After my set back on the back surgery, my doctor prescribed me a muscle relaxer called Flexeril. I was supposed to take it every six hours. My stomach was a little upset before I started the new medication so I was hoping it wasn't going to give me a stomach ache. Little did I know that a sore stomach was the least of my worries. My pain level was off the charts. I was taking this Flexeral along with 6 - 10 Norco a day (Norco is a stronger version of Vicodine).
I wasn't sure if it was the pain or the stomach ache, but I completely lost my appetite. I had absolutely no interest in food. If Crystal and Tania didn't keep bugging me to eat I don't think I would have eaten anything. After about three or four bites of anything I felt bloated. I thought maybe a had a mild flu or something because my stomach hurt a little and I was also running a mild tempurture. I also had a VERY dry mouth. No matter how much water I drank, a few minutes more I dry mouth again. Another thing I started noticing was that my urine was very dark. You know how it turn bright yellow when you take a lot of vitamins? It was like that, but even darker.
All of this happen kind of slowly over a three day period. I also was getting bad head aches. But weirdest of all was that my skin was getting very sensitive. Kind of like pins and needles. If some one grabbed me, it would be no problem, but if they stroked very softly it would hurt. It was very bothersome to take my clothes off and on. Then I started noticing that my skin look kind of yellow. I began thinking that maybe I was taking too many pills - working the liver over time or something.
I decided to look up Flexeril on the Internet and this is what I found:
(NOTE cyclobenzprine is the active ingredient of Flexeril)
What are the possible side effects of cyclobenzaprine?
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop using cyclobenzaprine and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:
fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeats; chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling; sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; sudden headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance; feeling light-headed, fainting; confusion,weakness, lack of coordination; nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); seizure (convulsions); unusual thoughts or behavior, hallucinations (seeing things); or
easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness.
Less serious side effects may include:
dry mouth or throat; blurred vision; drowsiness, dizziness, tired feeling;
loss of appetite, stomach pain, nausea; diarrhea, constipation, gas; or
muscle weakness.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.
Looking back, I also recall that my vision was pretty blurry when ready (I'm getting old so this is not unusaul, but it was worse than normal). Also when I drifted in and out of naps I had was vidid dreams. Putting it all together, I had quite a few of the symptoms on the "stop taking this drug and call your doctor at once". Of course, being the idiot that I am I just stop taking the Flexeril to see what would happen. And most of the symptoms demished. Then I started taking it again (pain is a big motivator) and sure enough the symptoms came back.
Well that was enough proof for me. I called the doctor, but he was in surgery. He called later that day and said to STOP TAKING THE DRUG. He faxed in a prescription for Valium. NOTE: One of my criteria for cool doctors is that they will renew prescriptions over the phone or call the pharamacy themsleves when ordering new ones for you - every conveinent.
Valium is tyipically subsribed for pain, but I have my Vicodine and Norco for that, the Valium is to help the muscles relax (as oppsed to just blocking pain). However, when Tanai picked up the Valium the pharmacist wasn't going to fill it. She said, the directions said "take every six hours has needed for pain" and Valium isn't a pain medication. Good thing Tania is a nurse. She told the pharmasist that maybe the doctor wanted something to help me relax. This seemed to pacify her because she decided to a head and fill the prescription without talking to the doctor.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Read the side effects of the drugs you take!
I thought I had the flu and I didn't put all these different symptoms together. User beware.
