To relax muscles and ease pain and discomfort brought on by sprains, strains, and other muscle injuries, cyclobenzaprine is administered along with rest, physical therapy, and other methods. The drug cyclobenzaprine belongs to the group of drugs known as skeletal muscle relaxants. It functions by having an effect on the nerve system and brain, enabling the muscles to relax.

The oral forms of cyclobenzaprine are a tablet and an extended-release capsule. The tablet is often taken three times day, with or without food. The extended-release capsule is typically taken once per day with or without food. Without consulting your doctor, do not take this medication for longer than three weeks. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any instructions on your prescription label that you are unsure about following. Exactly as prescribed, take cyclobenzaprine. Never take it in larger or less amounts or more frequently than directed by your doctor.

Do not chew or shatter the extended-release capsules; instead, swallow them whole.

Mix the extended-release capsule’s contents with applesauce if you are unable to take it whole. Immediately consume the mixture and swallow it without chewing. After eating the mixture, sip some liquid, swish it about in your mouth, then swallow it to ensure that you’ve ingested all the medication.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more details if you’re interested in using this drug for any other conditions.

Before taking cyclobenzaprine,

• If you have any allergies, including to cyclobenzaprine, any other medications, or any of the substances in cyclobenzaprine tablets or capsules, inform your doctor and pharmacist very away. Request a list of the ingredients from your pharmacist.
• Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), and tranylcypromine (Parnate), should be mentioned to your doctor if you are currently taking them or have quit within the last two weeks. If you take one of these drugs, your doctor will probably advise you not to take cyclobenzaprine.
• Inform your doctor and pharmacist about any additional prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products you are now taking or intend to use. Incorporate any of the following: Barbiturates like butabarbital (Butisol), phenobarbital, and secobarbital (Seconal); antibiotics for allergies, coughs, or colds; bupropion (Aplenzin, Forfivo XL, Wellbutrin, Zyban); selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) including citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), and fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Selfemra, in Symbyax), as well as sedatives, sleeping pills, and meperidine (Demerol), sertraline (Zoloft), fluoxamine (Luvox), and paroxetine (Brisdelle, Paxil, Pexeva); selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) including desvenlafaxine (Khedezla, Pristiq); and fluoxamine (Luvox); milnacipran (Savella), duloxetine (Cymbalta), levomilnacipran (Fetzima), and venlafaxine (Effexor);tranquilizers; tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) such as amitriptyline, amoxapine, clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Silenor), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), protriptyline (Vivactil), and trimipramine (Surmontil); tramadol (Conzip, Ultram, in Ultracet); verapamil (Calan, Covera HS, Verelan, in Tarka); or any other medication for depression, mood, anxiety, or thought disorder. Your physician might need to adjust the dosage of your drugs or keep a close eye on you for side effects. Tell your doctor about all the medications you are taking, even those not on this list, since many other drugs may also interact with cyclobenzaprine.
• Inform your doctor if you have an overactive thyroid or are recovering from a recent heart attack. heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, a heart block, or any other issues with your heart’s electrical impulses. Heart failure is a condition when the heart cannot pump enough blood to the other areas of the body. Most likely, your doctor will advise against taking cyclobenzaprine.
• If you have glaucoma, high eye pressure, trouble peeing, or liver illness, let your doctor know.
• Inform your physician if you are nursing a baby, intend to get pregnant, or are already pregnant. Call your doctor right away if you find out you’re pregnant while taking cyclobenzaprine.
• If you are 65 years of age or older, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of taking cyclobenzaprine with your doctor. Since cyclobenzaprine is less safe and less effective than other drugs that can be used to treat the same condition, older adults should typically avoid taking it.
• You should be aware that this medication might make you sleepy. Until you are certain of how cyclobenzaprine will affect you, do not operate machinery or drive a car.
• Consult your doctor about whether drinking alcohol is safe while taking cyclobenzaprine. Alcohol’s negative effects may be exacerbated by cyclobenzaprine.

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for the missed one.

Side effects from cyclobenzaprine are possible. If any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away, let your doctor know right once:

• Mouth ache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Heartburn
• Extreme fatigue

Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms:

• Body rash
• Hives
• Swelling of the tongue or face
• Breathing or swallowing challenges
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Chest ache

You or your doctor can submit a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch or by phone at 1-800-332-1088 if you have a serious side event.

Keep this medication tightly closed in the original container and out of the reach of children. Keep it at room temperature and out of the bathroom and other places with excessive heat and moisture. Away from light, keep the extended-release capsule.

To make sure that pets, kids, and other people cannot take leftover pharmaceuticals, they should be disposed of in a specific manner. You shouldn’t flush this medication down the toilet, though. The best option to get rid of your medication is instead through a medication take-back program. To find out about take-back initiatives in your neighborhood, speak with your pharmacist or get in touch with your city’s waste/recycling department. If you do not have access to a take-back program, you can find more information at the FDA’s Safe Disposal of Medicines website (http://goo.gl/c4Rm4p).

As many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and are simple for young children to open, it is crucial to keep all medications out of sight and out of reach of children. Always lock safety caps and promptly stash medication up and away from young children where it is out of their sight and reach to prevent poisoning. http://www.upandaway.org

Call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 in the event of an overdose. Additionally, information can be found online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. Call 911 right once if the person has collapsed, experienced a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, or cannot be roused.

Overdose signs could include the following:

• Drowsiness
• Irregular or rapid heartbeat
• Feeling enraged
• Confusion
• Difficulty speaking or moving
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Hallucination (the perception of unreal objects or speech)
• Tremor
• Consciousness loss

Keep all of your doctor’s appointments.

No one else should take your medication. Any queries you may have regarding medication refills should be directed to your pharmacist.

You should keep a written record of every medication you take, including any over-the-counter (OTC) items, prescription drugs, and dietary supplements like vitamins and minerals. This list should be brought with you whenever you see a doctor or are admitted to the hospital. You should always have this information with you in case of emergencies.