Phenprobamate dependence: a case report.

Phenprobamate (3-phenylpropylcarbamate) is a centrally acting muscle relaxant with mild sedative and anticonvulsant effects. Muscle relaxants can enhance and prolong the effect of narcotic drugs and enable to obtain same effect with a smaller amount of alcohol or illicit substance. Almost all of the centrally acting muscle relaxants have varying sedative effects on which their abuse potential mainly depends. Data related to abuse of carisoprodol, meprobamate, baclofen takes place in the literature. However, to our knowledge this is the first case report about abuse of and tolerance to phenprobamate. We aimed to attract attention to important points of prescribing drugs that have abuse potential like in our case who was using up to 16000 mg/day phenprobamate.