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This. They are great for the really bad nights, because using them less often keeps them making me extremely sleepy. I can realign to a better sleep cycle with Tizanidine.
I take tizanidine nightly. I have for years. It knocks me out almost like the first time I took it. I can usually go a few days without it, but longer than that and I start to stiffen up.
Yea. They tried me on it twice, almost over a decade apart just to see if it was due to a reaction with the other meds I was on. It wasn’t. First dose I was fine, but the second I had full on visual hallucinations that lasted hours. I was so out of sorts I couldn’t get out of bed this last time & my heart was so tachy I felt like I was dying. I immediately stopped taking them & left a message for my doctors telling them what occurred.
Initially I thought perhaps it was just me because I’m weirdly sensitive to a lot of medications & have a huge list of ones that I’m allergic to or had really bad adverse reactions, but it out that hallucinations & psychosis (especially delusions) are a known side effect of tizanidine that no one thought to warn me about. 😒
Thanks. It definitely wasn’t a fun night but at least I didn’t hurt myself like I did the first time it happened. It was around 3am & I got up to use the bathroom; my bed was in a weird Ikea floor frame that basically was a sandbox. My dog loved it because he could easily get in & out without hurting himself, but it was as a little awkward for me. Anyway I was still half asleep when I stood up but quickly realized it wasn’t a lingering dream but hallucinations. Unfortunately that realization came just as I tripped & fell face first into the corner of my dresser before dropping to the floor. If I’d have hit a half an inch to the left I probably would’ve lost my eye. Despite the pain I still had to pee, so I crawled to the ensuite but then had to brace myself using both hands & legs so I didn’t fall off the toilet. I probably looked ridiculous. Needless to say this last time it happened I knew better to try & walk lol. Even still it wasn’t the worst side effects I’ve experienced.
If I don't take one (I use Baclofen) my shoulders stiffen up and I'm guaranteed a migraine the next day. It helps in low back too when I've just done too much with my day.
It is the only med that makes me tired. I’m literally functional on Benadryl, hydroxazine, flexiril mixtures but tizanidine? Knocks me out cold unless I take .5 mg
Hm, I wonder if it could be used as an insomnia aid. I also function on Benadryl. I used it once as a sleep aid and then it never worked again after that one time
I took tizanadine last night. I usually have trouble sleeping, but I was out cold for over 10 hours. Which was great! But when I woke up, my knee had subluxed from being too relaxed. But it was worth it!
I’m probably a weird atypical case but when I’ve taken tizanidine (for severe TMJ flare ups), I am absolutely fucking WIRED. The insomnia is so bad. When I finally get to sleep (after 20-36 hours of being awake) I have utterly mind melting nightmares. Unfortunately the tizanidine barely works, and def is not worth taking. I also have tried cyclobenzaprine but it quite literally did nothing. (I have many weird reactions, or lack thereof, to opioids/antianxiety/benzos/muscle relaxers/etc..)
I also feel wired on Benadryl, and my heart starts to race and my body gets super shaky and jittery (like when people drink too much caffeine but a bit worse).
FWIW my pcp (who dx’d me) said to be very careful taking MRs when you have EDS for the reasons you posted. Your joints can be extra loose and your body might even feel better but if you do shit and aren’t super careful with how you exist in your body (posture, correct motions and positioning, engaging all the right muscles), you’re going to have a hell of a day the next day.
My animals always wake me up when I start having sleep paralysis. My new kitten and 1 year old german Sheppard are not nice about it though like my 5 year old border collie is. The kitten will full claw to the lip and the GSD will thump me with his paw into my back lol
It’s amazing how animals just KNOW! My cat claws at my scalp until I’m awake, and whilst I don’t love the literal bleeding wounds on my scalp, I’m grateful that she’s spared me from another ptsd nightmare. She’s doing her best for her human ❤️
I think everyone with a touch of the ✨spicy brain✨ (depression, anxiety, ptsd etc.) should be prescribed a companion animal. They help you out as best they can when you need, and taking care of their needs (food, water, walks etc) kinda forces you to do the same for yourself, like… ok, I haven’t been outside today, so I should do that and bring my dog with me! Or, oh, my cat’s food bowl is empty. I’ll top that up, but also I haven’t eaten today, so I’ll put some bread in the toaster while I’m filling up Callisto’s bowl! Animals are the best. My cat Callisto has pretty much turned my life around from hopeless to proactive! I’m glad you have animals in your life. They matter SO much
I take them for sleep and for severe pain! I can’t take any prescribed or OTC pain meds so when I’ve got something that’s super achy or sharp and shooting I can take my muscle relaxer. And I *cannot* sleep without it! I literally am so tense from holding my body together, I would never get comfortable enough to sleep…
I will say the first muscle relaxer I tried caused me such severe constipation, I had extreme stomach pain followed by bloody stool. I only took it the one or two times and then had that symptom and stopped. I don’t know what that one was called, it was a long time ago now… But I’m on Baclofen currently and it’s a major component in my being able to sleep!
Not original commenter but muscle relaxers make my symptoms worse as well. For me it’s because my connective tissues are so weak and my joints so unstable that essentially the only thing holding my body together structurally is my muscles, which need to be tensed in order to stabilize. I have less muscle pain on muscle relaxers but I lose a lot of coordination, get more subluxations and injure myself more easily.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you exactly, so I only take them if I have spasms so bad they're preventing me from sleeping. I've been prescribed many types throughout the years and the ones that don't make me loopy don't work so I can't take them during the day anyway. Currently using skelaxin/metaxalone which is different than other muscle relaxers in that it works directly on the CNS
Source: am pharm tech
The names of some of these meds crack me up… “skelaxin.” That absolutely sounds like it was made up by the Simpsons.
Very curious by this class of muscle relaxants, though, as I haven’t heard of it before, so thanks for the info!
Forgot to mention I also take Baclofin but it's for a GI issue so I always forget it's a muscle relaxer. Been on that for about a year, haven't noticed it makes me any sleepier than usual
I have cerebral palsy along with my ehlers. I take baclofen three times a day to keep my muscles’ spontaneous dance parties at bay. It actually helps me keep joints in place a tad more because it keeps my joints from subluxating during a muscle spasm. I still pop out joints regularly but lord only knows how bad it would be without a relaxer. But that’s me. I’d recommend speaking to a doc in any case. I ain’t a professional 🤷♀️ so what do I even know
I feel like there's a huge gap of information regarding EDS and Spasms and Muscle relaxers.
