Questions on Gabapentin, Norco, and Flexeril

[Inritus]

I think I keep accidentally deleting my posts lol.

I was wondering about some prescriptions.
So i have a medical condition that causes chronic headaches and a few other conditions. I had some surgery for it a year ago and thought it was better; however, about 5 months ago I started having my symptoms return with a vengeance. I tried just self medicating by smoking some weed as it used to help. After about a month it became apparent I would need to go back to my doctor.

So I go back and over the course of 3 months we try several different NSAID'S that were garbage and didn't work. When I saw my neuro last month he decided to apparently go balls to the wall.

I was prescribed 10mg flexeril 3 timea daily, 800mg Gabbapentin 3 times daily, 10/325mg Norco 3 times daily, and 3 10mg Toradol as needed for pain.

I have been feeling so fucked out of my mind I dont know what to do. I am not working currently as with my condition it has become very hard the past few months to keep a schedule. During the days I feel exhausted and melty as shit, but cant sleep, and nights I am twitchy like a mofo.

When I called the doc he said that I just needed to adjust to the meds and not to worry. It has been almost a month like this and I am not sure wtf to do. I do not see him for another month as he writes me 2 months worth of prescriptions at a time(is he supposed to do this lol?).

Don't get me wrong; I love me some painers when I can get my hands on them. However, when it comes to my prescriptions I try my best not to abuse them(I might take a few extra here and there haha).

My question, I guess is, is this a normal dose of some of things and will I actually acclimate to these dosages? I tried calling my doc back again today, but got the same B.S. and was rudely told to just deal with it untill my next appt. That really pissed me off and that is why I am asking the bluelight community now.

Sorry if this is not the right forum or place to ask this, but I would really appreciate any help. I just am so out of it I actually feel dumb and have trouble thinking a lot of the time.

Any help/advice would be great!

Thanks so much

 

[Keif' Richards]

OP, the way you worded your original post made it a little unclear to me as to what exactly your problem is/was. Are you trying to say that the medications you were prescribed were leaving you too intoxicated; uncomfortably so or are you trying to say that you're experiencing negative side-effects from the drugs that you can't handle? Get back to me with that clarification please and I will hit you with an aswer!

There's definitely nothing crazy about what you were prescribed. It's all well within reason and as a matter of fact, I think the doctor is spot on by using these drugs from different classes, as opposed to just using more Opioids. I'm not sure if "potentiation" is the correct word here, but, several studies have found that when Gabapentin (Neurontin) is administered to individuals in pain, it almost universally decreases the need for Opioids. It doesn't eliminate it, just lowers it. This would imply that Gabapentin and Opioids are a winning combination in the treatment of pain. Another plus is that Gabapentin doesn't contribute appreciably to respiratory depression when combined with Opioids. This isn't important information given your situation, but I thought it would be useful to throw it out there for the other readers.

Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) on the other hand is generally labled as an inferior medication by many pain patients. This, of course doesn't mean it's a useless drug, it just means that it doesn't receive the near-universal praise that drugs like Opioids might. It's also known for producing some pesky side-effects that might be related to it's histaminic or muscarinic properties. And, as we all know, when you begin combining drugs, you tend to experience effects independent of if you had taken said drugs by themselves. Basically, combining could exacerbate the potentially negative symptoms of the Cyclobenzaprine.

Anyhow, let me know what your primary question was OP.

 

[NeuroNymph]

Ugh! I didn't mean to delete my post. I was trying to edit it to add that I'm also on Amrix which is flexeril ER. Anyway, the gist of my message was yes, in the beginning when I was taking that and gralise alone my sleeping schedule was completely screwed. I felt groggy and nodded out all day, and at night couldn't sleep well between legs twitching and feeling like I constantly needed to move around. I also was taking promethazine (which I've taken for years), Exalgo, and oxymorphone. Starting all of those meds at once made it hard to pinpoint where the problem was, but since I had been on opiods & promethazine for the longest we finally realized it was the amrix and gralise that were really the culprits of my insomnia and sleep problems. It took 4-6 weeks and modifications to my sleeping schedule and behaviors to get me to a comfortable spot where I wasn't nodding all day and having difficulties sleeping at night. My doc did put me on a sleeping med for a few weeks to help. If you're on pain management is your pain bad at night? That was also a factor for me. Anytime I am resting or when turning over the pain got worse. Again, sorry I deleted my post by accident while trying to edit it. I'm new here and my phone screen is cracked. ? I've been on a similar regimen for going on 2 years now. It did get better, but it took quite a while. Slowly increasing the gralise helped. Oh before I think I also mentioned that when on neurontin I had to take it while in bed because of I missed that subtle sleep cue I was stuck awake most of the night.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Your last post has me a little confused as far as what exactly youre taking and when you started it, but to me it sounds like the Flexeril is probably the culprit. It's a really dirty drug, and three times a day seems like major overkill. I would only take it at night if at all. That combined with gabapentin and hydrocodone is going to cause some very serious lethargy

Are you posting under two accounts OP? Or are neuronymph and inritus separate people explaining issues in the same thread?

 

[NeuroNymph]

I am a different person. I was just sharing that I experienced issues as well during the adjustment period. I'm new and I had replied, but tried to edit my response after I posted it and I somehow deleted my original response. Sorry.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I am a different person. I was just sharing that I experienced issues as well during the adjustment period. I'm new and I had replied, but tried to edit my response after I posted it and I somehow deleted my original response. Sorry.

That's makes sense then. You and OP were both talking about accidentally deleting your posts so I thought maybe you were OP posting under a new account!

But ya it sounds like OP should try cutting out the Flexeril. I had some of the same issue OP described, and I was only taking it once at night. Taking it all day is going to put you in a stupor, and I can't even imagine how zonked I would feel if I were taking it with gabapentin and Norco.

Anyways, cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) is normally prescribe as a less abusable muscle relaxer than benzos (typically for back spasms), and sometimes prescribed off-label for insomnia and fibromyalgia. It's a dirty drug that interferes with a lot of neurotransmission pathways. In your case, it sounds like your doctor is trying to use it as in insomnia medication or a muscle relaxer. In either case, you would probably get the same benefits with fewer side effects from a benzodiazepine such as diazepam. The catch is that benzos are more addictive. Regardless, it sounds like your having a bad reaction to the Flexeril that is being exacerbated by the norcos and gabapentin. IME, having a bad reaction to a med is rarely solved by playing around with dosage, and you would probably be best served by just switching to something different. Especially since it's interfering with your sleep, as that will certainly excaerbate your symtpoms.