Muscle Relaxers. Do they really help as an adjunct to sleep?

Been considering asking the ole doc fix it all for some.

Both the wife and I wake up sore and not very rested. we have a good matteress that is relatively new and still very comfy but I think our schedules and our fat aging bodies aren't very conducive to restfull sleep.

Anyone take them with good results?

Any horror stories?

I know some people take Amitriptyline to settle their muscles while they sleep. It's a real mild anti-depressant with little side effects. Helps your body relax at night. I think muscle relaxers make your bowels constrict as a side effect.

Muscle relaxers are the S$^#T for sleep. Doctors give them to me for my back. They don't do a damned thing for my back, but make me sleep so well! Some people I knw that have taken them at night thought it left them in a haze the next day. Not me.

Years back, I was having trouble with my neck, so my doc gave me a script for Flexeril 10 mg. I popped one on a Friday night, washed it down with a beer, took two puffs of California's finest horticulture, and was out like a light ! When I woke up around 3:AM, I was still holding half the beer. Didn't spill a drop !

Try Melatonin. No script needed, and cheap. Just a little dorwsier than normal in the AM.

My father used them for years. I don't ever remember him having trouble sleeping.

Now anyone within earshot ...

A couple of motrin before bedtime seems to work for me. Only occasionally tho, that stuff is really not good for you all the time.

AP

Your mattress may be new and feel comfy, but it may not be providing the proper support. I'm not saying that is absolutely the case, but rather, not wanting you to dismiss it as a possible cause. We spend a third of our lives on our mattress. This is one area it's OK to research the heck out of, try different mattress types and spend whatever it takes to get a good night's sleep.

Try valerian root, cheap no prescription and you will sleep well. Not addictive either.

Want to be super relaxed all on over the counter? 3 valerian and 3 high dose acetominophin. Took it before going in for my root canal and didn't feel a thing!

I seem to have intermittent success with Melatonin. Now if I combine melatonin with some OTC sleep aid from Costco, things get better.

I love Flexeril helps me sleep better and gets rid of my nasty tension headaches

If the real issue is muscle soreness, it'd be best to find the cause of that first and foremost.

If either of you are taking any meds for high cholesterol, that could be the culprit. My doc recommended 100-150mg of Coenzyme Q10, an over-the-counter supplement, to take and wow do I feel better. I had no idea that my muscles were that sore. It has made a huge difference.

And, you will HATE me for saying this...a bit of exercise makes a world of difference for sleep patterns. Even just a short stroll after dinner. Fresh air and stretching and whatnot.

They is a product that is a combination of Valerian root, melatonin, and a third natural ingredient that I can't remember. I have had a good experience with them. I really should get some more because right now I've been using benadryl, which is OK until recently when one became two and now three a night. If I don't take them I'm wide awake at 5 AM, even If I got up early, drank no caffeine and exercised the day before. But now I finally have insurance so I may go to a doctor for the first time in 3-4 years to get some Ambien or something. Let me know what you find works for you.

BTW, some sleepaid are just Diphenhydramine (benedryl). You can pick up a five hundred count of generic Diphenhydramine for much much cheaper than a small pack of the overpriced sleep aids that are the same thing.

Well I'll be damned... As soon as I get a script for Flexeril, this thread pops up!

I slept like a baby last night for 9 straight hours. Very refreshing and I forgot all about my back spasms until I woke up and tried to get out of bed.

TxBrew said:

I know some people take Amitriptyline to settle their muscles while they sleep. It's a real mild anti-depressant with little side effects. Helps your body relax at night. I think muscle relaxers make your bowels constrict as a side effect.

Click to expand...

+! I have taken amitriptyline to get sleep (As perscribed by dr) IIRC they are only $4 at the pharmacy for a script

johnsma22 said:

Your mattress may be new and feel comfy, but it may not be providing the proper support. I'm not saying that is absolutely the case, but rather, not wanting you to dismiss it as a possible cause. We spend a third of our lives on our mattress. This is one area it's OK to research the heck out of, try different mattress types and spend whatever it takes to get a good night's sleep.

Click to expand...

Yeah. Did that. If the matterss is in fact the true cause it's too late. Spent way too much money on this one to toss it to the curb. I really do think that daily stresses are the root cause of the muscle soreness and are not conducive to a good nights rest. Ironically, said daily stresses are in teh form of a 3 year old and a 4 month old so, it's not likely that those stresses will be reduced by a change of diet, or excercise.