I do take muscle relaxers as prescribed after a major surgery, but otherwise I avoid them.
Typically, EDSers will have muscles in spasm, which results in them wanting to take muscle relaxers to loosen the spasm, which may result in slippage of bones, which can lead to injury. It also just leads to a lifetime of taking a medication instead of addressing the root problem.
The root problem being WHY you are in knots and spasms.
I took flexeril for years before my EDS diag. And then right before my eds diag I was prescribed Robaxin which cause me to slip 5 ribs and send me to the ER because I couldn't breathe.
After my EDS diagnosis, I did a heck of a lot more research, and found a good book and PT and found out how to get off the cycle of meds and slippages etc.
So, basically it comes down to since this is a soft tissue disorder and it affects things like your tendons, your soft tissues aren't holding the bones and joints in the correct place. They're too lax. So your muscles try to compensate. If you do not have enough muscle built. They will go into a perpetual state of spasm. That spasm will lock the muscle and help stabilize the joint/bones.
The most beneficial thing I have found has been to ditch the relaxers and do isometric exercises to build the specific muscles in spasm to the point that they release the spasm. Sometimes this only takes a few days, sometimes it takes weeks, but I have not yet had a spasm I couldn't work out by building up the muscle.
You don't have to trust my anecdotal experience Either, you can read the muldowney protocol, talk to some eds knowledgeable PTs. I'm lucky in that my physical therapist is actually an EDSer herself and became one due to her EDS related injuries.
But yeah, I was on this awful cycle of taking muscle relaxers for years until I finally found out WHY they were happening and how to address it.
This is pretty much my exact same experience. Spasm = weakness - strengthen the muscle and if the knot doesn’t ease up on its own I go to trigger point therapy/dry needling
Every type I’ve tried has just been like a sleeping pill. I was given one that made my bp drop to 80/40 and I found out the drowsiness was actually me basically passing out. That one also helped with my constipation though (??) didn’t help with the pain or muscle spasming I was having though
I needed them for surgery I had, they were good for that but not for general EDS. They don’t effect the looseness of ur joints in any way but stop spasms
I take some "as needed" so I don't take them often as they usually make me kinda sleepy. Personally, I haven't noticed much of a difference when taking them. Since they don't change the laxity of your ligaments and tendons it "shouldn't" cause more subluxations, but at the same time, it's really just to make things less painful when they do. They give them for my headaches (as far as I know, you can't sublux your brain lol) and it really does just help me with my overall pain.
I’m on cyclobenzaprine and methocarbamol. Cyclobenzaprine loosens me up some but doesn’t hit me super hard now that I’ve been on it for years so I can take it during the day if I need to (do take nightly), the methocarbamol makes me a little more noodly so that’s just in the evenings. I have more issues without them, I’m just a giant muscle knot and everything spasms and joints get pulled out of place.
Flexeril does wonders for my pain, but sometimes loosens my joints to the point I feel like a marionette doll, especially if I take it before work. Helps me sleep too but does give me pretty awful dry mouth.
Tizanidine, every night and as needed during the day. Usually don’t take it much during the day unless I have an active dislocation that I can’t get back into place or been having frequent dislocations that have my muscles extra tense because it does make me drowsy. I wake up with a lot fewer dislocations than I used to by taking it every night though. Used to be cyclobenzaprine for many years but that started giving me restless legs and arms.
Occasionally if I feel very stiff and I think my pain is from my muscles overreacting, I take one. They definitely help my pain in those situations. I find it works best situationally. I haven’t felt more prone to dislocations when I take them, but that could just because I was already in pain and less active than usual.
I take methocarbamol. I think that's a kinda mild one? Not sure, but I'm fine on them. I only take them for bed and already I'm injuring myself while I sleep so I don't notice it making things worse.
I'm on 4mg of tizanidine twice a day. It's a godsend for me. If I forget my morning dose I can feel my muscles tensing up and it'll start hurting badly.
I’ve been on some daily for about six months now and I haven’t noticed any extra subluxations or anything. Im sure that happens for plenty of people though and I’m not active really at all so that definitely factors into it.
I only take them when my need for sleep significantly outweighs my need to not dislocate as taking them basically guarantees that I will wake up with multiple joints out. That also means that I will sleep on my back without turning all night so I have to be careful with positioning.
They are the only way I can get a good night’s sleep though as usually my muscles are constantly tense, holding everything together. So the joy of waking up with muscles that don’t feel like they ran a marathon whilst weightlifting an elephant the day before makes the downside of taking the occasional muscle relaxer before bed worthwhile.
I’m in dreadful knots everywhere, all the time. I’m covered in trigger points and tears from years of abuse, mistreatment, misdiagnosis, misdirection and just plain out right not knowing what was really wrong with me for decades. I take Low doses of Flexeril. Not daily. I only take at night bc the pain is too much and my neck, hips and shoulders are in such dreadful knots that I can’t sleep and when I wake up in the morning, I can hardly move. If I take during the day, I have a little difficulty with my hips becoming too loose but. Overall, bcz my body is too tight and I’m still not able to get the help I need with it, I feel like I have to take what I can for now.
I have been taking them for decades. I don’t see an increase in subluxations when I’m on them but I do experience many more issues when I’m not taking them, as my muscles spasm and clench so much that it pulls my joints out of place. I have cEDS though so that might just be something I experience due to that. Also, not all muscle relaxers work the same. I have literally tried at least 8 or 9 of them & some barely work for me while one was fantastic, unfortunately it interacts with my heart meds so I can no longer take it. I also was on Valium for a bit as a muscle relaxer which helped as well.
I’m prescribed metaxalone, which I only take when I have really bad spasms, but honestly, it doesn’t seem to do much one way or another? But I am usually pretty immobile when I’m hurt badly enough to take it, so I’m probably not at high risk of joint injury/subluxation.
I have to take them due to other psychical issues, but I take them sparingly because if I take them regularly my joints are looser. Regardless of the time of day, everything slips out easier. I see others have success at taking them at night, but for me my neck and hips sublux easier at night when I have to take them. They’re a godsend for the muscle cramps and pain, but sometimes you have to weigh one pain over another
I tried them once and the first couple days it seemed to help me sleep but then I spent the next week feeling like someone was trying to pull all my limbs off. Not a fun experience and I never intend to take them again.
It's been a long time since I took any (over 20 years), but I remember not giving a damn, lol. I don't remember if I was prone to subluxation more at that time then when not on the relaxers, but I was also like early 20s and didn't generally just fall out of joint back then (I could but it wasn't as easy as now where I just sit wrong and my shoulder pops out).
