Posted by IsoM on August 8, 2002, at 15:07:56
In reply to Anyone heard of CYCLOBENZINE, Canada drug?, posted by Chloe on August 7, 2002, at 21:00:39
Chloe, rather than answer in an email to you where I'd wander off into talk of our gardens, I'll just give a brief answer here on the drug alone.
It's name in Canada is Flexeril; it's a skeletal muscle relaxant & I've used it a number of times before over the years. It is a prescription drug here in Canada. The only side effects I noticed was drowsiness but it wasn't overly much.
It's a stronger muscle relaxant than most & generally is used for more severe muscle spasms. My CPS (Compendium of Pharmaceuticals & Specialties - the pharmacist's & doctor's Bible) does say that it's ineffective in treating muscle spasms due to CNS disease. Not that means it wouldn't help you though. It's referring to something like cerebral or spinal cord diseases.
It's closely related to TCAs & can interact with MAO inhibitors. Generally, Flexeril will not give problems that are associated with TCAs unless taken in a higher than recommended doses. Like, Seamus mentioned, it has an atropine-like action but I never experienced dry mouth, constipation or any other anticholinergic effects while taking it. The list of possible side effects (or adverse effects) is long, similar to that of TCAs, but as I said, they're generally not noticable unless taken in higher than recommended doses. The three most common are drowsiness (40%), dry mouth (28%), & dizziness (11%).
Dosage recommendation is: 10 mg 3 times/day, with a range of 20-40 mg/day in divided doses. Should not exceed 60 mg/day.
Do you know what dosage your doctor had wanted to use with you? And could he prescribe it to you even though it's not used in the States?
poster:IsoM
thread:115600
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020807/msgs/115706.html