Are you wondering why we should know about Soma Vs. Flexeril? Or why are muscle relaxers vital to us?. This blog will help you find answers to all of your questions. We realize how hard life can become when we suffer from skeletomuscular issues. The body's skeletal muscle helps us walk, eat and do all our body movements freely. Now, take a moment and think of the time when you first started exercising? The next day must have been your reason for a leave from work. Here comes the role of muscle relaxers to save your day. It helps you get relief in 30 minutes.

Is Soma and Flexeril the same?

Soma and Flexeril are muscle relaxers that act on the skeletal muscle of the user. They follow a similar mode of action to show analgesic effects in the person. Using the Soma pill and Flexeril are almost identical with minimal variation.

Table 1: Soma Vs Flexeril- Similarities

Criteria	Carisoprodol	Cyclobenzaprine
Class of drug	Muscle relaxer	Muscle relaxer
Dosing of the analgesic	3 to 4 times a day	3 times a day
Route of Administration	Oral pill	Oral pill
Intake of meals	One can take light meal with Soma pill	Have a light meal before or after taking Flexeril
Form of intake	Take Soma pill as a whole without breaking or crushing it.	One should not crush or break the pill before intake.
Analgesic effect	Short-term	Short-term
Age restrictions	For people of age group 17 to 65 years	Not approved for use by people below 15 years [1]
Recommendation for pregnancy and nursing women	Not recommended without a valid prescription	No data available
pregnancy and nursing women	valid prescription	–

Difference between Soma and Flexeril

The debate on Soma Vs. Flexeril has been a long topic of discussion. Both these analgesics are popular choices among medical professionals. Even though they both belong to the same class of medication, they differ in their time of action and efficacy. This table focuses on how Soma and Flexeril differ to help you choose the right muscle relaxer.

Table 2: Flexeril Vs Soma- differences

Criteria	Soma pill	Flexeril
Generic Name	Carisoprodol	Cyclobenzaprine
Other brand names	Pain o soma, Watson Soma, Prosoma	Amrix
Legal Status	Schedule IV [2]	Prescription use only [3]
Dosages	Soma 350mg and 500mg	Flexeril 5mg and 10mg
Dosage gap	4 to 5 hours	3 to 4 hours
Beginners dosage	Soma 350mg	Flexeril 10mg
Maximum intake of the Dosage [4]	30 mg	1400mg

Prescribed use of Soma and Flexeril

The use of both Soma and Flexeril is as a short-term analgesic for acute pain. One can take Soma pills for treating conditions such as Muscle spasms and Fibromyalgia. In addition, It can also be taken to help manage joint pain in users. Flexeril on the other hand is a prescription drug for only muscle and joint pain.

Soma Vs Flexeril- Drug interactions

The intake of Soma pill and Flexeril with other treatments and medications can lower the efficacy of the medicine. This interaction also results in causing side effects in the users.

Table 3: Drug Interaction of Carisoprodol and Cyclobenzaprine

Drug/Compound	Soma	Flexeril	Consequence
Alcohol	Yes	Yes	Slow down brain processing
CNS depressant	Yes	Yes	Impair physical ability
Omeprazole [5]	Yes	Not enough data	Reduce the elimination process of Carisoprodol
lorazepam	Yes	Yes	Slow down brain processing
Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)	Not enough data	Yes	Severe side effects
Rifadin [5]	Yes	Not enough data	Increase the elimination process of Carisoprodol.
Drugs for sleep or anxiety	Yes	Yes	Drowsiness

Apart from the medications listed here, they can interact with other prescription and non-prescription drugs. The interaction of Flexeril and Soma pills with alcohol can also cause Somnolence and difficulty breathing. In other words, a user needs to mention all their ongoing medication before taking these muscle relaxers.

Flexeril vs Soma- which is a safer choice?

Firstly, neither Flerexil nor Soma pain medication shows severe side effects with the proper medicine intake. Secondly, they cause very mild issues in users. Severe side effects appear in people who overdose on the muscle relaxer.

Table 4: Soma Vs Flexeril- side effects

Side effects	Soma muscle relaxer	Flexeril tablet	Indication
Dry mouth	No	Yes	Do not need immediate medical help
Fatigue	No	Yes	No need for immediate medical help
Constipation	No	Yes	Do not need immediate medical help
Sleep problem	Yes	No	No need for immediate medical help
Agitation	Yes	No	Do not need immediate medical help
Confusion	No	Yes	Best to consult a doctor
Seizure	Yes	No	Immediately contact a doctor
Depression	Yes	No	Best to consult a doctor
Acid-reflux	No	Yes	Contact a doctor in severe case
Abdominal pain	No	Yes	Best to consult a doctor

Side effects of Soma and Flexeril are not life-threatening. Moreover, with the right medical help, it will go away in a day or two.

