Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking zanaflex as follows:
- Zanaflex could take some time to fairly adjust to your body, before any optimal 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.
- Zanaflex only helps with relieving muscle spasms, by inhibiting the conduction of nerve impulses from the spinal cord to the skeletal muscles. Zanaflex only temporarily relieves the spasms but does not fix the actual condition causing the muscle spasms and so, is not a permanent cure. Continue taking zanaflex as ordered, even if you experience relief from muscle pain and spasms, until your physician orders for the discontinuation on the medication.
- Individuals on sudden withdrawal from zanaflex, especially after prolonged use or use in high doses, can present with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, such as, hypertension, tachycardia, exacerbation of anxiety, agitation, sleep disturbances, mania, bad muscle spasms, and seizures. Discontinuation on zanaflex use must be slow and gradual, using tapering doses, and only on your physician recommendation.
- Your physician could change the dose of zanaflex, based on the response you show, relief obtained, and side-effects presented with. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments and be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
