muscle relaxant?

[Inopaoind]

Hi, I'm new here so apologies if this doesn't pass the rules, obviously just let me know how to reword and I'm happy to do so.

I have taken a small course of diazepam previously (few years back) and although this was effective. My muscle spasms are cramping up much worse now so I'm wondering if a short cycle of etizolam would do the trick or if there is something more effective for strong a constant muscle spasms that you guys have tried.

 

[Nicomorphinist]

A lot of it would depend on the aetiology of the cramps . . . there are a number of chemical classes of medications used as skeletal muscle relaxants, and it is also not unheard of to use non-benzodiazepines as a daily medication for it and a benzodiazepine like diazepam or tetrazepam for an attack which gets going, not unlike breakthrough pain. As you saw earlier, the benzodiazepines can be used as the main medication as well.

 

[Inopaoind]

I didn't mention in my first thread but I was prescribed gabapentin and amitriptyline at separate times and they both served no purpose for me other than making me fall asleep. No pain relief at all so I stopped taking them.

I appreciate the quick response, thank you.

Anyone elses experience of etizolam would also be much appreciated please

 

[Nicomorphinist]

That probably rules out baclofen, a gabapentin relative, and cyclobenzaprine, a tricyclic. Trazadone is close to cyclobenzaprine in some structural and chemical senses. Orphenadrine is an anticholinergic related to diphenhydramine has multiple mechanisms of action including antinociceptive and euphoriant effects; carisoprodol is a prodrug of the Gaba-ergic meprobamate and may work better, the benzodiazepine may be the best. Dantrolene is a direct acting skeletal relaxant which is injected, not uncommonly used with a shot of the Nsaid Toradol (ketorolac) Tizanidine is a relative of clonidine which works well for a lot of things, back spasms in particular it seems; methocarbamol is chemically related to carisoprodol. Chlorzoxazone is centrally acting and a distant structural relative of mephenoxalone, a sedative used as a skeletal muscle relaxant though not in the US.

 

[Inopaoind]

Thanks. I will look into more info relating to tizanidine. I have been booked in to have a corticosteroid epidural injection in a couple months, so does anyone know if there would be any negative drug interactions between these as I don't want to put myself at any risk?

 

[Lucy20]

I use baclofen, it works better then benzos and better then flexeril

 

[Ignio]

You write that you have "constant muscle spasms". Before it is possible to make propositions regarding medication I would need a more detailed description of your illnes. The general term "muscle spasms" can be caused by a variety of dysfunctions. Typically you see a distinction between "Spasticity" and "Spasms".

Spasticity is the velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone due to the exaggeration of stretch reflex (1), The cause is belived to be damage to the central nervous system, namely upper motor neuron lesions.
Spasms is Involuntary muscle contractions (1).The cause here is belived to originate from the peripheral nervous system, or muscle sprain or injury, and finally nerve compression.

I take Chlorzoxazone to battle spasms and Baclofen to battle Spasticity.
And finally I get diazepam, clonzepam and pregablin+gabapentin which all inhibit glutamat release in some way ((3), (4) and (5).

And as an added bonus, Chlorzoxazone are also very helpful when you experience withdrawal.

1) Trompetto et al., 2014.
3) Bradley LJ, Kirker SG. Pregabalin in the treatment of spasticity: a retrospective case series. Disabil Rehabil. 2008;30(16):1230-1232
4) Priebe MM, Sherwood AM, Graves DE, Mueller M, Olson WH. Effectiveness of gabapentin in controlling spasticity: a quantitative study. Spinal Cord. 1997;35(3):171-175
5) Kruidering-Hall M, Campbell L. Skeletal muscle relaxants. In: Katzung BG, Trevor AJ, eds. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 13th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2015.

 

[Keif' Richards]

OP, it doesn't give me any pleasure to say this to you, but you have violated the rules and not just a few, all.. you've broken all the rules. Now we have to pour sugar-water over your bare feet and have goats lick them until they are nothing but bloody stumps. You will also be banned from posting for a week or two.

So, what I'm hearing is that you have struggled with this discomfort for a long period of time. In the distant past, you used a course of Benzodiazepines, namely Diazepam (Valium) and experienced relief from your symptoms, right? What confuses me is: Are you implying that an acute course of Diazepam led to long-term relief of your symptoms?

I'd like it if you could clarify that for me pal, but at any rate, both of these drugs are Benzodiazepines. Technically, Etizolam (Etilaam, Etizest) is a Thienodiazepine, but for our purposes, we can consider them to be horses of differing colors. Diazepam is known for having long-lasting metabolites like Desmethyldiazepam (Nordazepam), but these metabolites don't imply that the drug will effect you for days, so I understand how it can be confusing. Etizolam is a shorter-acting drug, this is definitely true, but it should work in a similar way to the Diazepam.

It's kind of a crapshoot though. You're not going to know until you try it.

 

[axe battler]

Yeah I'm confused by the term "a course" of a benzo, as it implies lasting effects after you've stopped the medication, at least in my addled head...
If anything, I would expect you to have worse symptoms after you stop taking the benzos.

Do you mean you'd take the etizolam during a flare up for a period of a few days or a week or so? Or just on an as and when needed basis. These sound like better options, what with the addictive nature of these drugs.

