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MedHelp Member's Question

Soma

by kim, Dec 26, 1999 12:00AM
Tags: Addiction
Please let me know what soma is and why my brother is acting the way he is now that he is taking this?  He recently was falling asleep and then grunting loudly and then after eating something, he seemed better.  He has since acted like he does not know what we are talking about.  At first I thought he was having a seizure and was ready to take him to the emergency room.  My Mom says he takes it in the car and takes shots of it during the day.  Should we be as concerned as we are?  Please e-mail me as soon as possile at ***@****.  Thanks a lot!
Member Comments (18)

by Jeanette, Jan 15, 2000 12:00AM
i did not no somawas addictive although i kindof thought it was due tom the fact i have been taken it off and on for three years .       now i take i get 60 pills amonth and i take all60 of them up in less than 2 weeks iwas given no information on the drug.or any of its  serious side affects . now the drug does not even phase me unless i take more than the recommended dosage .

by Be carefull!!!!!!!!!, Jan 20, 2000 12:00AM
Soma is very very addictive and very evil! Withdrawls are some of the worst I've seen!!!!!  Get of it now before it is to late. Also taking to much of this drug can slow the hart down and stop it.

by FD, Feb 13, 2000 12:00AM


   I have been on soma for over a year, I also take percocet and xanax, and the soma is by far the most pwerfull med I have ever taken, It is not evil, thats just stupid, it is somewhat addictive though, I took 3  a day for over a year and stoped pretty quickly and the wihdraw was not that bad, not as bad as Percocet [oxycodone] I started taking the soma again a few months ago, I dont understand why is not a controled substance though. Alot of people I talk to say that the soma reminds them of qualudes, Witch wee takin of the market in 1984, I hope that doesent happen to soma,

Just be carefull if your taking them, any more than 10 pills can kill you,  

by Be Carefull, Mar 02, 2000 12:00AM
This is personaly directed specificaly at FD, you say the withdrawls of Soma are not bad, I beg to differ!!!!!!!! I myself was taking 30 10mg of hydrocodone and 6mg of xanax a day with my 6 to 8 Soma's a day.... When I quit the hydro and xanax I used the Soma to help cope with withdrawls. Once I felt that I was threw the bad times I nievely (not knowing) flushed the Soma. About 8 hours later I started the real withdrawls. I'm not talking about feeling bad, I was out of commision. All of the muscles in my body became stiff, as in unbendable!!!! 36 hours later I was throwing up fire uncontrollabley. I really thought I was going to die. I direct this at you, because of the same combanation we have in comon.I since learned when mixingdowners they become more serious. Others I have since learned on these meds, go threw 6 to 12 months of methodone to get clean. I had a doctor tell me that herion junkies on the street would kill for these. And have heard the phrase Soma Head.. You really need to look up the definition of this and what happens in the body when mixed. All of the withdrawls were bad and felt like they would never end, but I have to say the worst was the speeding. Don't get me wrong, I love speed, but this was like 3 weeks of no sleep, no matter what I took. I was not just speeding I was vibrating, because I was going so fast. I keptwaiting for itto stop and about 3 weeks later I was finally down to just twitching. Ye and it all still sucks, I probably could get back to were I was again without anybody twisting my arm, but the withdrawls that felt like an eternity of hell will keep me from it. I wish you would take this more seriouly, because living life high is an escape from what ever your problems are, but there are other esapes or at least only esape once a week or so.

I would like to hear your thoughts on my input, so I will check the Forum for it frequently. One more thing, I personaly think that your withdrawls from Soma were not bad because you also have percet and xanax. That is like an alcoholic saying," I quit the wiskey and only drink beer now".

by FD, Mar 13, 2000 12:00AM
It sounds like you quit "cold 'turky" You cant do that with any meds, I take my meds for neck pain, I dont know what you were taking them for, you were taking vicoden, They are not as strong as percocet-"oxycodone" and comming off of soma is no where near as bad as comming off oxycodone, I have been taking these meds for 5 years without any problems, I dont know why you had such a bad time with them inless you dident take them the way your doc said,  ;.;.;.;.;.

by FD, Mar 13, 2000 12:00AM
It sounds like you quit "cold 'turky" You cant

do that with any meds, I take my meds for neck

pain, I dont know what you were taking them

for, you were taking vicoden, They are not as

strong as percocet-"oxycodone" and comming off

of soma is no where near as bad as comming off

oxycodone, I have been taking these meds for 5

years without any problems, I dont know why you

had such a bad time with them inless you dident

take them the way your doc said,  ;.;.;.;.;.

by robert ward, Mar 16, 2000 12:00AM
Is this soma the kind used in religous rites and is it derived from the milkweed plant  asclepias acida

by FD, Mar 17, 2000 12:00AM
To Robert;.;.

