Do most doctors/psychiatrists consider soma (carisoprodol) like an opiate or no

[Intenselife]

Hey, bleh not in the long typing mood right now. First off to make it clear i am NOT asking "how" to obtain a prescription for soma (carisoprodol) in anyway just incase anyone including the mods assume that. The reason i ask the question in the thread title is because i have read a few threads here and their saying that a lot of time the medication is classified in the same category as an opiate which obviously it is not. I am withdrawing from abrupt use of seroquel 200mg xr and gabapentin 300mg 2x a day (600mg).

I have been lucky that i have had no major withdrawal symptoms after being on them daily for 8 months, and then an additional month of using them for about half of the week then not (since i was getting fed up of the side effects and lack of anything positive from them). But it's been almost 2 weeks since i have taken either one and i have noticed occassional difficulty sleeping but was taking nyquil for about the first week, not for falling asleep but to restore dopamine from occassionally using adderall that i am prescribed too. Anyways since the bottle finished i obviously realized that unlike when taking the gabapentin and seroquel regularly, i would sometimes lay around for an hour or sometimes longer before falling asleep. When i was taking them daily, falling asleep was never a problem with no work or school and simply just sitting around all day, i could easily sleep upto 15 hours and never took much longer than 10-15 minutes to actually fall asleep.

But some days not all, i have a much harder and longer time to fall asleep but nothing major as in staying up for days or anything crazy. I also do feel slight depression even though the seroquel and gabapentin barely did much for it all. Sometimes my muscles feel a little sore here and there, and i remember the few times i have tried soma's and remember how sedated i would be from even just two (750mg) and it takes a lot for me to feel tired to the point where i have difficulty staying awake. Even 5mg's of xanax without a tolerance wouldn't cause me to blackout or pass out although i would feel sedated but not to the point where most people would be flat out knocked out. Also from a single 350mg soma the muscle relaxant effects were pretty noticable and appreciable. I would say i would prefer to a 10mg hydrocodone in muscle relaxation/pain relieving even though it is NOT a pain killer (opiate). However generally speaking in my past recreational drug experiences soma's would not really be one of the ones really talked about as the more obvious things like meth, oxys, xanax and other stuff.

I would love to try and get these from my psychiatrist for occassional use for sore/stiff muscles and difficulty falling asleep, but i'm not quiet sure if these are usually viewed as opiates (in which you usually get referred to a pain specialist or either have documented proof of a pain disorder/injury etc). Likewise i'm sure every psychiatrist also has their own personal views on it. But i really don't hear much about soma's being abused as nearly as much as other things and many people i know never even heard of them.

Just wondering, if anyone uses them on occassion (not daily) and gets good positive effects from them (not high) but therapeutic. Also is it viewed/considered as "addicting" as opiates, i would imagine nowhere close because on higher doses you really just fall asleep and i don't really remember anything spectacular as in a body rush or incredible high, just simply what it's known for to help relax your muscles (minor muscle pain relief) and induce drowsiness from even a single dose. Anyone personal experiences or opinions on them? The only other closest NON OPIATE pill i;ve tried that works like soma is probably.... flexeril also a muscle relaxer. Although i found it to be very very shitty, didn't help relax my muscles at all or much drowsiness, i would rather take diephadramine (zzzquil) or a shot of nyquil than that shit. And i don't know or heard of any other medications that significantly relax muscles (reduce pain) and induce drowsiness immediately like soma's that are not opiates.

Anyone? soma...(carisoprodol) opinions/experiences

 

[T. Calderone]

I've gotten soma prescribed from a pain management doctor some years back. He did warn me not to take more than one tablet along with oxycodone. They are considered muscle relaxants, not opiates and sometimes used in pain management. But since they are highly abused nowadays, some doctors are hesitant to prescribe them, mostly flexeril is given first.

I doubt any psychiatrist would be willing to prescribe it, maybe your physician. But keep in mind, asking specifically for this drug looks sketchy. If you truly have a pain issue, discuss this with your GP. You have to be willing to accept what your doctor prescribes and work from there. I actually had better results with flexeril because they worked well every time with minimal side effects. Soma sometimes made me very groggy and made it hard to function.

