Drug Uses

Skelaxin is a muscle relaxant. Skelaxin is used to treat the pain and stiffness of muscle injuries, including strains, sprains and muscle spasms.

How Taken

Skelaxin comes as a tablet to take by mouth. The recommended dose for adults and children over 12 years of age is two tablets (800 mg) three to four times a day. Skelaxin may be taken with food or immediately after meals to prevent stomach upset. Do not increase your dose, take it more frequently or take it for a longer period of time than prescribed by your doctor.

Warnings/Precautions

Do not take Skelaxin if you have acute intermittent porphyria. Before taking Skelaxin, tell your doctor if you have liver disease. You may need a lower dose or special monitoring during your therapy. It is not known whether Skelaxin will harm an unborn baby. Do not take Skelaxin without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant. It is also not known whether Skelaxin passes into breast milk. Do not take Skelaxin without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Skelaxin is not approved for use in children younger than 12 years of age.

Missed Dose

If you miss a dose of Skelaxin, take as soon as remembered within 1 hour. Otherwise skip that dose and resume usual dosing schedule. Do not "double-up" the dose to catch up.

Possible Side Effects

The most frequent reactions to Skelaxin include nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal upset, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, and nervousness or "irritability." Other adverse reactions are: hypersensitivity reactions, characterized by a light rash with or without pruritus; leukopenia; hemolytic anemia; jaundice.

Storage

Store Skelaxin at room temperature between 59 and 86 degrees F (between 15 and 30 degrees C) away from moisture and sunlight. Do not store in the bathroom.

Overdose

If overdose is suspected, contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. Symptoms of overdose may include severe drowsiness or unconsciousness.

More Information

Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Skelaxin may cause dizziness or drowsiness. If you experience dizziness or drowsiness, avoid these activities. Use alcohol cautiously. Alcohol may increase drowsiness and dizziness while you are taking Skelaxin.

Disclaimer

This drug information is for your information purposes only, it is not intended that this information covers all uses, directions, drug interactions, precautions, or adverse effects of your medication. This is only general information, and should not be relied on for any purpose. It should not be construed as containing specific instructions for any particular patient. We disclaim all responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of this information, and/or any consequences arising from the use of this information, including damage or adverse consequences to persons or property, however such damages or consequences arise. No warranty, either expressed or implied, is made in regards to this information.

Other info about Skelaxin at Wikipedia.org and other resources:

Muscle relaxants for pain management in rheumatoid arthritis
Source: Cochrane Library Area: Evidence > Drug Class Focused Reviews Background Pain management is a high priority for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Muscle relaxants include drugs that reduce muscle spasm (for example benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan) and non-benzodiazepines such as metaxalone (Skelaxin) or a combination of paracetamol and orphenadrine (Muscol)) and drugs that prevent increased muscle tone (baclofen and dantrolene). Despite a paucity of evidence supporting their use, antispasmodic and antispasticity muscle relaxants have gained widespread clinical acceptance as adjuvants in the management of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.     Objectives The aim of this review was to determin...

Muscle relaxants for pain management in rheumatoid arthritis.
CONCLUSIONS: Based upon the currently available evidence in patients with RA, benzodiazepines (diazepam and triazolam) do not appear to be beneficial in improving pain over 24 hours or one week. The non-benzodiazepine agent zopiclone also did not significantly reduce pain over two weeks. However, even short term muscle relaxant use (24 hours to 2 weeks) is associated with significant adverse events, predominantly drowsiness and dizziness. PMID: 22258993 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews)

SKELAXIN (Metaxalone) Tablet [Lake Erie Medical Surgical Supply DBA Quality Care Products LLC]
Updated Date: Dec 15, 2011 EST (Source: DailyMed Drug Label Updates for the last seven days (since May 20, 2007 EST))

SKELAXIN (Metaxalone) Tablet [King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.]
Updated Date: Sep 7, 2011 EST (Source: DailyMed Drug Label Updates for the last seven days (since May 20, 2007 EST))

SKELAXIN (Metaxalone) Tablet [Cardinal Health]
Updated Date: Aug 8, 2011 EST (Source: DailyMed Drug Label Updates for the last seven days (since May 20, 2007 EST))