Levaquin FAQ

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Carisoprodol Interactions with Food/Tobacco/Alcohol and other Other Medical Problems

Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.

Other Medical Problems

The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of carisoprodol. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Drug abuse or dependence, or history of—Use with caution. Dependence on carisoprodol may develop.

• Kidney disease or
• Liver disease—Use with caution. The effects may be increased because of slower removal of the medicine from the body.

• Porphyria (an enzyme problem), history of—Should not be used in patients with this condition.

• Seizures—Use with caution. May make this condition worse.

• Are allergic to carisoprodol, Soma, or any of the inactive components used to make the medication. Your healthcare provider or pharmacist has a list of the inactive ingredients. Also, you should not take carisoprodol if you are allergic to carbamate medications such as meprobamate (Miltown^®).

• Have acute intermittent porphyria.

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Soma Side effects

Side Effects of Carisoprodol – for the Consumer

Carisoprodol

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Carisoprodol:

Dizziness; drowsiness; headache.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Carisoprodol:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; hoarseness); fainting; fast heartbeat; fever, chills, or persistent sore throat; loss of coordination; mood or mental changes (eg, agitation, depression, irritability); seizures; severe or persistent dizziness; severe or persistent trouble sleeping; tremors.

SIDE EFFECTS: Dizziness, drowsiness, headache, unusually fast heartbeat, low blood pressure, or face flushing may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly.Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

Sometimes carisoprodol may cause a very rare but serious reaction (idiosyncratic) that occurs within minutes or hours of the first dose of this medication. Seek immediate medical attention and do not take more of the medication if you experience: extreme weakness, inability to move your legs/arms, shaky/unsteady movement, pain in your joints, vision changes (double vision, inability to see), widened pupils, mental/mood changes (e.g., agitation, restlessness, unexplained mood swings, confusion).

A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is unlikely, but seek immediate medical attention if it occurs. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing.

This is not a complete list of possible side effects. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

Contact your doctor for medical advice about side effects. The following numbers do not provide medical advice, but in the US you may report side effects to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 1-800-FDA-1088. In Canada, you may call Health Canada at 1-866-234-2345.

SIDE EFFECTS: Dizziness, drowsiness, headache, unusually fast heartbeat, low blood pressure, or face flushing may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly.Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

Sometimes carisoprodol may cause a very rare but serious reaction (idiosyncratic) that occurs within minutes or hours of the first dose of this medication. Seek immediate medical attention and do not take more of the medication if you experience: extreme weakness, inability to move your legs/arms, shaky/unsteady movement, pain in your joints, vision changes (double vision, inability to see), widened pupils, mental/mood changes (e.g., agitation, restlessness, unexplained mood swings, confusion).

A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is unlikely, but seek immediate medical attention if it occurs. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing.

This is not a complete list of possible side effects. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

Contact your doctor for medical advice about side effects. The following numbers do not provide medical advice, but in the US you may report side effects to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 1-800-FDA-1088. In Canada, you may call Health Canada at 1-866-234-2345.

Common Side Effects Seen With Soma

Soma has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials. In these studies, the side effects that occur in a group of people taking the drug are documented and are then compared to side effects that occur in another group of people not taking the medicine. This way, it is possible to see what side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine.

 

In these studies, the most common Soma side effects included:

 

• Drowsiness — in up to 17 percent of people
• Dizziness — up to 8 percent
• Headaches — up to 5 percent.
   

Side Effects of Soma to Report

There are a number of possible side effects with Soma that you should report to your healthcare provider. These include, but are not limited to:

 

• Seizures
• Fainting
• A rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
• Depression
• Feeling a need to take Soma more often than prescribed or when a medical problem no longer exists (see Soma Abuse)
• Signs of an allergic reaction, including unexplained rash, hives, itching, unexplained swelling, wheezing, or difficulty breathing or swallowing.