No, The soma we are talking about is a drug called carisoprodol. Its a muscle relaxent that came out in the 1950s, And was used as a tranqulizer, It some how turns into meprobamate in your system after you eat it, Meprobamate is the drug in Miltown and Equanil, I dont know why they called it soma, every time I punch in the word soma on a search engin, all this  religous stuff comes up;.;??;..;?????

by Lynn, Apr 27, 2000 12:00AM
I've recently bee prescribed Soma for TMJ.  I'm not sure how to describe this but it makes me "herky jerky".  I mean it makes my arms and hands sort of jerk around and I don't have any control over it.  It's sort of like twitching but more abrupt.  This is supposed to relax my muscles but it seems to be having some sort of an opposite effect on me.  It also makes my mouth ver dry and it gives me that feeling that you get when you been swimming for a long period of time.  That really heavy feeling when you get out of the pool.  My dentist doesn't seem to be very knowlegeble about alternatives.  I'm hoping that someone here might have a sugguestion for an alternative treatment that I might be able to bring to his attention.

by Brian to Lynn, Apr 28, 2000 12:00AM
That is an unusual reaction to Soma.  There are many other muscle relaxants your dentist can prescribe.  Also, is he planning on trying to resolve the TMJ or simply use medicine to treat the symptoms?  Finally, Soma is VERY addictive and is not a good choice of drug for most conditions.

by Lynn to Brian, Apr 29, 2000 12:00AM
My regular dentist doesn't treat TMJ so I had to find someone that did.  I've only see this man once and he is the one that prescribed Soma for me.  He is planning to treat the TMJ.  Although I'm feeling frustrated with him because when I saw him for the consultation he spoke briefly about TMJ, took an x-ray and didn't examine me at all.  He spent almost the entire time talking about insurance and what they would and wouldn't pay for.  So I gave him a call today to discuss the problem I am having with the Soma and he seemed put off as though I was bothering him.  He simply said, "well, I don't know of any other medication that you could try so you need to give your family doctor a call".  I wouldn't see my OB/GYN for an ingrown toenail so why would I go see a GP for TMJ, especially when I'm under the care of a dentist that supposedly treats this problem.  My regular dentist was kind enough to find someone else in my area that treats TMJ so I will be picking up my x-rays from Dr. "no help" and seeing the new dentist on Wed.  I did make a call to the pharmasist and he said my reaction to the med. is very unusual.  I also called my regular that I see on very rare occasions and he told me that everyone he knows of that has taken Soma has had very bad side effects from it.  So, just call me confused!!!!  Sorry to ramble on, I guess I'm venting.  Thank you for responding to my post and wish me luck!!

by Brian to Lynn, May 01, 2000 12:00AM
I'm glad you're seeing someone else for your TMJ, the other guy sounds like a jerk.  Good luck.

by pye101, Oct 07, 2007 08:45PM
To: FD
My drs. have me on Soma for neck pain, 350 mg. 3 times a day. I am also taking Gabapentin (Neurontin), 2400 mg. a day, Prozac, 20 mg. a day, Xanax, 1 mg. twice a day, Abilify, 2.5 mg. a day, and Relafen, 500 mg, twice a day. These have been prescribed for anxiety and panic attacks, bipolar disorder, depression, neck and back pain. I am gradually taking myself off of many of these drugs because I still have panic attacks daily, I still have severe mood swings and am pretty much confined to my home unless someone is with me, and I still hurt all the time. I feel like the only thing I'm doing taking all these drugs is damaging all of my internal organs -- liver, kidneys, stomach, etc. My sister was addicted to Soma and had to go to rehab for a month to withdraw. She said it was awful. My daughter is also bipolar and she controls it with herbal teas. I think I will try that.