August 26, 2005 - 11:38pm
Yes, I just recently was given this prescription from my pain management doctor, it is Skelaxin 800mg, I was told it is a Muscle Relaxer. It is a new addition to the already assortment of medicatioms that I am taking already which is: Duragesic Patches 50mcg/hr; Ultracet 37.5/325; Lorcet 10/650mg; Nadolol 120mg; Seroquel 200mg; Effexor 75mg; and also Valium 10mg. I know that must sound like a huge amount of medications for one person, but due to my crippling illness and severe depression, I am on these medications. Please BE AWARE, they ARE ALL prescription medications. I DO NOT take anything that is not prescribed by my doctor's. My questions are:
1. Can anyone tell me how this new medication will affect me with the previous medicines I am currently taking?
2. Should I stop taking any of the other medications?
I also have a brother that tends to find my back turned and he tends to swipe medications from me when he visits, I wanted to know, is this type of medication something that people tend to abuse in ways that they should not? I mean is it like a narcotic? Does it make you feel weird or in any way make you feel "good". I am very concerned about my brother's condition and I would like to know everything there is to know about which medications my brother would possibly be tempted to swipe from my home. This make me very nervous, as he is my baby brother, and is about to turn 21. I mean his age has nothing to do with him abusing medications, but I would hate it for him to get ahold of this "muscle relaxer" because someone may have or may not have told him it was something good to take, and then it cause his heart to stop working. I hope you understand what I am trying to say and why I am interested in knowing everything about the types of medication that I am on, so I can find a way to keep my brother from getting his hands on them. As, most times he comes over, I am in no condition to follow his every footstep, due to how my meds affect me. Please let me know anything anyone can tell me about ANY of my medicines that I am on. BUT, Please, know that ALL meds that are listed DO COME FROM my doctor's, and I am under 4 different Doctor's care and they each know what I am on. I just want to double check and see if any combination of these medicines will harm me in any shape or form. I thank you for everything. God Bless!
1. Can anyone tell me how this new medication will affect me with the previous medicines I am currently taking?
I am not qualified to give any kind of medical advice, and I don't think this is a 'do-it-yourself' project because of the many meds you are taking. And drug interaction checkers online are usually pretty quirky. But, if you want to try to learn a little more about different drug combinations, the best interaction checker I've seen is Discoveryhealth.com's Drug Interaction Checker. Please remember that this is no substitute for your four doctors' advice!
2. Should I stop taking any of the other medications?
Only your doctors can determine if it's best that you stop taking any of your other meds.
I hope you understand what I am trying to say and why I am interested in knowing everything about the types of medication that I am on ...
Check out Rxlist.com for excellent info regarding all your medications. For detailed info re pharmacology, indications, dosage, side effects etc. search The RxList Drug Database (first box that appears). Type in the medicine name. The database will return several results and will probably include everything that sounds like your med. Find your drug and then click on the link by the generic name to pull up all the info you ever wanted to know about the drug.
It's easiest to search by brand
name.
Really, the only advice I can give you is to make sure each doctor knows what the other doctors are prescribing (drug, dosage, frequency etc.) and use the same pharmacy for all your meds. Most pharmacies store your medical info, known allergies and other pertinent data in their databases and are automatically alerted when a contra-indicated drug is prescribed for you.
Good luck to you!