Etizolam will help, but despite being very experienced with it (unfortunately) I don't really know about its muscle relaxant qualities. I do find diazepam feels more physical in its effects than etizolam, the latter seems more of a hypnotic anxiolitic.
Diazepam is my favourite benzo though.

 

[Inopaoind]

OP, it doesn't give me any pleasure to say this to you, but you have violated the rules and not just a few, all.. you've broken all the rules. Now we have to pour sugar-water over your bare feet and have goats lick them until they are nothing but bloody stumps. You will also be banned from posting for a week or two.

So, what I'm hearing is that you have struggled with this discomfort for a long period of time. In the distant past, you used a course of Benzodiazepines, namely Diazepam (Valium) and experienced relief from your symptoms, right? What confuses me is: Are you implying that an acute course of Diazepam led to long-term relief of your symptoms?

I'd like it if you could clarify that for me pal, but at any rate, both of these drugs are Benzodiazepines. Technically, Etizolam (Etilaam, Etizest) is a Thienodiazepine, but for our purposes, we can consider them to be horses of differing colors. Diazepam is known for having long-lasting metabolites like Desmethyldiazepam (Nordazepam), but these metabolites don't imply that the drug will effect you for days, so I understand how it can be confusing. Etizolam is a shorter-acting drug, this is definitely true, but it should work in a similar way to the Diazepam.

It's kind of a crapshoot though. You're not going to know until you try it.

Hi, I really don't know if this is saracasm, humour or genuine. Apologies, not sure which rules I broke, but I appreciate your informative post

I'll try and make this as short as possible.

Few years back I sneezed while bending over which sent my back into a mental spasm for a week which is when I was prescribed the diazepam. Sorted out problem solved.

6 months later I start out work as a handyman which lasted about 18 months but after about 16 months I had back pain which gradually got worse and worse. Sent for MRI, pain management etc to be diagnosed with basically constant spams of the back anytime anything strenuous happens, but basically equals me being in pain 90% of the time and of course had to quit the handyman stuff. I have of course been seeing doctors which is when they prescribed the other medications and they tried something different when the gaba wasn't working.

In a nutshell that's about it. Let me know what I can change to stay within the law of the forum please

 

[Inopaoind]

Yeah I'm confused by the term "a course" of a benzo, as it implies lasting effects after you've stopped the medication, at least in my addled head...
If anything, I would expect you to have worse symptoms after you stop taking the benzos.

Do you mean you'd take the etizolam during a flare up for a period of a few days or a week or so? Or just on an as and when needed basis. These sound like better options, what with the addictive nature of these drugs.

Etizolam will help, but despite being very experienced with it (unfortunately) I don't really know about its muscle relaxant qualities. I do find diazepam feels more physical in its effects than etizolam, the latter seems more of a hypnotic anxiolitic.
Diazepam is my favourite benzo though.

All I mean is that at the time the doctor prescribed me diazepam to take for about 5-7 days (was a while ago now). It cleared up my symptoms at the time for well over a year

 

[axe battler]

That's interesting...

I've heard stretching/yoga is great for back pain of all kinds

 

[Ignio]

My first post is an insight into medications that can be used for different types of muscle spasms. But the post is based on theoretical propositions and it is not meant to be understood as direct advice.
This second post is oriented towards the physical aspect of muscle injuries and which methods that can (and not necessarily should) be used. Some of the methods lean towards alternative treatments,

In general staying physical active have helped me a lot. And physical activity actually have a chance of influencing the cause of spasms, rather than just treating the symptoms like medication.
Strength training 3-5 days each week (with weights and body weight) have helped me a lot. I can feel a change almost immediately if I have a period of time where I do not train.
Combined with strength training I also use something called tension therapy which is a process of activities that causes a natural neuro-physiological response of the body to reduce its own stress and tension. When I started using it I was taught how to do the different activities by a certified therapist, and after a while I could do it by myself at home.
I also get a massage each week lasting 60 minutes.
On and of I also see a chiropractor doing what he calls spinal adjustment.

Obviously the cause of my problems may be completely different from yours. The above is a numbers of treatments what is designed for the specific injuries that I have.
But it might inspire you to seek out professionals that can diagnose the causes of your problems and based on that design a treatment plan for you.

 

[Nicomorphinist]

All of the above, with orphenadrine and usually meprobamate or carisoprodol and/or mephenoxalone for when that does not do it late in the day, has helped the muscle-spasm component of the trouble I have always had aside from the fact that the doctors advised against lifting weights and gave me a 5 kilo lifting restriction, so it is extra exercises along with the stretching ones twice a day and walking at least a kilometre a day if I can manage it. Also, intense interpersonal activities have to be woman/en on top, which was my usual modus operandi anyways.

Tetrazepam was good but they don't sell it anymore. They were willing to give me dantrolene ampoules to shoot myself up but if I have a bad spasm, I do not have the range of motion to reach the locus of all the trouble, the same reason I had a hell of a time with the first and only boxes of nicomorphine suppositories and diazepam arse foam they gave me. "Um, I tried, but no dice, Frau Doktor" -- OK, it comes in tablets and ampoules too . . . Orphenadrine HCl + diacetyldihydromorphine HCl + ketorolac and chewing up a couple of tablets of nitrazepam fixed me up once when I was bent at the waist at a 35 degree angle and had to roll and crawl on the floor . . .

 

[Keif' Richards]

No my man, I was trying to be sarcastic but failed haha, sorry.