What happens if you stop tizanidine suddenly?

Tizanidine (Zanaflex) is a skeletal muscle relaxant prescribed for muscle spasms, cramping and tightness, including in multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. It clears quickly, with a half-life of about 2.5 hours, and that fast clearance is part of why stopping it abruptly can go badly. This episode walks through what the written guide covers: the reactions reported after abrupt discontinuation, which are rebound high blood pressure, a fast heart rate, and muscle tone returning, sometimes worse than before, along with tremors, anxiety and headaches, usually within hours to a day or two. It also covers who is most at risk, including people taking around 20 to 28 mg a day, people who have been on it nine weeks or longer, and people also taking an opioid pain medicine, and why older adults clear tizanidine about four times slower than younger people. On pace: the FDA suggests decreasing the dose by 2 mg to 4 mg per day, and real tapers run from a couple of weeks to a month or more depending on the dose and how long the medicine has been taken. Read the full guide: How to Safely Come Off Tizanidine (Zanaflex). To find a clinician trained in deprescribing, see the provider directory. The hosts of this episode are AI-generated from the written guide. Educational only, not medical advice. Never stop a medication without your provider. If you are in crisis in the US, call or text 988.