 

[Intenselife]

I got prescribed everything i asked my psychiatrist for well atleast this one. I just had to tell him the name of them medication and how it helped me (without lying), but i wouldn't say tell him i need morphine 60mg because although i would LIKE it, i dont NEED it. But we'll see how it goes, if he can prescribe benzos and amphetamines that are known to be more abusable and addicting (atleast not in my case) than i don't think he will have a problem prescribing soma for pain in the muscles, restless leg syndrome, and troubles sleeping that all probably are due to withdrawing from seroquel and gabapentin those shitty fucking meds.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

Soma/carisoprodol is not an opiate. It is addictive but so are plenty of other depressants similar to carisoprodol. Why a doctor would make a comparison between Soma and opiates is beyond me. I'm not entirely sure what you're asking here (please clarify if you can) but I must tell you that we don't allow discussion involving asking how to get drugs from a doctor, what to say to a doctor to get a prescription, etc.

 

[paranoid android]

Well the only thing in common that opiates and carisoprodol have is that they are both depressants and both can help sore muscles. Other then that there just is no similarity as it's not like soma is going to fix you up when you run out of your dilaudid abit early or anything.

I will tell you that stopping seroquel or gabapentin abruptly is never a good idea. Seroquel like all anti-psychotics can cause nasty withdrawal symptoms varying by what condition you where taking it for and the dose you where taking. But as you where barely on a anti-psychotic dose at all the primary symptom you would get would be insomnia and possibly nausea and vomiting. But as the drowsiness caused by seroquel is due largely to it's H1 antagonism a strong anti-histamine such as diphenhydramine, doxylamine or hydroxyzine would help you there.

As for gabapentin i would say stopping that is the cause of your sore muscles. I am prescribed gabapentin for neuropathic pain and have recently tapered myself down from 800mg's 4 times a day (3200mg's) to just 800mg's a day. Withdrawals from gabapentin feels sort of like a combination of both opiate and benzo withdrawals atleast if you are on a really high dose and have been on it for say about 6 years like me. I am prescribed both morphine and clonazepam along with it and for some odd reason benzos and opiates don't actually stop the pain from gabapentin withdrawals completely. Your best bet might be to go back on say 300mg's of gabapentibn a day and taper down from there. I doubt carisoprodol would be any better at helping gabapentin withdrawal then benzos are.

 

[Shadowsblaze]

I have used Soma for ten yrs. and have found that is a bigger factor in removing the pain in my vertabrae than either morphine or oxy. Although I use it only when I lie down to relax my neck as it will hit you suddenly and make you lie down hard if your not careful. I had also heard that once taken that the soma can be converted "in the liver I think" to an opiate. I'm not sure of the validity of that. Good luck on finding what's best for you.

 

[Intenselife]

Yeah was on seroquel 200mg xr nightly, and originally was on 1200mg of gabapentin (400mg 3x a day) but dropped that down to 300mg twice a day then completely dropped it all together. Seeing a new psychiatrist has got me the meds that really help even though they may be controlled substances and deemed as more "addicting" but i don't abuse them so i don't know really have much of an issue their, it's not that i don't want to it's that i know what will happen.

Rather than me on 4 medications especially when two of them aren't really helping me i just cut myself off of them, after explaining that to my so far "understanding" and reasonable psychiatrist hopefully I will be able to get the carisoprodol because some insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and sore joints are killing me. I also have had a re occurence in having dreams again and some of them are very frightening that it takes me a while after i wake up to return fully back to reality. All in all the withdrawals aren't too bad as some people have had from those doses from abrupt withdraw but definitely a few changes noticed.

 

[paranoid android]

I had also heard that once taken that the soma can be converted "in the liver I think" to an opiate. I'm not sure of the validity of that.

No carisoprodol does not metabolize into any opiate. However carisoprodol does metabolize into meprobamate which was sold under the trade name Miltown which was the first widely prescribed anti-anxiety drug on the market and the original mothers little helper. That is most likely what your thinking on.

 

[issokay]

I have been taking3x 300mg/day of gabapentin for about five weeks now and recently noticed that no opiate or benzo was "working" anymore. They quit working at the same time, and this happened when j tried Chantix a while back too.
My question issued you notice any reduction of or complete loss of benzo and opiate effects?
What were your gabapentin withdrawals like, how long did they last, & if u noticed that the gabapentin was blocking the opiate receptor in your brain, how long before that came back? I've quit gabapentin for 7 days now and I'm having severe cramping and no noticeable effects from pain meds even when I recd 2x 2mg dilaudid at the ER today. I felt it come on but no sustained comfort, euphoria, or even therapeutic effects.
Please let me know what you can