Other Possible Soma Side Effects

After medications are approved and are in use by the general public, healthcare providers may voluntarily report side effects. This information may point to possible side effects that were not seen in clinical trials. However, it is very difficult (or even impossible) to tell how frequently such side effects occur or if they are even actual side effects, since they are reported voluntarily (and since the “side effects” could be coincidental). These reported side effects are known as “postmarketing experience.” Possible side effects of Soma reported in postmarketing experience include, but are not limited to:

 

• Low blood pressure (hypotension) upon standing or sitting up
• Facial flushing
• A spinning sensation (vertigo)
• Coordination problems
• Shakiness (tremor)
• Agitation
• Irritability
• Fainting
• Insomnia (see Soma and Insomnia)
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Throat or upper stomach pain.
   

Final Thoughts on Soma Side Effects

It is possible that you may experience some or none of the Soma side effects listed in this article. Unfortunately, there is no way for your healthcare provider to know beforehand if you will have side effects from a medicine that you have never tried. Therefore, make sure to let your healthcare provider know if you develop any side effects while taking Soma or if something “just does not seem right.” While it may not be a Soma side effect, your healthcare provider will be able to diagnose and treat the problem.

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Carisoprodol Clinical Studies Experience

Because clinical studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect rates observed in practice.

The data described below are based on 1387 patients pooled from two double blind, randomized, multicenter, placebo controlled, one-week trials in adult patients with acute, mechanical, lower back pain. In these studies, patients were treated with 250 mg of SOMA, 350 mg of SOMA, or placebo three times a day and at bedtime for seven days. The mean age was about 41 years old with 54% females and 46% males and 74 % Caucasian, 16 % Black, 9% Asian, and 2% other.

There were no deaths and there were no serious adverse reactions in these two trials. In these two studies, 2.7%, 2%, and 5.4%, of patients treated with placebo, 250 mg of SOMA, and 350 mg of SOMA, respectively, discontinued due to adverse events; and 0.5%, 0.5%, and 1.8% of patients treated with placebo, 250 mg of SOMA, and 350 mg of SOMA, respectively, discontinued due to central nervous system adverse reactions.

Table 1 displays adverse reactions reported with frequencies greater than 2% and more frequently than placebo in patients treated with SOMA in the two trials described above.

Table 1. Patients with Adverse Reactions in Controlled Studies

Postmarketing Experience

The following events have been reported during postapproval use of SOMA. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Cardiovascular

Tachycardia, postural hypotension, and facial flushing.

Central Nervous System

Drowsiness, dizziness, vertigo, ataxia, tremor, agitation, irritability, headache, depressive reactions, syncope, insomnia, and seizures.

Gastrointestinal

Nausea, vomiting, and epigastric discomfort.

Hematologic

Leukopenia, pancytopenia

Carisoprodol Side Effects by Body System

Nervous system

Nervous system side effects are common and include drowsiness and sedation most often. There have been postmarketing reports of motor vehicle accidents associated with the use of carisoprodol. Dizziness, headache, tremor, agitation, insomnia, syncope and ataxia have also been reported.

Central respiratory depression may occur, particularly at high doses.

Other

Psychologic dependence and abuse of carisoprodol (often in combination with alcohol and other CNS depressants) have been reported.

Withdrawal symptoms after abrupt cessation of carisoprodol have been reported and may be due to dependency on the meprobamate metabolite. Such symptoms include abdominal pain, agitation, tremor, restlessness, anxiety, depression, insomnia, nausea, and sweating. Seizures have been reported rarely.

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity effects include rash, pruritus and erythema multiforme. Asthma, fever, hypotension and anaphylaxis have been reported rarely.

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, hiccups and epigastric distress.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular effects include tachycardia, hypotension, postural hypotension, and facial flushing.

Oncologic

Oncologic side effects have included mutagenicity and clastogenicity reported from in vitro animal cell assays

Tags: body system, Carisoprodol, Clinical Studies, Generic Soma
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Who Makes Generic Soma?

• Actavis, Inc.
• CorePharma
• Major Pharmaceuticals
• Medisca, Inc.
• Meridian Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.
• Watson Laboratories.

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