What is Soma / Carisoprodol?

Soma is the brand name given to the prescription drug Carisoprodol (pronounced 'kar eye soe PROE dole'), a muscle relaxant that is used to relieve pain from strains, sprains and other painful musculoskeletal conditions. It is often used in conjunction with physical therapy to treat injuries. It works directly on the central nervous system by blocking the pain receptors between the brain and the site of the injury. The typical dosage of Soma / Carisoprodol is a 350mg pill or tablet taken orally every 8 hours up to 3 times a day.

Other BRAND names of Carisoprodol include: EZE-DS, Maolate, Paraflex, Parafon, Forte DSC, Relaxazone, Remular, Remular-S, Robaxin, Robaxin-750, Skelaxin, Strifon, Forte DSC, Vanadom.

Side Effects of Soma / Carisoprodol

Soma / Carisoprodol can cause the following side effects:

- Drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Poor coordination
- Headache
- Fast heart rate
- Upset stomach
- Vomiting
- Insomnia
- Skin rash

Withdrawal Symptoms of Soma / Carisoprodol

Soma / Carisoprodol withdrwal symptoms can include:

- Abdominal cramps
- Headache
- Insomnia
- Chills
- Nausea

Soma / Carisoprodol in the NEWS

March 18 / 2008

(Frank Berger) developer of the pain reliever carisoprodol (brand-named Soma) dies at the age of 94.

September 14 / 2007

MedPointe Pharmaceuticals today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved SOMA(R) (carisoprodol) 250 mg as a new recommended dose of SOMA for the relief of discomfort associated with acute, painful musculoskeletal conditions, such as backache. SOMA 250 mg offers comparable efficacy to the widely prescribed skeletal muscle relaxant SOMA 350 mg with a more favorable tolerability profile, including less drowsiness. SOMA 250 mg will be available by prescription nationwide immediately.

March 6 / 2007

Woman who took Soma before crash gets 14 years.

The impaired Strongsville woman who killed a Bellevue woman after driving the wrong way on the Ohio Turnpike last March was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison.

Holly McCullum, 34, was severely impaired by a prescription pain-relieving drug when she drove her Jeep Cherokee the wrong way out of a service plaza near Amherst on March 2, police said.

McCullum's vehicle collided with a PT Cruiser driven by Tina Howard, whose mother, Evelyn Kamann, 59, of Bellevue, was killed. Howard and her son, Andrew, 15, were seriously hurt.

McCullum was under the influence of Soma (carisoprodol), a muscle relaxer that can cause disorientation and temporary vision loss, police said.

The drug carries warnings against driving, but McCullum told police she was stressed and took the drug the morning of the accident, police said.

McCullum pleaded no contest in December to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated vehicular assault and one count of driving under the influence in Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Feb. 7 / 2007

Idaho State lawmakers are again considering restricting a the prescription muscle relaxant Carisoprodol that some legislators say has a potential for abuse.

Known by the brand name Soma, the drug Carisoprodol is not regulated as a Schedule IV drug in Idaho. But Rep. Robert Ring, R-Caldwell and a doctor, said the body turns carisoprodol into meprobamate – a Schedule IV drug – and needs to be regulated.

Schedule IV drugs require a doctor's permission for more than five refills or after more than six months.

Ring's similar proposal last year stalled in a Senate committee following lobbying by the drug's manufacturer, Medpointe Pharmaceuticals of Somerset, N.J. Skip Smyser, a former state senator, represents the firm.

Nov. 5 / 2006

Impairment due to intake of carisoprodol
By: BRAMNESS Jørgen G, SKURTVEIT Svetlana and MØRLAND Jørg

Background: Carisoprodol is a centrally acting muscle relaxant commonly used for lower back pain. It is a drug of abuse and has been detected among impaired drivers. Carisoprodol's active metabolite meprobamate is thought to act through the GABA[A] receptor complex and produces a well-known impairing effect. It is unclear whether therapeutic intake of carisoprodol leads to impairment, and the effect of supratherapeutic doses has not been investigated. Possible impairment could further be a product of the parent drug and/or the metabolite meprobamate. The present study aimed to investigate if carisoprodol had an impairing effect by it self.
Methods: From the database at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division for Forensic Toxicology and Drug Abuse 62 cases containing carisoprodol and meprobamate as only drugs were identified. These cases constituted our material.

Results: Impaired drivers (73%) had higher blood carisoprodol concentration than not impaired drivers (27%), but no difference in blood meprobamate concentration was found for all the drivers viewed together. Amongst occasional users of carisoprodol, however, there was difference in blood meprobamate concentration between not impaired and impaired drivers. The risk of being judged impaired rose with increasing blood carisoprodol concentration, but not with increasing blood meprobamate concentration. The clinical effects of carisoprodol as measured by the clinical test for impairment (CTI) resembled those of benzodiazepines with some important differences such as tachycardia, involuntary movements, hand tremor and horizontal gaze nystagmus, which may be specific carisoprodol effects.

Conclusion: Carisoprodol probably has an impairing effect by itself, at least at blood concentration levels above which can be seen after therapeutic intake of the drug.

Sept. 27 / 2006

FDA Safety Changes: Tysabri and Soma
By: Yael Waknine

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved safety labeling revisions to advise that natalizumab intravenous infusion is linked to a risk for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and is therefore only available through a restricted distribution program; carisoprodol is linked to a risk for allergic and idiosyncratic reactions.
Carisoprodol (Soma) Linked to Risk for Idiosyncratic and Allergic Reactions

On June 8, the FDA approved safety labeling revisions for carisoprodol 350-mg tablets (Soma, made by MedPointe Pharmaceuticals, Inc) to advise of the risks for allergic and idiosyncratic reactions associated with its use.

The FDA warned that the first dose of carisoprodol has been followed very rarely by idiosyncratic symptoms that appear within minutes or hours, including extreme weakness, transient quadriplegia, dizziness, ataxia, temporary loss of vision, diplopia, mydriasis, dysarthria, agitation, euphoria, confusion, and disorientation. Although these effects usually subside over the course of the next several hours, supportive and symptomatic therapy (including hospitalization) may be necessary.

In addition, allergic reactions have been reported to occur between the first and fourth doses in carisoprodol-naive patients with cross-reaction to meprobamate, a carisoprodol metabolite. Symptoms have included skin rash, erythema multiforme, pruritus, eosinophilia, and fixed drug eruption; severe reactions have manifested as asthmatic episodes, fever, weakness, dizziness, angioneurotic edema, smarting eyes, hypotension, and anaphylactoid shock.

Carisoprodol should be discontinued in patients with allergic or idiosyncratic reactions, and appropriate therapy symptomatic therapy initiated. This may include use of epinephrine, antihistamines, and (in severe cases) corticosteroids.

The FDA notes that use of carisoprodol is contraindicated in patients with acute intermittent porphyria and those who are allergic to or who have had idiosyncratic reactions to carisoprodol or meprobamate-related compounds.

Because of its potential for sedative effects, carisoprodol should be used with caution in patients using alcohol, other central nervous system depressants, or psychotropic drugs; concomitant use of carisoprodol and meprobamate is not advised.

Carisoprodol is indicated as an adjunct to rest, physical therapy, and other measures for the relief of discomfort associated with acute, painful musculoskeletal conditions; its safety and efficacy in patients aged 12 years and younger have not been established. Carisoprodol should be used with caution in addiction-prone individuals.

Meprobamate is indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of anxiety symptoms.