soma withdrawal treatment

the key to avoiding anxiety due to stopping soma is to taper it off over a long period of time rather than stop it abruptly. You'll still feel some anxiety, but not as bad.

I recently did this myself. I wish my doctor had told me about the problems associated with coming off this medication before I started taking it.

Linda Ambert

Can someone tell me specifically how to get through the withdrawal period and what it physically consists of? I'm getting ready to stop taking it and want to do it the right way.
Thanks

I had been taking up to 8 Soma a day for a little more than a year and was 100% addicted to it. It was prescribed after I ruptured 3 disks in my back and muscles were in constant knots so that it hurt to breathe. When my prescriptions ran out I began buying it on the internet with the cost rising to a point that I could no longer afford the purchase, and, I was aware that my memory, judgement, ability to make decisions, etc.,were all but gone. I read everythingn I could find on how to withdraw safely and began the process a month ago. I had been taking 2 tablets at a time so I cut back to 1 and 1/2 for each dose for 5 days. Then I cut back to 1 for each dose for a week. Then I started spacing the doses 8 hours apart. That's when the stomach pain, severe headaches, nausea, and insomnia took hold. I decided to fight my way through that for 4 days and didn't cut back the amount of each dose during that time. When I started to feel a little more in control, I cut the tablets into 4ths and took 3/4 3 times a day for a week. Then I took 1/2 a tablet twice a day for another week and then just 1/2 once daily for another week. The last 2 weeks I took 1/4 of a tablet once daily. This week I haven't had ANY and I'm jumpy, irritable, having bad dreams when I finally do fall asleep, and I feel as though every nerve in my body is exposed. It's like I just woke up from a really long coma and I hate the feeling but I am going to stay the course. I read somehwhe that taking Milk Thistle will help to cleanse the drug residue from your liver, so I bought a bottle at GNC yesterday and have started taking it. I'm also drinking 8 sixteen ounce bottles of water a day even though I feel nauseous. I'm eating melon just because it looks good and seems to set well in my stomach. I haven't been able to look at any sort of meat or fish without gagging so for now it's baked potatoes and melon. If I can ever find my way back into feeling like my old self then all of this will be worth the struggle. The problem is, I'm not too sure anymore how my old self even felt. I could write volumes on the havoc Soma reeked upon my body and my life. I would like to hear from others who have beat it.

I had started taking a combo of vicodin and soma about 10 years ago for a car accident. It has been off and on. I get clean and fall in love with the feeling of being free from it. I think better, have energy, not moody. No pain when the withdraws finally subside. Everytime I am pround of myself and my accomplishments but it is is short-lived everytime. I seem to find a reason to "need" it again. I have a flare up or tension. It's always something. I could have managed through the pain but I convince myself to refill my prescription "just in case" the pain becomes unmanageable. . It figure "what the hell, I am not going anywhere tonight, might as well relax and pop some pills". That has been my pattern for the last 10 years. I haven't beat it yet but I know that I am getting somewhere in my battle because each time I feel more and more guilty. So guilty that I found this website and and blogging about it right this minute. I want to tell those of you wanting to try this "DON"T" It feels great for a few minutes and then it is gone. and then you feel sick and sleepy. The side effects of quitting are not glamorous as would tv shows may have you believe. Ya know the dazed, cool, bad girl who has connections. NO NO NO! It is more like diareah...really bad. I had the runs so bad that I worried that I may thing that I have gas and instead have an embarassing accident. Also, the sweating and strobe like feeling. I was miserable and the loving happy feeling turned into anger and frustration. My body hurt since it was so used to being limber now it was screaming for something...anything to make the agression go away. I also stayed up for severdal days and had dark circles under my eyes. My mouth was so dry with caused really bad breath. And there was no lubrication for sexual intercourse--EVERYTHING was dry! How's that for glamour? If you have an addictive personality, my best advice it: Don't start. There's gottta be alteratives for you. !

by the beard of zuse, ive not slept in 3 days, everything i eat even my methadone and xanax bars make me throw up. i have a bad cycle in that when i get my scripts filled i go a bit off the wall and take handfulls of the 350's a day, this script successfully held me over for 4 days....there where sixty tablets do the math, thats a sick amount of soma, ive been taking it since may of last year and every time they are gone within a week, last month was easy though, i sold off half of them and ate half barely had symptoms but when i went to idaho from california i couldnt hardly drive and the weather messed me up something awfull, what the hell can i do to make it through this, im a cage fighter with mutiple fractures and sliped discs and i cant train with this self inflicted flue, There seems to be about 3 days of pure hell when you run dry but stay strong and go herbal....smoking a bit of grass seems to help with anxiety and sleep also nigquil is a saint, there is a song by journey called change for the better, it changed my life download it and give it a listen its a trueism that i find hard to let go of. besto luck to my NA buddies

I am 54 and going through 2 withdrawals at once due to the loving care of doctors coupled with my desire to keep my spinal disease at bay.