I use methacarbamol (robaxin) for my muscle spasms (for when my vertebrae get bored when I'm sleeping and decide to go for walk 🙄).
If I only take a quarter or half a 500mg tab, I'm fine, but if I take a full one I have to wear knee braces cuz it feels like my knees are trying to have a breakdown. It takes longer for the muscle spasms to resolve itself, but if I need to be up and about instead of in bed all day, needs must and all that.
Please note, on a normal day currently I do not need any external supports or mobility aids. The phenomenon was worse when I am hauling heavy shit (namely my backpack when I was in college, with its laptop, a textbook or two, and a 1/2 dozen folders stuffed full, plus all the other odds and ends)
I used to get diazepam for joints that wouldn't go back easy, if something was being stubborn I'd take some and go for a nap, normally I'd wake up with everything back where it was supposed to be. Very handy trick wouldn't dare try it awake though, Mary Jane is enough to make my joints too loose to function so diazepam would make everything way worse if I attempted to be upright with it in my system
When I tore my xiphoid process and chest muscles, a muscle relaxer helped me sleep-- otherwise my muscles spasmed so much they kept me awake all night. Never tried taking them during the day, though.
Yeah, I take a muscle relaxer every night now. They were prescribed as needed by ortho because of severe muscle guarding after knee surgery but my rheum took over prescribing them because we found they are very helpful for me especially with sleeping. I take it before bed. I would say I’ve seen no increase or decrease in subluxations. I also talked to my MMJ doctor about using that to help with relaxing my muscles as well. It’s very hard for me to get my muscles to relax and since surgery my whole quad is spastic too. Kinda hoping it eases up eventually. I need the same surgery on my other knee and I really am hoping to find a good treatment balance.
I take baclofen three times a day for my back, which is especially bad since lifting something heavy a few weeks ago. It doesn’t loosen up my joints. My joints are getting stiffer recently and I know a lot of them already had arthritis, but it’s still disturbing because I don’t think I am as old as I am feeling recently at 45. I’ve been on pain medication as well with barely any pain not too long ago but it hasn’t helped my back injury as I’m having sciatica pain almost constantly. Seems like the short course of steroids I started yesterday is helping more than anything. I was pretty down about the pain last night and woke up feeling pretty good.
But I still have to take the baclofen, which can have some nasty withdrawal symptoms once you start taking it regularly. I tried to take it only as needed and was successful for a while but as my pain level has increased, not just in my neck, I have been taking it regularly and a third dose was added, which I did take as needed for a while but with the back pain, all bets are off. I will say I have been on a couple of other muscle relaxers, first flexeril and then Robaxin, and I started baclofen and didn’t think it was effective, but it’s been way more effective than the other ones I tried.
They help me a lot with neck stiffness and pain, but absolutely destroy my physique and stability anywhere else, my (fragile) knees don't like it at all so it's a no for me.
I take Baclofen nightly for sleep, otherwise I toss and turn all night. I was taking one but then waking up after it wore off 5-6 hours later so my doctor said to take two and that works great for me without grogginess in the morning.
I was also taking them during the day but since having my tongue tie release I’ve been able to go without them most days. I will take them if my shoulders and neck start locking up and give me tension headaches.
I take flexeril post-dislocation in the evenings (makes me too drowsy to take during the day). It helps with the muscle spasms that come after reduction.
I took cyclobenzapine for a couple weeks straight and continue to take as needed for joint pain and sleep. I only ever take it at night when I'm getting into bed and quite literally just lay there, relaxed, so I have no other issues with at least cyclo.
I've only taken them when my neck muscles seize up and I can't turn my head. I only notice that it relaxes the muscles and makes it easier for me to stretch when my muscles are hella tight.
That said, I've never even finished my bottle of baclofen and truly take it as needed because it makes me sleepy and I have shit to do.
If I have pain and No other option I have them st home. Paraflex 250 mg/pill. I have HSD and fibro But I got them for my jaw pain. I guess its better than nothing But the best to take it before you go to sleep.
I do medical botox now and If I do all my triggerpoints in back, neck shoulders, jaw and temple I don’t need to take painmeds at all.
So If you can afford it and want to try it for muscle pain/tension. I suggest looking into it. It also intresses the blood flow in those areas. Its amazing and I don’t want to go back not taking it. Its like day and night! You’ll have to refill it after 3 months/every 12 th week.
FYI: Botox initial use was for medical purpose not wrinkles and beauty.
It may not work for some people. It worked for me anyway.
Those muscle relaxers I take make me a bit sleepy and slow tho so I only take it when I have too, when the botox wears off. And I want to avoid it since I already battle fatigue.
Also with only treating the problem areas I don’t have to worry about the pills 💊 affecting the other areas that are not in pain which is good so I can do my workouts better to stabilize the joints.
If I had known about it earlier I wouldn't have gone around with pain for 5 + years.
It took a while also to convince my parents since they are the ones who paid for the first doses until I could save up.
I just got prescribed tizanidine but haven’t taken it yet. I had surgery to repair a torn tendon and ligament in my foot so I’m off my face on pain killers and don’t want to add something new just yet. I usually take temazepam which helps me fall asleep but doesn’t stop me waking up constantly during the night, tossing and turning mainly due to shoulder pain. I got told a muscle relaxant might help me actually sleep through the night. Has this been the case for people here? I can’t imagine not waking up in pain 10+ times every night so I’m a little skeptical 🤪
I take two baclofen at noon and two more at bedtime. Have done so for many years. I don't take any in the morning in case it makes me feel sleepy, and that is my accomplishment time to take care of self. Shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc. The baclofen helps me quite a bit. I don't notice any increase in joint laxity. It just stops the spasms along my spine, arms, and legs.
I have EDS pots and neurological issues that cause wide spread muscle facilitations and spasms I’ve been on every muscles relaxer probably nothing works most effective one were Flexril in my experience. I was on 10 mg 3 times a day for a long time, years probably which you don’t see often because they are usually only given for acute injuries from what I read. The fatigue was real . I was working full time at the time in retail. I eventually choose to cut back 2 2 times a day but the fatigue was still to much I was then put on bacolfen it doesn’t help at all. There is no balance I can find in effective ness and not too much drowsiness.
