About Your Prescription

Why Zanaflex Capsules® (tizanidine hydrochloride)?

Your doctor has prescribed Zanaflex Capsules® (tizanidine hydrochloride) to help you manage your spasticity—the involuntary tension, stiffening or contraction of muscles. Here is important information about your prescription:

Your doctor has prescribed Zanaflex Capsules® in 2 mg, 4 mg or 6 mg strengths

Zanaflex Capsules® are not the same as Zanaflex® tablets or generic tizanidine tablets.

Differences Between Zanaflex Capsules® (tizanidine hydrochloride) and Tablets

While Zanaflex Capsules® and Zanaflex® tablets both contain tizanidine hydrochloride, Zanaflex Capsules® are not the same as Zanaflex® tablets or as generic tizanidine tablets.

It is important to know that switching from the capsule to a tablet form may cause a difference in side effects. Please talk with your doctor before allowing a switch in your prescription from Zanaflex Capsules® to a tablet form of Zanaflex or a generic tizanidine hydrochloride.
If your doctor has prescribed Zanaflex Capsules® or if you have received samples of Zanaflex Capsules®, it is important to know that switching from the capsule to a tablet may result in a different amount of medicine in your blood, which can cause an increase in side effects and change how effectively the product works. Please talk with your doctor before switching your prescription from Zanaflex Capsules® to a tablet form of Zanaflex® or a generic tizanidine hydrochloride.
Because of the possibility of sedation, you should not drive, operate heavy machinery or participate in similar activities while taking this drug. Sleepiness could be made worse if you take your medication with alcohol or certain other drugs.
Suddenly stopping treatment can cause a decrease in blood pressure and heart rate—you should always talk to your doctor before deciding to stop Zanaflex Capsules® treatment.

Download Zanaflex Capsules® Managing Your Spasticity Brochure Including Dosing Schedule.

Be sure to talk to your doctor if you have any questions about the right way to take Zanaflex Capsules® or about how this medication makes you feel.

If you would like more information about the important differences between capsules and tablets, you can contact the Acorda Medical Information System toll-free at 1-800-367-5109.

Please see below for Important Safety Information.

Be sure you received what your doctor ordered.

Zanaflex Capsules® (tizanidine hydrochloride) is a short-acting drug indicated for the management of spasticity. Because of the short duration of effect, treatment with Zanaflex Capsules® (tizanidine hydrochloride) should be reserved for those daily activities and times when relief of spasticity is most important.

Important Safety Information:

Use with fluvoxamine or ciprofloxacin is contraindicated and results in significant increases in tizanidine plasma levels.
There is a limited data base for chronic use of single doses above 8 mg and multiple doses above 24 mg per day.
Tizanidine is an alpha2-adrenergic agonist and can produce hypotension. In a single-dose study where patients were not titrated, two-thirds of patients given 8 mg of Zanaflex experienced hypotension, which may be minimized by titration of dose. The hypotensive effect is dose related and has been measured following single doses of 2 mg or more.
Tizanidine occasionally causes liver injury, most often of the hepatocellular type.
Patients should be advised that sedation may interfere with daily activities. These effects appear to be dose related.
Visual hallucinations or delusions occurred in 3% (5/170) of study patients in two North American clinical trials.
Use with caution in hepatic or renally impaired patients.
Use with oral contraceptives results in 50% decrease in tizanidine clearance.
To discontinue therapy, taper the dose in patients receiving high doses over long time periods to reduce the risk of hypertension, tachycardia and hypertonia.
In vitro studies indicate that neither tizanidine nor the major metabolites are likely to affect the metabolism of other drugs metabolized by cytochrome P450 isoenzymes.
Most common adverse events with tizanidine include dry mouth (49%), somnolence (48%), asthenia [weakness, fatigue and/or tiredness] (41%), dizziness (16%) and increased ALT (5%). Other adverse events include UTI, infection and constipation.
Food has complex effects on tizanidine pharmacokinetics, which differ for the different formulations. These pharmacokinetic differences may result in clinically significant differences when switching formulations, or changing administration during a fed or fasted state. These changes may result in increased adverse events or a delayed/more rapid onset of activity, depending on the nature of the switch.

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