Figure1: Flexeril Vs Soma- precaution and warnings [5]

The above table by Corey Witenko, highlights that both Carisoprodol and Cyclobenzaprine are a “beer list” medicine. It helps improve prescription medication for older adults above 65 years. People who experience other effects can consult a doctor.

User’s reviews for Flexeril and Soma muscle relaxers

In the debate of Soma Vs. Flexeril, the user’s review also plays a vital role in helping make a decision.

Figure 2: Soma Vs Flexeril- review

The above data was collected from WebMD. This shows a higher user rating for Soma pill than Flxereil. This user review for both the muscle relaxers indicates Soma is more effective than Flexeril in treating acute pain in users.

Long-term use of Soma and Flexeril

The figure below highlights the basic information about both muscle relaxers. It also shows that the duration of use for Soma and Flexeril is 2 to 3 weeks.

Figure 3: Soma vs Flexeril- long-term usage

The use of Soma pills for an extended period can cause dependency and addiction. Similarly, taking Flexeril for more than three weeks can cause Serotonin Syndrome. This is a severe condition and can be life-threatening at times.

Right Soma abuse management

Two of the leading cause of dependency in Soma users are:

Wrong intake of the muscle relaxer
Overdosing of the medicine
Abruptly stopping the use of the Soma pill can cause withdrawal symptoms.

One must be able to identify this condition in the initial stage. Some of the signs and symptoms of Soma pill abuse are:

Insomnia
Vomiting
Anxiety
Muscle twitching
Delusions
Hallucinations
Tremors.

Which is more affordable- Soma or Flexeril?

The price of Soma and Flexeril differs making one more affordable than the other. The price of both medicines depends on the package the user chooses to purchase.

Figure 4: Flexeril Vs Soma- Price of the drug

The prices of each of these sites were taken directly from their website. The price of Soma pills online is much lower than that of Flexeril on most websites.

Is there an alternative for muscle relaxers?

Both Soma and Flexeril are very effective muscle relaxers. They are prescribed to patients complaining about severe acute pain. People chose Muscle relaxers over other medicines for their superior efficacy and potency. As mentioned above, once taken, they show faster relief from body pain with long hours of action. However, people can take other pain medication if they do not wish to take muscle relaxers as their first line of treatment.

Figure 5: Alternative for muscle relaxers [6]

Another muscle relaxer that can be a potential alternative for Soma and Flexeril is Robaxin. It is also a prescription medication for treating severe and sharp pain in users. Soma Vs. Robaxin is also one of the most talked-about muscle relaxer debates. However, before choosing the right pain medication for you. It is advisable first to consult a doctor.

Soma Vs Flexeril- our final thought

While concluding, we can state that the efficacy and price of Soma pills make Carisoprodol a much better choice. Moreover, Soma pills have comparatively less severe side effects than Flexeril. However, Cyclobenzaprine is a good choice for people who wish to take a muscle relaxer less potent to cause dependency. According to an article by Omudhome Ogbru [9], cyclobenzaprine shows no severe effects on the fetus during the animal study.

Table 5: Soma Vs Flexeril- Pros and cons

Soma muscle relaxer

Flexeril muscle relaxer

Pros

Helps with muscle spasms along with improving the movement of the body

Generic version is available

In pregnancy must be taken under doctor’s guidance

Helps in managing muscle spasms

Available in generic form

Safer for pregnant women

Cons

Do not use for more than 2 to 3 weeks

Can cause dizziness and drowsiness

People with kidney, liver and heart issues can take the medicine after talking to a doctor.

One must not take Flexeril for a long-term

Prone to cause dizziness and drowsiness on interaction with alcohol.

Patients with renal, hepatic and cardiac disorder should take Flexeril after consulting a physician.

Can cause Dry mouth in the user

The use of Flexeril pain medicine is not effective for body pain occurring from brain and spinal injury

Risk factors

Sleepiness

Seizure

Abuse and withdrawal

Serotonin syndrome

Heart attack

Stroke

Overactive thyroid

Dehydration

Reference

“ Cyclobenzaprine”, Mott children’s Hospital
“Carisoprodol”, Wikipedia
“Cyclobenzaprine”, Wikipedia
“Skeletal Muscle Relaxants”, Brittany Hardek et.al, mypcnow
“Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) vs. carisoprodol (Soma)”, medicinenet.
“Considerations for the Appropriate Use of Skeletal Muscle Relaxants for the Management Of Acute Low Back Pain”, Corey Witenko et.al, researchgate.
“Beers criteria”, Wikipedia
“Addiction to Muscle Relaxers: Carisoprodol (Soma)”, americanaddictioncenters
“Cyclobenzaprine” Omudhome Ogbru, medicinenet.

Soma Vs Flexeril- Which is stronger?

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