What You Need to Know About Soma
If you suffer from muscle pain, your doctor may prescribe a muscle relaxant. If you’re considering Soma, there are some things you need to know about this drug before you start taking it.
What is Soma? What does it do?
Soma is a brand name of the drug carisoprodol, which is prescribed as a muscle relaxant.1
It is sometimes prescribed as a compound, mixed with other drugs such as aspirin or aspirin and codeine.2
Carisoprodol breaks down in the body to meprobamate, a chemical that is considered a controlled substance.3
Does Soma work?
A 2003 review of published studies on carisoprodol (Soma) “produced little evidence” that carisoprodol was effective for controlling pain and found that patients with a history of substance abuse were likely to abuse it. The report recommended that carisoprodol be removed from the market, reclassified as controlled substance and that alternative sedatives should be used to manage withdrawal symptoms.4
While some patients in online forums reported that Soma helped alleviate their symptoms, you should be aware that most online patient discussion groups or forums are sponsored by drug manufacturers and may be “moderated.” Negative opinions or experiences can be deleted from the forum without the readers knowing this, and without a clear acknowledgment that the website or forum is sponsored by the drug manufacturer.
Other patients reported that it was not effective for them and did not alleviate their symptoms.5
What should I ask my doctor about before I decide to start taking Soma?
Soma (carisoprodol) has some side effects. Research has shown that it is very addictive and patients may have withdrawal symptoms when stopping the drug. Soma has a sedation effect and driving while taking it can result in more and more serious motor vehicle accidents.6
What if I’m already taking Soma?
Never stop taking any prescription medication without talking to your doctor. If you are concerned about Soma or experience any adverse effects, talk to your doctor.
Learn everything that you can about Soma before you start taking it.
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1 PubMed, “Carisoprodol” (reviewed 1 August 2010; retrieved 2 November 2010), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000717/
2 Food and Drug Administration, “Soma Compound” (updated 19 June 2009, retrieved 2 November 2012), http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/Safety-RelatedDrugLabelingChanges/ucm153694.htm;
National Institutes of Health, “Soma Compound with Codeine” (retrieved 2 November 2012), http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=5704
3 J Addict Dis , Reeves RR et al., “Carisoprodol (soma): abuse potential
and physician unawareness ” (1999), http://www.biopsychiatry.com/meprobamate.htm; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Carisoprodol (And Meprobamate)”, http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/job185drugs/carisoprodol.htm Meprobamate is a tranquilizer, prescribed for anxiety, and has been sold under the brand names Miltown, PubMed, “Meprobamate”, (1 October 2010) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000567/
4 Hospital Pharmacy, Bothby LA et al., “Carisoprodol: A marginally effective skeletal muscle relaxant with serious abuse potential,” (2003) http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14978315
5 askapatient.com, Patient Forums (retrieved 14 September 2012), http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=11792&name=soma
6 Food and Drug Administration, “Soma” (updated 25 November 2009, retrieved 2 November 2012), http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/ucm191961.htm
Accid. Anal, Prev., Bramness JG et al., “The risk of traffic accidents after prescriptions of cairsoprodol,” (23 March 2007), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17854578
Br J Clin Pharmacol., Bramness, J et al., “Carisoprodol use and abuse in Norway. A pharmacoepidemiological study” (August 2007), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2000626/