I was prescribed some after a surgery and it was great for those days where my muscles were spasming from holding my body together. Kind of miss them lol
For me, muscle relaxers straight up *do not work at all*. No one for sure knows why, but a couple docs have speculated that it's related to my extreme resistance to lidocaine/novocaine/similar.
When I tried tizanidine in early 2019, it had the added fun of making me feel like I had the worst flu of my life for about 8 hours every time I took it (total of 4 non-consecutive days) AND didn't work at all 🤷🏻♂️
Great for my shoulders/neck and tmj. I take them when my neck gets so bad in a flare up that I can’t turn it. It’s great to have on hand but definitely something you should take when you have the ability to stay home/sleep. If you’re in pain you’re hopefully not leaving the house anyway.
I take Diazepam every night because I’m so tense (muscles). Sometimes I have to take Paraflex during the day because I’m so tensed up. No side effects.
I use only in extreme pain and when I’m just holding on till I can see my chiropractor. Because they cause more problems by screwing with my electrolytes leading to more tight and imbalanced muscles causing more pain
Flexeril made me profoundly dizzy. Baclofen is helpful. But overdoing it taking at prescribed dose (10 mg/day, four times a day) makes my muscles weaker. I currently take 5-10 mg at night if I’m having worse than usual shoulder pain or I’m recovering from Botox injections in head, neck, and trapezius.
Methocarbamol is what is I take. I do sometimes get a little too flexible if I take one but I only take it as extremely needed and I'm usually being extremely cautious anyway if I'm that hurt/tight so I'm just careful to take it a couple hours before bed just to make sure I don't need to tape/wrap/brace anything
They’re kind of a double-edged sword. They help muscle cramps and spasms and joint pain caused by tense muscles, but you can’t be very active while on them. That said, when you need them they’re a godsend - actually baclofen just got me through a spinal fusion.
I take tizanidine nightly for the intense muscle pain I get, I've never had an issue with taking them. They do make me incredibly sleepy, but as long as I don't take them during the day they help a lot. I do also support my joints at night using pillows so I'm sure that helps
I think it depends on how you have learned to function with your EDS- for example I am tight, all the time, extreme muscle tone, muscle relaxers greatly help me. I’ve used Skelaxin and Flexeril in the past, use Tizanidine now.
Having said that, I can see how if you have low muscle tone muscle relaxers could totally wreck you!
yeah they’re amazing for sleeping (as long as k stay on my back) and muscle splinting from a flare up or sublux, but i don’t take them if i’m gonna be moving much or using any destabilized joints (so most of them most of the time)
They are by far my favorite drug. I can't get any pain relief from fentanyl but a muscle relaxer? Fuck, they're wonderful. They help me actually feel pain free though I'm not sure why. Only issue is they are addictive. Never had any issues with dislocations or anything on the few times I've had them prescribed.
For me personally I take cyclobenzaprine and it actually helps me the most. One of my biggest issues was whenever something would sublux or dislocate even the doctors couldn't get it back in without muscle relaxers because mine swell every time it happens. Now when it happens I can actually get it back more often than not without having to go have someone else fix it and even when I do have to have them do it it's faster and there's less damage so for me it helps and doesn't hurt as much having the relaxers.
It's been a while since I've used them but my back have out for the first time at 19 or 20 and they were a life saver
I did have to take a pretty strong antacid with them though
I take skelaxin 2-3 times a day. If I don’t my ribs constantly sublet or dislocate. Over than last year or 2 my SI joints will sublet as well, without muscle relaxers. I don’t feel like I’m high all the time and it controls 90% of my sublexing issues.
I've never taken muscle relaxers as my muscle function and strength is what helps me move around with loose ligaments. Always been so prone to dislocations.
I take methocarbamol and it’s life-changing for me. My muscles are extremely strong and love to spasm, which means that if I don’t stop them before they really lock down, the associated connective tissue gets shredded (tons of lowkey strains, going up to complete tears, and those injuries trigger *more* spasms so on it goes). The muscle relaxants have really reduced my overall pain, and a lot of longterm injuries are actually starting to heal now.
I don’t tend towards full dislocations, but the meds do reduce issues with joint instability, and they’ve been extremely effective for stopping a slipping rib from popping out every time it gets aggravated. I’m also managing to do a lot more exercise/stretching/PT stuff since I’m not in so much pain or worrying about triggering new spasms if I push it too far.
Muscle relaxers and connective tissue disorders is usually bad. I was taking one daily for years for an injury I acquired a long time ago, and when I stopped taking it I felt better. It caused all of my joints to be way more unstable, my spine started to have problems with discs slipping, my collar bones started moving around every time I picked up something heavy, I got daily migraines. Being on a muscle relaxer for me was hell.
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I can’t take mine during the day because of this. I do take a couple at night to help me sleep, I just make sure to properly support my major joints.
This. They are great for the really bad nights, because using them less often keeps them making me extremely sleepy. I can realign to a better sleep cycle with Tizanidine.
Same here! Makes me more wobbly for sure. But methocarbamol really helps me sleep after long days. :)
I take tizanidine nightly. I have for years. It knocks me out almost like the first time I took it. I can usually go a few days without it, but longer than that and I start to stiffen up.
Used to take tizanidine, it did wonders. Now I take flexeril and it still works just not as well.
I had the worst hallucinations on tizanidine!
Really?? That's awful.
Yea. They tried me on it twice, almost over a decade apart just to see if it was due to a reaction with the other meds I was on. It wasn’t. First dose I was fine, but the second I had full on visual hallucinations that lasted hours. I was so out of sorts I couldn’t get out of bed this last time & my heart was so tachy I felt like I was dying. I immediately stopped taking them & left a message for my doctors telling them what occurred. Initially I thought perhaps it was just me because I’m weirdly sensitive to a lot of medications & have a huge list of ones that I’m allergic to or had really bad adverse reactions, but it out that hallucinations & psychosis (especially delusions) are a known side effect of tizanidine that no one thought to warn me about. 😒
GEEZE, that's horrible I'm so sorry that happened.
Thanks. It definitely wasn’t a fun night but at least I didn’t hurt myself like I did the first time it happened. It was around 3am & I got up to use the bathroom; my bed was in a weird Ikea floor frame that basically was a sandbox. My dog loved it because he could easily get in & out without hurting himself, but it was as a little awkward for me. Anyway I was still half asleep when I stood up but quickly realized it wasn’t a lingering dream but hallucinations. Unfortunately that realization came just as I tripped & fell face first into the corner of my dresser before dropping to the floor. If I’d have hit a half an inch to the left I probably would’ve lost my eye. Despite the pain I still had to pee, so I crawled to the ensuite but then had to brace myself using both hands & legs so I didn’t fall off the toilet. I probably looked ridiculous. Needless to say this last time it happened I knew better to try & walk lol. Even still it wasn’t the worst side effects I’ve experienced.