The doctors get us here because we ask them for help. The doctors have never been through soma withdrawal and only know about it. They protect themselves from legal action if we were to die on their watch.

Anyone reading these posts must consider alternative ways to deal with spinal pain. Yes, strong narcotics and muscle relaxors work and kill at the same time. No, you may not have an alternative but seek one. Pain clinics and detox centers are expensive and have the wrong bediing and atmosphere for you and me. Healing services and counselors can not get to the root of your (our) pain. Pray anyway.

You are amazing people who write here. Thank you. It feels like I'm not going to make it this time. I've called ERS and pharmacy just to learn I have to wait until midnight on the 3rd day after running out of soma and stopping fentanyl patch after I "protagonistly" responded to 8 facet joint shots and 1 epidural shot to my thoracic spine and l-5 spine on 9-9-08.

After midnight, I start back on the Soma as I have no choice. Your posts have helped me. Special thanks to the guest who started out with "by the beard of zeus". That was one of the best descriptrions of my pain I've herad in 32 years of this nightmare. Thanks to this blog host.

I'm currently taking soma for a car accident I was in a few years back. I've been on and off treatment for a while now, and I just find that I'm taking more and more of it. I'm a pretty strong willed person, so I thought I'd be OK on Soma, but apparently not. My script is running out, so I've decided it's time to slowly take myself off it, but I'm not sure how. Today, I woke up with a severe headache and I was vomiting, and the pain is continuing. I have no idea what to do.

I'm actually kind of scared, as I know Soma does alter perception and memory in the long run. I have no idea what to do. I've tried cutting it down to just one a day, and I feel horribly. Is cold turkey the best way? Then just deal with the symptoms? I can't sleep at night, it's hard to eat, and I have a lil baby to take care of, and it seems like I can't even do it. I guess this is making me depressed. Is that normal? I never thought in a million years, that I would be addicted to a drug, I'm ashamed to say that I am.

I was on a combination of Soma and Vicodin or Tylenol -3- for many years. Basically for failed back surgery and then even more for a time for dental surgery. Last year I attempted, with the help of my daughter, to stop these meds. It was supposed to be gradual but was not gradual enough. I thought I couldn't bear the anxiety, nausea, etc and thought that I would just stop all together to get it over with. Bad idea- I had a seizure and ended up in the hospital. To sum this up- do NOT try to get off of this stuff by yourself. Your doctor can help you or you may need to go to a treatment center. I was in the detox for 2 weeks and then residential treatment. Find a good place-check it out because the place I went to was from my HMO and they released me too soon without withdrawal meds- phenabarbital-& I had another seizure. It has been a year and I am still anxious and irritable. I am now taking GABA Pharma because this is depleted bigtime with these meds. Theanine is also good for anxiety.
These meds messed me up alot-I have high blood pressure, anxiety and sleep problems. You will realize that the pain is not as bad as you think. Your body will adjust to a point where you can handle it. Fear of the pain is the real problem. Don't be so afraid of the pain that you continue the meds in fear. I give God all of the credit for getting me through the last year.

I was severely addicted to soma. I began taking for back problem resulting from a car accident. The addiction quickly became physical. At the worst i was taking 40-350mg/daily ebentually I was getting from the internet, and having fed ex deliver daily-somtimes 2-3packages/day 90-180ct 350m mg pills. I went through 10 of 1000s of $. o.O

Withdrawal experienced:cry: Extreme extreme panic attacks. (never had anxiety/panic disorder attacks b4) Couldnt breathe, heart racing, trouble communicating without soma- always sounding excited, became paranoid, affraid to leave my house(not so much afraid as to excited to communicate clearly-I actually seemed a lil off/crazy to outsiders(never had mental problems before, not even depression-had always been functioning member of society and i skipped a grade in school). Could not sleep, sight became slightly distolrted almost fuzzy, sinus problems, ears would feel clogged, increased sensitivity to noise and pain, couldnt drive in cars due to increased noise level when not on soma, ,much increased pain especially in areas i was originally prescribed to treat, developed worse back problems due to Soma which created a cycle of taking more(my backs much better sinse stopping soma:) )

how i dealt with with it and got off: i had to result to another drug temporarily to get off- while it worked this drug can become habit forming with its own withdrawals and should only be used during withdrawal period- Klonopin-benzodiazepine(anti-anxiety) took klonopin for one week, combine with muscle relaxer bextra? and IB prophen- the best thing IT WORKED-IT ACTUALLY WORKED! I was free of Soma. The truth about Soma is its been around awhile but lil is known about treating withdrawal. It is knwn that when one overdoses to give a valium/xanex at Emergency Room. However i know from use that this isa treatment to over dose withdrawal. Its not the actual over use of medication its the taking away that causes the problem. I hope this helps. :-)

