Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take Metaxalone as follows:
- Take this medication as ordered by your physician. Do not change the dose and frequency on this medication without consulting your doctor. Take the medication dose for the duration prescribed without fail.
- Take the medication dose at the same time, every day, to avoid forgetting the intake of medication. Taking the medication at regularly spaced intervals helps maintain appropriate blood levels of metaxalone needed for control of spasms and prevents toxicity with the medication.
- Metaxalone can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with a glass of water and a small snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Metaxalone use can induce some dizziness and make one drowsy, especially when the medication is taken with a high-fat meal. Avoid taking the metaxalone with high fat meal. Do not take metaxalone with alcohol or opioid pain medications, such as, hydrocodone and codeine, as these products can add to the dizziness and confusion caused by metaxalone. A number of OTC cough medications, antihistamines, antiseizure medications, antidepressant, and antianxiety medications, can potentiate the confusion caused by metaxalone, thus resulting in many cross reactions and side-effects and so, must be avoided taking along with metaxalone.
- Metaxalone can interact with a lot of other medications, thus influencing their function. If you are being newly started on metaxalone, discuss with your physician regarding all your current medications and their safety with metaxalone. Also, notify your physician regarding any current metaxalone intake, if you are being started on any new medications and discuss their safety with metaxalone.
- Take the tablet as a whole. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole tablet, you may cut the tablet and swallow it in pieces with a glass of water. You may also crush the tablet and sprinkle the powder on a spoonful of soft jelly or applesauce and swallow the jelly or sauce along with the medication.
- Metaxalone can take some time to fairly adjust to your body, before any relief with muscle spasms and easing of side-effects is experienced. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
- Metaxalone only helps with relieving muscle spasms, by temporarily depressing the brain and spinal cord and consequently inhibiting the nerve impulses sent to the skeletal muscle. Metaxalone only relieves the spasms, but does not fix the actual condition causing the muscle spasms and so, is not a permanent cure.
- Continue taking metaxalone as ordered, even if you experience relief from muscle pain and spasms. Abrupt discontinuation on metaxalone intake can result in worsening muscle spasms again. Discontinuing the medication should only be on your physician’s recommendation.
- Your physician could change the dose of metaxalone, based on the relief obtained or side-effects developed. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments, to update on the relief from symptoms. Be accommodative to the plan of frequent dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- Notify your doctor of any unresolving muscle spasms, worsening muscle pain and discomfort, compromised range of motion in the involved muscle groups, or continuing unpleasant side-effects, so that, your dosage on the medication could be revised.
- If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose, as it can lead to toxicity with the drug. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.
