Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking Flexeril as follows:
- Flexeril could potentially interact with a lot of other medications and precipitate serious reactions. If you are being newly started on flexeril, discuss with your physician regarding all your current medications and their safety with flexeril. Also, notify your physician regarding any current flexeril intake, if you are being started on any new medications and discuss their safety with flexeril.
- Flexeril 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.
- Flexeril only helps with relieving muscle spasms, probably by depressing the brain and inhibiting the conduction of nerve impulses from the brain to the skeletal muscles. Flexeril 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 flexeril 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 flexeril, especially after prolonged use or use in high doses, can present with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, such as, listlessness, lack of energy, exacerbation of depressive symptoms, anxiety, agitation, sleep disturbances, confusion, appetite changes, delusions, hallucinations, mania, bad muscle spasms, and seizures. Discontinuation on flexeril use must be slow and gradual, using tapering doses, and only on your physician recommendation.