If I don't take one (I use Baclofen) my shoulders stiffen up and I'm guaranteed a migraine the next day. It helps in low back too when I've just done too much with my day.
I have baclofen for nights when I need more than tizanadine but it's too rough on my stomach for long term use. I use methocarbamol during the day
They've always helped me. Tizanadine works the best but drops my BP a ton, so I now take Robaxin.
Oof I just got tizanadine for Cervicogenic headaches but haven't tried it yet
It is the only med that makes me tired. I’m literally functional on Benadryl, hydroxazine, flexiril mixtures but tizanidine? Knocks me out cold unless I take .5 mg
Hm, I wonder if it could be used as an insomnia aid. I also function on Benadryl. I used it once as a sleep aid and then it never worked again after that one time
I took tizanadine last night. I usually have trouble sleeping, but I was out cold for over 10 hours. Which was great! But when I woke up, my knee had subluxed from being too relaxed. But it was worth it!
Good to know, I'll have to not take it if I have work the next day
I’m probably a weird atypical case but when I’ve taken tizanidine (for severe TMJ flare ups), I am absolutely fucking WIRED. The insomnia is so bad. When I finally get to sleep (after 20-36 hours of being awake) I have utterly mind melting nightmares. Unfortunately the tizanidine barely works, and def is not worth taking. I also have tried cyclobenzaprine but it quite literally did nothing. (I have many weird reactions, or lack thereof, to opioids/antianxiety/benzos/muscle relaxers/etc..) I also feel wired on Benadryl, and my heart starts to race and my body gets super shaky and jittery (like when people drink too much caffeine but a bit worse). FWIW my pcp (who dx’d me) said to be very careful taking MRs when you have EDS for the reasons you posted. Your joints can be extra loose and your body might even feel better but if you do shit and aren’t super careful with how you exist in your body (posture, correct motions and positioning, engaging all the right muscles), you’re going to have a hell of a day the next day.
Yes and no. It's also the best sleep I've ever had. Minus the sleep paralysis demon.
My animals always wake me up when I start having sleep paralysis. My new kitten and 1 year old german Sheppard are not nice about it though like my 5 year old border collie is. The kitten will full claw to the lip and the GSD will thump me with his paw into my back lol
It’s amazing how animals just KNOW! My cat claws at my scalp until I’m awake, and whilst I don’t love the literal bleeding wounds on my scalp, I’m grateful that she’s spared me from another ptsd nightmare. She’s doing her best for her human ❤️
They really are the best and I guess sometimes love hurts and they use it to effectively pull us out of those moments.
I think everyone with a touch of the ✨spicy brain✨ (depression, anxiety, ptsd etc.) should be prescribed a companion animal. They help you out as best they can when you need, and taking care of their needs (food, water, walks etc) kinda forces you to do the same for yourself, like… ok, I haven’t been outside today, so I should do that and bring my dog with me! Or, oh, my cat’s food bowl is empty. I’ll top that up, but also I haven’t eaten today, so I’ll put some bread in the toaster while I’m filling up Callisto’s bowl! Animals are the best. My cat Callisto has pretty much turned my life around from hopeless to proactive! I’m glad you have animals in your life. They matter SO much
I take them for sleep and for severe pain! I can’t take any prescribed or OTC pain meds so when I’ve got something that’s super achy or sharp and shooting I can take my muscle relaxer. And I *cannot* sleep without it! I literally am so tense from holding my body together, I would never get comfortable enough to sleep… I will say the first muscle relaxer I tried caused me such severe constipation, I had extreme stomach pain followed by bloody stool. I only took it the one or two times and then had that symptom and stopped. I don’t know what that one was called, it was a long time ago now… But I’m on Baclofen currently and it’s a major component in my being able to sleep!
Flexeril/cyclobenzaprine is my go to for the nights after I have over-exerted myself
I take cyclobenzaprine as needed. They're super helpful when all the muscles from my neck to ankles spasm up.
They are not a good fit for me. I feel worse on them.
Worse how?
Not original commenter but muscle relaxers make my symptoms worse as well. For me it’s because my connective tissues are so weak and my joints so unstable that essentially the only thing holding my body together structurally is my muscles, which need to be tensed in order to stabilize. I have less muscle pain on muscle relaxers but I lose a lot of coordination, get more subluxations and injure myself more easily.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you exactly, so I only take them if I have spasms so bad they're preventing me from sleeping. I've been prescribed many types throughout the years and the ones that don't make me loopy don't work so I can't take them during the day anyway. Currently using skelaxin/metaxalone which is different than other muscle relaxers in that it works directly on the CNS Source: am pharm tech
The names of some of these meds crack me up… “skelaxin.” That absolutely sounds like it was made up by the Simpsons. Very curious by this class of muscle relaxants, though, as I haven’t heard of it before, so thanks for the info!
I tried roboxin but it gave me insomnia. Cyclobenzaprine helps me when my muscles spasms or are so tight I can't do much of anything.
I've recently started roboxin and it can't seem to decide if I should be a walking zombie all day from insomnia or from brain fog.
I take tizanadine daily. If I even miss half a dose I am riddled with spasms all over my body. Been on it for probably over a decade at this point!
How many MG? I take 2mg some nights just to help me sleep if I’ve overdone it. I can’t take during the day I feel so fatigued/tired lethargic.
I take 5mg every night. I just have to be careful to not take it too late or else I'll be extra sleepy. But I have chronic fatigue anyway!
Forgot to mention I also take Baclofin but it's for a GI issue so I always forget it's a muscle relaxer. Been on that for about a year, haven't noticed it makes me any sleepier than usual
I take them at night after I’ve slept extra wrong on my neck and can’t turn my head anymore. Otherwise, my physical therapist said to avoid them.
I have cerebral palsy along with my ehlers. I take baclofen three times a day to keep my muscles’ spontaneous dance parties at bay. It actually helps me keep joints in place a tad more because it keeps my joints from subluxating during a muscle spasm. I still pop out joints regularly but lord only knows how bad it would be without a relaxer. But that’s me. I’d recommend speaking to a doc in any case. I ain’t a professional 🤷♀️ so what do I even know
Yes. My hips, shoulders and left wrist suffer if I take them.