Today is day one on the road to recovery, hopefully, and I am afraid to death!!! It's been 4-5 years that I've been on a combination of Xanax, Locets, and Somas. Locets are my main problem, around 8 a day. My addiction did not have anything to do with pain in the 1st place although I was in a bad accident over a year ago, and it has been easy for me to obtain these pills via a script doctor and/or any other doctor. It is time for me to quit since I have lost hearing in my left ear due to these horrible candies, and not only that, but I get depressed because I don't do it for the 'high' anymore - it is marly a daily routine for me now and I get super depressed because all I want to do is stop, but I can't. I am trying to do this by myself, but from reading this, it looks as though I probably need to be under a doctors care although my job doesn't allow 'detox time.' I've read multiple internet sites about the withdrawals from Lorcets and/or Somas and it seems to be the #1 thing that I'm afraid of now - withdrawals. Losing something that I have been dependant on for years on end seems like I'm losing my best friend, but in reality, it's only the devil. I can only imagine what my liver looks like now, but hopefully since it's the most forgiving organ, it will bounce back. My ear on the other hand may not. Please pray for me as I know and think I can do this. I don't want my life to end because of my pill addiction. I have a loving family and boyfriend that now know about it, and they are all supportive. Now all I need is me to stop this vicious cycle. Anyone that is thinking about even touching these little devils, PLEASE don't! I have always had an addictive personality, but I know that even someone without one will not be able to free themselves once they start. It's not worth the pain, trust me! NO MATTER HOW BAD YOUR PHYSICAL PAIN IS, NOTHING IS WORST THAN MENTAL PAIN. Put mind over matter. God Bless

Here's the problem... Soma actually contains a form of the drug Barbotol, which is a barbituate. That's why Soma is addictive, and that's why you feel almost drunk when you take Soma.

Hi, All. Well, I've read everyone's story about their experience with Soma, and I started to become confused, because I hardly related to everything I read, with the exception of the abuse the drug. My experience with Soma seems unique. I'm prescribed Soma on a regular basis; 60 pills every 15 days (4/day prescribed dose). I tend to use Soma on a binge basis. Every time I fill the script, the 60 pills are gone in 4 days, sometimes 3. When I stop, I experience withdrawal for about 2 - 3 days, but my withdrawal experience is totally different from everyone elses withdrawal symptoms. I don't get any flu-like symptoms, nor do I get the runs, vomit, etc. Everytime I stop, usually with 12 - 18 hours after stopping, I have trouble breathing. It almost feels like I have to struggle to take each breath. I'm really tight-chested, and my heart rate becomes very, very slow. For the first night, I can't sleep, but twitch here and there. Sometimes so bad, I think I may have a seizure. Really scary. Sorry if I'm rambling here, but like I said, I'm a little confused, because my withdrawal experience is so much different from what everyone else has been describing. Anyone else share my symptoms?

Addicted11480 wrote:

Guest wrote:

Take Robaxin, it is a muscle relaxer that doesn't get you high. 

I had been taking up to 8 Soma a day for a little more than a year and was 100% addicted to it. It was prescribed after I ruptured 3 disks in my back and muscles were in constant knots so that it hurt to breathe. When my prescriptions ran out I began buying it on the internet with the cost rising to a point that I could no longer afford the purchase, and, I was aware that my memory, judgement, ability to make decisions, etc.,were all but gone. I read everythingn I could find on how to withdraw safely and began the process a month ago. I had been taking 2 tablets at a time so I cut back to 1 and 1/2 for each dose for 5 days. Then I cut back to 1 for each dose for a week. Then I started spacing the doses 8 hours apart. That's when the stomach pain, severe headaches, nausea, and insomnia took hold. I decided to fight my way through that for 4 days and didn't cut back the amount of each dose during that time. When I started to feel a little more in control, I cut the tablets into 4ths and took 3/4 3 times a day for a week. Then I took 1/2 a tablet twice a day for another week and then just 1/2 once daily for another week. The last 2 weeks I took 1/4 of a tablet once daily. This week I haven't had ANY and I'm jumpy, irritable, having bad dreams when I finally do fall asleep, and I feel as though every nerve in my body is exposed. It's like I just woke up from a really long coma and I hate the feeling but I am going to stay the course. I read somehwhe that taking Milk Thistle will help to cleanse the drug residue from your liver, so I bought a bottle at GNC yesterday and have started taking it. I'm also drinking 8 sixteen ounce bottles of water a day even though I feel nauseous. I'm eating melon just because it looks good and seems to set well in my stomach. I haven't been able to look at any sort of meat or fish without gagging so for now it's baked potatoes and melon. If I can ever find my way back into feeling like my old self then all of this will be worth the struggle. The problem is, I'm not too sure anymore how my old self even felt. I could write volumes on the havoc Soma reeked upon my body and my life. I would like to hear from others who have beat it.

It all started 5 & 1/2 years ago when I had muscle spasms in my lower back.  Went to the ER & was prescribed Hydrocodone 5/500 2 X's a day & Flexeril. Follow up w/ regular physician & prescribed the same.  Took that for about a year until I went Dr. shopping to get more Hydro.  Got busted w/ that Doc & Pharmacy.  Learned a lesson on that one!