DubbelDach said:

Well I'll be damned... As soon as I get a script for Flexeril, this thread pops up!

I slept like a baby last night for 9 straight hours. Very refreshing and I forgot all about my back spasms until I woke up and tried to get out of bed.

Click to expand...

i get bad muscle spasms, my dr gives me flexirl + relafen (NSAID) they usually help knockout the problem in a couple of days.

McKBrew said:

I seem to have intermittent success with Melatonin. Now if I combine melatonin with some OTC sleep aid from Costco, things get better.

Click to expand...

Have tried the OTC sleep aides. They all make my legs go jittery.

I could get the RLS pills but, then I'd need pils for the restless arms too. A vicious cycle. :cross:

Bedlam said:

If the real issue is muscle soreness, it'd be best to find the cause of that first and foremost.

And, you will HATE me for saying this...a bit of exercise makes a world of difference for sleep patterns. Even just a short stroll after dinner. Fresh air and stretching and whatnot.

Click to expand...

No love lost bro'.

The real issue is being old(er), fat, and tired.

I have cut caffein, soda, and reduced fatty foods from my diet but have also consistently halved my meal portions. Excercise comes by means of chasing a 3 year old around the living room for 30 minutes every couple hours to get him to go sit on potty. Saturdays, I take the boy swimming for 30 minutes to an hour (depends heavily on his mood) in addition to using the John Deer tread machine for a couple hours ( aka Push Mower ) every weekend.

I also gave up smoking (well almost completely). I have never been so disgustingly healthy in my entire life and it's literally a PIT-back, neck, arms, and shoulders.

Like I told the doc, that as much excercise and activity as I care to have.

GilaMinumBeer said:

No love lost bro'.

The real issue is being old(er), fat, and tired.

I have cut caffein, soda, and reduced fatty foods from my diet but have also consistently halved my meal portions. Excercise comes by means of chasing a 3 year old around the living room for 30 minutes every couple hours to get him to go sit on potty. Saturdays, I take the boy swimming for 30 minutes to an hour (depends heavily on his mood) in addition to using the John Deer tread machine for a couple hours ( aka Push Mower ) every weekend.

I also gave up smoking (well almost completely). I have never been so disgustingly healthy in my entire life and it's literally a PIT-back, neck, arms, and shoulders.

Like I told the doc, that as much excercise and activity as I care to have.

Click to expand...

Not to be a dick, bro, but I think that pills are not the final answer. As a culture we have gotten too used to the idea that a pill can fix all our problems. I would have to agree that exercise will help more than you think it will. Don't get me wrong, I dislike exercise as much as most, but I do it anyway when I need to. I have a job with a rotating shift so it doesn't mesh well with my schedule. But when things get slow and lazy-like, I sometimes need to exercise to make up for lack of activity from when I'm busy.

I dislike pills in the idea that it will cure the symptom, not the problem. Taking a muscle relaxer may help you sleep and allow temporary relief of muscle pain, but the source is still out there causing problems. It may even be something as simple as unconditioned muscles, which exercise can fix. It may or may not be the answer in this case, but I believe it is in your best interest to find out for sure. Realistically, your doctor would be the best source of information on this one.

J

My night routine is 20 min of basic exercise and stretching, some sit ups, push ups, ect. followed by a Tylenol PM. I have had a chronic knee pain from an injury about 8 years ago, and this has been helping me out great. Used to toss and turn and wake up feeling like crap. Followed the docs suggestions, and now I feel great in the morning. Just my 2¢.

Having chronic pain from nerve damage and reflex sympathetic dystrophy and having tried just about everything I have found Oxycodone and a good 3-4 fingers of of good vodka and I sleep like a baby ...

TxBrew said:

I know some people take Amitriptyline to settle their muscles while they sleep. It's a real mild anti-depressant with little side effects. Helps your body relax at night. I think muscle relaxers make your bowels constrict as a side effect.

Click to expand...

But if you are going to be out like a light that is a good thing right.

Doc General Medicine prescribed 10mg "Flexiril". But only for a couple weeks. Guess we'll see if they help.

He wants to look at my HDL/LDL levels and suggest I drop nearly 50lbs off my frame. The last bit was laughable. I haven't weighed 170 since I was in High school. Stupid BMI index.