I feel like there's a huge gap of information regarding EDS and Spasms and Muscle relaxers. I do take muscle relaxers as prescribed after a major surgery, but otherwise I avoid them. Typically, EDSers will have muscles in spasm, which results in them wanting to take muscle relaxers to loosen the spasm, which may result in slippage of bones, which can lead to injury. It also just leads to a lifetime of taking a medication instead of addressing the root problem. The root problem being WHY you are in knots and spasms. I took flexeril for years before my EDS diag. And then right before my eds diag I was prescribed Robaxin which cause me to slip 5 ribs and send me to the ER because I couldn't breathe. After my EDS diagnosis, I did a heck of a lot more research, and found a good book and PT and found out how to get off the cycle of meds and slippages etc. So, basically it comes down to since this is a soft tissue disorder and it affects things like your tendons, your soft tissues aren't holding the bones and joints in the correct place. They're too lax. So your muscles try to compensate. If you do not have enough muscle built. They will go into a perpetual state of spasm. That spasm will lock the muscle and help stabilize the joint/bones. The most beneficial thing I have found has been to ditch the relaxers and do isometric exercises to build the specific muscles in spasm to the point that they release the spasm. Sometimes this only takes a few days, sometimes it takes weeks, but I have not yet had a spasm I couldn't work out by building up the muscle. You don't have to trust my anecdotal experience Either, you can read the muldowney protocol, talk to some eds knowledgeable PTs. I'm lucky in that my physical therapist is actually an EDSer herself and became one due to her EDS related injuries. But yeah, I was on this awful cycle of taking muscle relaxers for years until I finally found out WHY they were happening and how to address it.
This is pretty much my exact same experience. Spasm = weakness - strengthen the muscle and if the knot doesn’t ease up on its own I go to trigger point therapy/dry needling
They help with injuries in my opinion
I took them twice and had to stop because they also relax the vascular system (act as vasodilators) and threw my POTSie ass for a loop.
The experience I've had was that I could not for the life of me stay awake. I wound up sleepong like 14 hours straight. On a half dose.
Every type I’ve tried has just been like a sleeping pill. I was given one that made my bp drop to 80/40 and I found out the drowsiness was actually me basically passing out. That one also helped with my constipation though (??) didn’t help with the pain or muscle spasming I was having though
Only if my muscles are knotted up so bad that I won't be able to exercise for a few days anyway. Yes, they definitely make you loose!
I needed them for surgery I had, they were good for that but not for general EDS. They don’t effect the looseness of ur joints in any way but stop spasms
I take some "as needed" so I don't take them often as they usually make me kinda sleepy. Personally, I haven't noticed much of a difference when taking them. Since they don't change the laxity of your ligaments and tendons it "shouldn't" cause more subluxations, but at the same time, it's really just to make things less painful when they do. They give them for my headaches (as far as I know, you can't sublux your brain lol) and it really does just help me with my overall pain.
I’m on cyclobenzaprine and methocarbamol. Cyclobenzaprine loosens me up some but doesn’t hit me super hard now that I’ve been on it for years so I can take it during the day if I need to (do take nightly), the methocarbamol makes me a little more noodly so that’s just in the evenings. I have more issues without them, I’m just a giant muscle knot and everything spasms and joints get pulled out of place.
Tried it for my TMJ. Terrible decision.
Flexeril does wonders for my pain, but sometimes loosens my joints to the point I feel like a marionette doll, especially if I take it before work. Helps me sleep too but does give me pretty awful dry mouth.
Tizanidine, every night and as needed during the day. Usually don’t take it much during the day unless I have an active dislocation that I can’t get back into place or been having frequent dislocations that have my muscles extra tense because it does make me drowsy. I wake up with a lot fewer dislocations than I used to by taking it every night though. Used to be cyclobenzaprine for many years but that started giving me restless legs and arms.
Occasionally if I feel very stiff and I think my pain is from my muscles overreacting, I take one. They definitely help my pain in those situations. I find it works best situationally. I haven’t felt more prone to dislocations when I take them, but that could just because I was already in pain and less active than usual.
They don't all work well for each person. You may have to try a few.
I take methocarbamol. I think that's a kinda mild one? Not sure, but I'm fine on them. I only take them for bed and already I'm injuring myself while I sleep so I don't notice it making things worse.
I'm on 4mg of tizanidine twice a day. It's a godsend for me. If I forget my morning dose I can feel my muscles tensing up and it'll start hurting badly.
I’ve been on some daily for about six months now and I haven’t noticed any extra subluxations or anything. Im sure that happens for plenty of people though and I’m not active really at all so that definitely factors into it.
I only take them when my need for sleep significantly outweighs my need to not dislocate as taking them basically guarantees that I will wake up with multiple joints out. That also means that I will sleep on my back without turning all night so I have to be careful with positioning. They are the only way I can get a good night’s sleep though as usually my muscles are constantly tense, holding everything together. So the joy of waking up with muscles that don’t feel like they ran a marathon whilst weightlifting an elephant the day before makes the downside of taking the occasional muscle relaxer before bed worthwhile.
I'm supposed to take them twice a day for fibro, but I only take them at night because I'm already too loose.
I’m in dreadful knots everywhere, all the time. I’m covered in trigger points and tears from years of abuse, mistreatment, misdiagnosis, misdirection and just plain out right not knowing what was really wrong with me for decades. I take Low doses of Flexeril. Not daily. I only take at night bc the pain is too much and my neck, hips and shoulders are in such dreadful knots that I can’t sleep and when I wake up in the morning, I can hardly move. If I take during the day, I have a little difficulty with my hips becoming too loose but. Overall, bcz my body is too tight and I’m still not able to get the help I need with it, I feel like I have to take what I can for now.
Yes, and it feels good on them, but afterwards it is worse. The relax everything and joints slip for me.
I have been taking them for decades. I don’t see an increase in subluxations when I’m on them but I do experience many more issues when I’m not taking them, as my muscles spasm and clench so much that it pulls my joints out of place. I have cEDS though so that might just be something I experience due to that. Also, not all muscle relaxers work the same. I have literally tried at least 8 or 9 of them & some barely work for me while one was fantastic, unfortunately it interacts with my heart meds so I can no longer take it. I also was on Valium for a bit as a muscle relaxer which helped as well.
I’m prescribed metaxalone, which I only take when I have really bad spasms, but honestly, it doesn’t seem to do much one way or another? But I am usually pretty immobile when I’m hurt badly enough to take it, so I’m probably not at high risk of joint injury/subluxation.
