urgent request: seeking studies (peer reviewed,etc) about safety of Soma

[CuriousCub]

i need proof of how Soma is safe because my insurance does not want to cover it because they do not find the long term use of it to be safe and non-addictive. They instead want to just cover, for muscle relaxants: methocarbamol, flexeril, and baclofen. None of these work for me. Flexeril gave me moody side effects and made me limp, not relaxed. I am going to have a fair hearing, and this is what they request for the discovery process:

--any and all informaton you intend on submitting as evidence at this hearing relating to the safety and efficacy of the long term use of Soma as established in peer reviewed medical literature and professional drug studies.

--any and all other info. you intend on submitting as evidence for this hearing including but not limited to:
1. letters of justification from your medical providers;
2. names address and phone numbers of any person you are planning to have testify on your behalf at your hearing
3. any other additional documents or exhibits you intend on submitting

I find the addiction portion is a moot point, similar to how psychiatrists try to argue that paxil is less addictive than xanax in the long-term, when Paxil has withdrawal effects just like xanx.
Any recommendations on what i should bring to this hearing?
should i really try to get a med. provider to testify on my behalf? since the FDA has not declared soma addictive, should i get a statement from them about it?
So far, what im going to be gathering:
--notes from doctor stating that i rejected medicine because it wasn't working
--note from doctor stating how it's the only thing that has helped me - fromchiropractor and MD
--hopefully members will be able to show me studies i can show to them.

i really want this to work, and Soma REALLY helps me and is not addictive for me at all....so please help me.

 

[jdude3]

Gooooooood luck with that........

Your insurance company will probably do a Google search just like I did and find things like this:

Carisoprodol is the precursor to meprobamate, a strong and addicting sedative agent which itself was used as a sedative/hypnotic in the 1950's before being supplanted by the safer benzodiazepine class of anxiolytic drugs.

And this:

While meprobamate is a Schedule IV controlled agent because of its powerful addicting properties, carisoprodol is unscheduled. Use of carisoprodol for the relief of chronic back pain or other chronic pain syndromes has been criticized because of the patient's high risk for developing tolerance and addiction. There are published reports of patients who developed meprobamate dependence after having access only to carisoprodol.

http://www.maripoisoncenter.com/ctr/9509carisoprodol.html

Consider the difference between the term addiction and dependence when you compare paxil and xanax. One gets ya high and one doesn't, there is nothing "moot" about that.

Chances of you winning your case = not very good, unless you have been doing some serious clinical trials that no one knows about.

 

[blahblahblah]

Why not just pay cash, Soma is cheap.

good luck...

 

[BilZ0r]

What blahblahblah said... it is addictive, and it's not safe; it's not even offered in a lot of countries anymore.

Try a benzo, or something else that the company will cover.

 

[fizzacyst]

Have you ever tried skelaxin? This was by far the best muscle relaxer I've used. It has basically no CNS effects, and gets the job done.

Not sure about long term use though.

 

[CuriousCub]

it is not inexpensive for me, blah. a 90 day supply is approx $50. the point of the matter is that no other muscle relaxant is as effective as soma is for me. that's the argument i am presenting. Similarly, people in my situation but regarding different medications are petitioning that methadone is not as effective for pain management as fentanyl. Everyone knows they have addictive properties, but we are talking chronic pain management here. We are talking people that need help, regardless of the arguable addictive nature. i tried other relaxants before soma; soma was the last one to try for me. so there is documention that earnest efforts were made before asking for the so-called "fun" one. furthermore, the insurance company already has documention of the addictive properties. they still see that despite that, for many people this medication is the only hope for helpful pain management.

no, i have not tried skelaxin. and it is not on the preferred drug list.
http://www.rx.wa.gov/druglist.shtml
just because it isn't on there, doesn't mean they don't cover it, from what i understand. i will ask for a prescription in the meantime.

i do get very small amounts of klonopin and xanax prescribed, along with the soma. do you recommend, if the soma case fails, that i just ask for an increase in the benzos?

 

[fizzacyst]

Most any doctor should be able to give you a little folder with a day or two's worth of skelaxin to try. It may not help, but its one of the 1st drugs in a long tiem Ive taken that does exactly what it claims and nothing else. They gave it to my GF after she was in a wreck and had severe back pain/tension. It worked for her... I'e taken it a couple times for muscle tension and was impressed.

Other benzos will probably help to some extext (I'm guessing the longer acting ones). If you take klonopins every day for ayears though.... its likely goign to stay that way. Though I guess you know that have to do what you have to do.

 

[who mE?]

Try taking 500 - 1000mg of Magnesium per day, it has amazing myorelaxant properties, does not require a prescription (no massive Pharm company marketing and FDA bribing budgets to feed), is amazingly cheap (especially in the form of a 2kg box of epsom salts...)... The only thing to beware is the laxative effect, although personally I find this to be something the body adapts to, and you can use Magnesium Oxide, which has the least laxative effect for the most myorelaxant effect (due to its poor intestinal absorption, although its less cost-effective for the same reason). I've also read that increased calcium intake can reduce the laxative effect.

 

[CuriousCub]

who me, thanks for the tip. please consider, nevertheless, that i have much PAIN that is not just from myofascial tightness, but from subluxations of the spine--especially lumbar and ribs. So we are not talking about just tightness, causing immobility. i have major pain. my pain, that has been measured by EMG scanning, is in the severe level. i should be given an opi-ate/oid, to be the most realistic about the problem. coping through soma therapy is asking for the absolute least, on my part. my medical team should be proud that with the symptons and problems i have, i have not asked for more. I do this because i feel if i am going to be able to combat pain, i need to be able to feel it for the most part so my providers can treat it effectively. If i am numbed, they aren't getting necessary feedback for efficient treatment methods. i am going to present scans of my pain, showcasing the pain as proved my the electric scanning.
oh, and great sig --good links.