable urge to gamble — the dopamine boost it provides can also jump-start (and not turn off ) powerful, compulsive pleasure centers in the brain.
They had no idea what was happening to them, ran through their life savings and angered, terrified and confused their families. It was one of the most emotionally harrowing stories I have ever worked on. It was a powerful cautionary tale for me, and readers.
If something you’re ingesting on a doctor’s orders is making you act or feel strangely, ask questions!
Trust your body.
This is what I found about Flexeril at drugs.com:
Flexeril Side Effects
Generic Name: cyclobenzaprine
Please note – some side effects for Flexeril may not be reported. Always consult your doctor or healthcare specialist for medical advice. You may also report side effects to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).
Side Effects of Flexeril – for the Consumer
Flexeril
All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Flexeril:
Constipation; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; fatigue; nausea; nervousness; stomach pain or upset.
Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Flexeril:
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); chest pain; confusion; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; mental or mood changes; numbness of an arm or a leg; one-sided weakness; seizures; sudden severe stomach pain; severe dizziness or vomiting; speech or vision problems; trouble urinating; yellowing of the skin or eyes.
Flexeril Side Effects – for the Professional
Flexeril
The following list of adverse reactions is based on the experience in 473 patients treated with cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride controlled clinical studies, 7607 patients in the post-marketing surveillance program, and reports received since the drug was marketed. The overall incidence of adverse reactions among patients in the surveillance program was less than the incidence in the controlled clinical studies.
The adverse reactions reported most frequently with cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride were drowsiness, dry mouth and dizziness. The incidence of these common adverse reactions was lower in the surveillance program than in the controlled clinical studies:
| Clinical Studies |
Surveillance Program |
|
| Drowsiness | 39% | 16% |
| Dry Mouth | 27% | 7% |
| Dizziness | 11% | 3% |
Among the less frequent adverse reactions, there was no appreciable difference in incidence in controlled clinical studies or in the surveillance program. Adverse reactions which were reported in 1% to 3% of the patients were: fatigue/tiredness, asthenia, nausea, constipation, dyspepsia, unpleasant taste, blurred vision, headache, nervousness, and confusion.
Incidence in less than 1 in 100The following adverse reactions have been reported in post-marketing experience or with an incidence of less than 1% of patients in clinical trials with the 10 mg tablet:
Body as a Whole: Syncope; malaise.
Cardiovascular: Tachycardia; arrhythmia; vasodilatation; palpitation; hypotension.
Digestive: Vomiting; anorexia; diarrhea; gastrointestinal pain; gastritis; thirst; flatulence; edema of the tongue; abnormal liver function and rare reports of hepatitis, jaundice and cholestasis.
Musculoskeletal: Local weakness.
Nervous System and Psychiatric: Ataxia; vertigo; dysarthria; tremors; hypertonia; convulsions; muscle twitching; disorientation; insomnia; depressed mood; abnormal sensations; anxiety; agitation; psychosis, abnormal thinking and dreaming; hallucinations; excitement; paresthesia;
Skin: Sweating; skin rash; urticaria.
Special Senses: Ageusia; tinnitus.
Urogenital: Urinary frequency and/or retention.
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Oh…that sounds like a familiar cocktail. I was on those off and on for about a year and a half, for side effects from a car accident when my muscles refused to relax after the accident and I was in blinding pain. I got them prescribed again about 4 months after the accident when a specialist was trying to keep my shoulder pain under control before he could get me some diagnosis (impingement syndrome and nerve damage).
I called Flexeril the “Rag Doll Pill” because the only thing I could do was lie on the couch, because I literally could not stand. I got the codeine subbed out for Vicodine because the codeine made me stop breathing (severe asthmatic, go figure), but the Vicodine made me fuzzy. So, I would spend a nice chunk of my day, on the couch and unable to make a coherent thought or focus my eyes on anything for more than 30 seconds. Fun times all around.
Geekysarah, poor you! What a horrible ordeal. As you’ve seen, you can end up caught between the Scylla of terrible, wearying pain and the Charybdis of having to check out of your normal lucid life while you ‘re so heavily medicated.
I had 7 months of pain after May 2008 shoulder surgery for impingement; just when it finally healed, the other shoulder acted up. I was so scared of addiction to painkillers I tried to just tough it out most of the time, which left me a short-tempered bitch for almost a year; as you know, daily pain just wears you down in every way.
I hope you are better now.
Ah, another impingement survivor, I sympathize from one to another. My doctors don’t want to do surgery (I got diagnosed when I was 19, and I’m almost 21 now), and instead tried to use physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the joint.
I’m proud to say that I’ve been drug free since the doctor prescribed the physical therapy, even though I had to stop after four sessions due to my parent’s insurance suddenly refusing to cover it, and then doubling my co-pay on my specialist almost insuring that I could never go back.
Nowadays, I depend on my fiance who is an unofficial master of deep tissue massage, and an iron will during my bad days. My nerve damage is exacerbated by the impingement, so it’s never fun sitting in class and suddenly have the nerve feel like it got caught on fire all the way down my arm. I’m not even fully sure if they make drugs to counteract that, though after the rag-doll pills, I wouldn’t trust them to not make me a drugged up invalid :)
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] A Scary Few Days — A Powerful Medication’s Side Effects – Caitlin Kelly – Br… [...]
geeky, good for you avoiding surgery.
I had right shoulder arthroscopy May 2008 for impingement that would not resolve with PT; by the time that pain finally subsided, in December 2008, the left shoulder started. I was beside myself with frustration, fearing yet another surgery within 12 months — but also avoided it through a LOT of very hard and painful (you know!) physical therapy. Thank God for the PTs and the ability to strengthen that weak(er) part of our bodies. I know every PT by name and face — having seen them far more often than anyone but my partner.
I’m a bit past 21, but still an active jock, so any form of injury or pain makes me crazy with impatience; the pain tolerance, as you know, is something you just have to develop. I find the hardest part is keeping my mood decent when I am just so tired from pain and slowness and not feeling strong and free in my body. I wish you the best with that…
Thanks for the thought, I’m doing better now, partially because I’m not on the drugs anymore I like to think. Though, I will say it hasn’t been easy. Before I got engaged, and certainly before I had on-call shoulder massages (and partially the reason why I get them now), I got desperate to stop the pain. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t lift anything with that arm heavier than a soda bottle.
After I stopped physical therapy, I came down with pneumonia after I caught the flu, and part of my meds involved a big bottle of liquid codeine. Why you would give a big bottle of liquid codeine to a college student with a history of pain problems…dunno, I still don’t know why they prescribed that. After my illness cleared up, I still had about 3/4 of the bottle left. This is a big no-no kids, do *not* self-medicate with dangerous chemicals that have been previously shown to make myself stop breathing. I started mixing the codeine with cran-grape juice before I went to bed so that I could sleep. When my fiance and I started dating, he threw out the bottle and gave me a ‘coupon-book’ for free massages if I was in too much pain to sleep.
Lesson for the wise kids: self-medicating bad. Supportive people, good.
In response to another comment. See in context »What an ordeal! I’m on codeine right now and off to see my first acupuncturist today. The time and energy pain leaches from your life can feel overwhelming. I’m glad you’ve got a supportive fiancé as this so affects mood and energy.
[...] A Scary Few Days — A Powerful Medication's Side Effects – Caitlin … [...]