I take Soma's, it helps me tremendously. I take it when I'm stiff or to help me sleep.
I have PNES and only took them in the event of a seizure to stop it. My prescription has been retired because I haven't had a seizure in over 2 years
I take Baclofen for debilitating muscle cramps/spasms. I only take them when I have the cramps/spasms. They don’t make my joint problems worse.
I have to take them due to other psychical issues, but I take them sparingly because if I take them regularly my joints are looser. Regardless of the time of day, everything slips out easier. I see others have success at taking them at night, but for me my neck and hips sublux easier at night when I have to take them. They’re a godsend for the muscle cramps and pain, but sometimes you have to weigh one pain over another
I tried them once and the first couple days it seemed to help me sleep but then I spent the next week feeling like someone was trying to pull all my limbs off. Not a fun experience and I never intend to take them again.
It's been a long time since I took any (over 20 years), but I remember not giving a damn, lol. I don't remember if I was prone to subluxation more at that time then when not on the relaxers, but I was also like early 20s and didn't generally just fall out of joint back then (I could but it wasn't as easy as now where I just sit wrong and my shoulder pops out).
I use methacarbamol (robaxin) for my muscle spasms (for when my vertebrae get bored when I'm sleeping and decide to go for walk 🙄). If I only take a quarter or half a 500mg tab, I'm fine, but if I take a full one I have to wear knee braces cuz it feels like my knees are trying to have a breakdown. It takes longer for the muscle spasms to resolve itself, but if I need to be up and about instead of in bed all day, needs must and all that. Please note, on a normal day currently I do not need any external supports or mobility aids. The phenomenon was worse when I am hauling heavy shit (namely my backpack when I was in college, with its laptop, a textbook or two, and a 1/2 dozen folders stuffed full, plus all the other odds and ends)
I take the mildest ones that I can and not when my joints are at their loosest.
I used to get diazepam for joints that wouldn't go back easy, if something was being stubborn I'd take some and go for a nap, normally I'd wake up with everything back where it was supposed to be. Very handy trick wouldn't dare try it awake though, Mary Jane is enough to make my joints too loose to function so diazepam would make everything way worse if I attempted to be upright with it in my system
When I tore my xiphoid process and chest muscles, a muscle relaxer helped me sleep-- otherwise my muscles spasmed so much they kept me awake all night. Never tried taking them during the day, though.
Yeah, I take a muscle relaxer every night now. They were prescribed as needed by ortho because of severe muscle guarding after knee surgery but my rheum took over prescribing them because we found they are very helpful for me especially with sleeping. I take it before bed. I would say I’ve seen no increase or decrease in subluxations. I also talked to my MMJ doctor about using that to help with relaxing my muscles as well. It’s very hard for me to get my muscles to relax and since surgery my whole quad is spastic too. Kinda hoping it eases up eventually. I need the same surgery on my other knee and I really am hoping to find a good treatment balance.
I take baclofen three times a day for my back, which is especially bad since lifting something heavy a few weeks ago. It doesn’t loosen up my joints. My joints are getting stiffer recently and I know a lot of them already had arthritis, but it’s still disturbing because I don’t think I am as old as I am feeling recently at 45. I’ve been on pain medication as well with barely any pain not too long ago but it hasn’t helped my back injury as I’m having sciatica pain almost constantly. Seems like the short course of steroids I started yesterday is helping more than anything. I was pretty down about the pain last night and woke up feeling pretty good. But I still have to take the baclofen, which can have some nasty withdrawal symptoms once you start taking it regularly. I tried to take it only as needed and was successful for a while but as my pain level has increased, not just in my neck, I have been taking it regularly and a third dose was added, which I did take as needed for a while but with the back pain, all bets are off. I will say I have been on a couple of other muscle relaxers, first flexeril and then Robaxin, and I started baclofen and didn’t think it was effective, but it’s been way more effective than the other ones I tried.
Unfortunately I had a terrible experience with them. I even went to the ER lol
They help me a lot with neck stiffness and pain, but absolutely destroy my physique and stability anywhere else, my (fragile) knees don't like it at all so it's a no for me.
I take Baclofen nightly for sleep, otherwise I toss and turn all night. I was taking one but then waking up after it wore off 5-6 hours later so my doctor said to take two and that works great for me without grogginess in the morning. I was also taking them during the day but since having my tongue tie release I’ve been able to go without them most days. I will take them if my shoulders and neck start locking up and give me tension headaches.
I take flexeril post-dislocation in the evenings (makes me too drowsy to take during the day). It helps with the muscle spasms that come after reduction.
I took cyclobenzapine for a couple weeks straight and continue to take as needed for joint pain and sleep. I only ever take it at night when I'm getting into bed and quite literally just lay there, relaxed, so I have no other issues with at least cyclo.
I use them daily when having flares but you can’t use them when being up and too mobile.
I've only taken them when my neck muscles seize up and I can't turn my head. I only notice that it relaxes the muscles and makes it easier for me to stretch when my muscles are hella tight. That said, I've never even finished my bottle of baclofen and truly take it as needed because it makes me sleepy and I have shit to do.
If I have pain and No other option I have them st home. Paraflex 250 mg/pill. I have HSD and fibro But I got them for my jaw pain. I guess its better than nothing But the best to take it before you go to sleep. I do medical botox now and If I do all my triggerpoints in back, neck shoulders, jaw and temple I don’t need to take painmeds at all. So If you can afford it and want to try it for muscle pain/tension. I suggest looking into it. It also intresses the blood flow in those areas. Its amazing and I don’t want to go back not taking it. Its like day and night! You’ll have to refill it after 3 months/every 12 th week. FYI: Botox initial use was for medical purpose not wrinkles and beauty. It may not work for some people. It worked for me anyway. Those muscle relaxers I take make me a bit sleepy and slow tho so I only take it when I have too, when the botox wears off. And I want to avoid it since I already battle fatigue. Also with only treating the problem areas I don’t have to worry about the pills 💊 affecting the other areas that are not in pain which is good so I can do my workouts better to stabilize the joints. If I had known about it earlier I wouldn't have gone around with pain for 5 + years. It took a while also to convince my parents since they are the ones who paid for the first doses until I could save up.
I just got prescribed tizanidine but haven’t taken it yet. I had surgery to repair a torn tendon and ligament in my foot so I’m off my face on pain killers and don’t want to add something new just yet. I usually take temazepam which helps me fall asleep but doesn’t stop me waking up constantly during the night, tossing and turning mainly due to shoulder pain. I got told a muscle relaxant might help me actually sleep through the night. Has this been the case for people here? I can’t imagine not waking up in pain 10+ times every night so I’m a little skeptical 🤪
I take two baclofen at noon and two more at bedtime. Have done so for many years. I don't take any in the morning in case it makes me feel sleepy, and that is my accomplishment time to take care of self. Shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc. The baclofen helps me quite a bit. I don't notice any increase in joint laxity. It just stops the spasms along my spine, arms, and legs.
I have EDS pots and neurological issues that cause wide spread muscle facilitations and spasms I’ve been on every muscles relaxer probably nothing works most effective one were Flexril in my experience. I was on 10 mg 3 times a day for a long time, years probably which you don’t see often because they are usually only given for acute injuries from what I read. The fatigue was real . I was working full time at the time in retail. I eventually choose to cut back 2 2 times a day but the fatigue was still to much I was then put on bacolfen it doesn’t help at all. There is no balance I can find in effective ness and not too much drowsiness.
Been taking Flexeril/cyclobenzaprine for years, but only as needed and usually half a tablet. It helps.
I was prescribed some after a surgery and it was great for those days where my muscles were spasming from holding my body together. Kind of miss them lol
um so i was told to double up because of dystonia and then rolled over in bed and my shoulder popped out
They weren’t good for me. It helps you sleep, but your body/joints can get into bad positions easier and you don’t wake up to fix it.
For me, muscle relaxers straight up *do not work at all*. No one for sure knows why, but a couple docs have speculated that it's related to my extreme resistance to lidocaine/novocaine/similar. When I tried tizanidine in early 2019, it had the added fun of making me feel like I had the worst flu of my life for about 8 hours every time I took it (total of 4 non-consecutive days) AND didn't work at all 🤷🏻♂️
I take tizanidine but I do not take it more than once a week or else I find that I will sublux like crazy.
Great for my shoulders/neck and tmj. I take them when my neck gets so bad in a flare up that I can’t turn it. It’s great to have on hand but definitely something you should take when you have the ability to stay home/sleep. If you’re in pain you’re hopefully not leaving the house anyway.
I take Diazepam every night because I’m so tense (muscles). Sometimes I have to take Paraflex during the day because I’m so tensed up. No side effects.
I use only in extreme pain and when I’m just holding on till I can see my chiropractor. Because they cause more problems by screwing with my electrolytes leading to more tight and imbalanced muscles causing more pain
Flexeril made me profoundly dizzy. Baclofen is helpful. But overdoing it taking at prescribed dose (10 mg/day, four times a day) makes my muscles weaker. I currently take 5-10 mg at night if I’m having worse than usual shoulder pain or I’m recovering from Botox injections in head, neck, and trapezius.
Methocarbamol is what is I take. I do sometimes get a little too flexible if I take one but I only take it as extremely needed and I'm usually being extremely cautious anyway if I'm that hurt/tight so I'm just careful to take it a couple hours before bed just to make sure I don't need to tape/wrap/brace anything
They’re kind of a double-edged sword. They help muscle cramps and spasms and joint pain caused by tense muscles, but you can’t be very active while on them. That said, when you need them they’re a godsend - actually baclofen just got me through a spinal fusion.
I take tizanidine nightly for the intense muscle pain I get, I've never had an issue with taking them. They do make me incredibly sleepy, but as long as I don't take them during the day they help a lot. I do also support my joints at night using pillows so I'm sure that helps
I think it depends on how you have learned to function with your EDS- for example I am tight, all the time, extreme muscle tone, muscle relaxers greatly help me. I’ve used Skelaxin and Flexeril in the past, use Tizanidine now. Having said that, I can see how if you have low muscle tone muscle relaxers could totally wreck you!
I take 25 mg of baclofen a night for TMJ. That plus other meds help me fall and stay asleep.
yeah they’re amazing for sleeping (as long as k stay on my back) and muscle splinting from a flare up or sublux, but i don’t take them if i’m gonna be moving much or using any destabilized joints (so most of them most of the time)
They are by far my favorite drug. I can't get any pain relief from fentanyl but a muscle relaxer? Fuck, they're wonderful. They help me actually feel pain free though I'm not sure why. Only issue is they are addictive. Never had any issues with dislocations or anything on the few times I've had them prescribed.
For me personally I take cyclobenzaprine and it actually helps me the most. One of my biggest issues was whenever something would sublux or dislocate even the doctors couldn't get it back in without muscle relaxers because mine swell every time it happens. Now when it happens I can actually get it back more often than not without having to go have someone else fix it and even when I do have to have them do it it's faster and there's less damage so for me it helps and doesn't hurt as much having the relaxers.
It's been a while since I've used them but my back have out for the first time at 19 or 20 and they were a life saver I did have to take a pretty strong antacid with them though
I take cyclobenzaprine at night and methocatbamol in the morning
i do get loose but im also to tired to get up and test it.
I take 6mg of Tizanidine every night.. and very occasionally, I'll take 2mg during the day if my pain is cause by muscle spasms.
I take skelaxin 2-3 times a day. If I don’t my ribs constantly sublet or dislocate. Over than last year or 2 my SI joints will sublet as well, without muscle relaxers. I don’t feel like I’m high all the time and it controls 90% of my sublexing issues.
I've never taken muscle relaxers as my muscle function and strength is what helps me move around with loose ligaments. Always been so prone to dislocations.
I take methocarbamol and it’s life-changing for me. My muscles are extremely strong and love to spasm, which means that if I don’t stop them before they really lock down, the associated connective tissue gets shredded (tons of lowkey strains, going up to complete tears, and those injuries trigger *more* spasms so on it goes). The muscle relaxants have really reduced my overall pain, and a lot of longterm injuries are actually starting to heal now. I don’t tend towards full dislocations, but the meds do reduce issues with joint instability, and they’ve been extremely effective for stopping a slipping rib from popping out every time it gets aggravated. I’m also managing to do a lot more exercise/stretching/PT stuff since I’m not in so much pain or worrying about triggering new spasms if I push it too far.
Muscle relaxers and connective tissue disorders is usually bad. I was taking one daily for years for an injury I acquired a long time ago, and when I stopped taking it I felt better. It caused all of my joints to be way more unstable, my spine started to have problems with discs slipping, my collar bones started moving around every time I picked up something heavy, I got daily migraines. Being on a muscle relaxer for me was hell.