Meprobamate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Meprobamate is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 5 brand and generic names, for anxiety disorders, headache and muscle rigidity. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats (across its forms)
- Anxiety Disorders, Headache and Muscle Rigidity
- Available as
- Tablet · Capsule
- Sold as
- 5 products — Mepriam, Equanil and Meprobamate, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $162 for a 30-count supply — not your price
How Meprobamate is dosed
From the FDA label for Meprobamate (application ANDA083494). Other meprobamate products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Meprobamate Tablets USP: The usual adult daily dosage is 1200mg to 1600 mg, in three or four divided doses; a daily dosage above 2400 mg is not recommended. The usual daily dosage for children ages six to twelve years is 200 mg to 600 mg, in two or three divided doses. Not recommended for children under age 6 (see Usage in Children ).
Everything below is the FDA label for Meprobamate (tablet). Meprobamate is also sold as capsule, and those are different medicines to take — follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Meprobamate side effects
Central Nervous System Drowsiness, ataxia, dizziness, slurred speech, headache, vertigo, weakness, paresthesias, impairment of visual accommodation, euphoria, overstimulation, paradoxical excitement, fast EEG activity. Gastrointestinal Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Cardiovascular Palpitation, tachycardia, various forms of arrhythmia, transient ECG changes, syncope; also hypotensive crisis (including one fatal case). Allergic or Idiosyncratic Allergic or idiosyncratic reactions are usually seen within the period of the first to fourth dose in patients having had no previous contact with the drug. Milder reactions are characterized by an itchy, urticarial, or erythematous maculopapular rash which may be generalized or confined to the groin. Other reactions have included leukopenia, acute nonthrombocytopenic purpura, petechiae, ecchymoses, eosinophilia, peripheral edema, adenopathy, fever, fixed drug eruption with cross reaction to carisoprodol, and cross sensitivity between meprobamate/mebutamate and meprobamate/carbromal. More severe hypersensitivity reactions, rarely reported, include hyperpyrexia, chills, angioneurotic edema, bronchospasm, oliguria and anuria. Also, anaphylaxis, erythema multiforme, exfoliative dermatitis, stomatitis, proctitis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and bullous dermatitis, including one fatal case of the latter following administration of meprobamate in…
Who shouldn’t take Meprobamate
Acute intermittent porphyria as well as allergic or idiosyncratic reactions to meprobamate or related compounds such as carisoprodol, mebutamate, tybamate, or carbromal.
Every meprobamate product we track (5)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 56/100 | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $162 | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $162 | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $162 | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $162 | View → | |
| 5 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $162 | View → |
What meprobamate pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
Combination products containing meprobamate
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
Meprobamate and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for meprobamate: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadBecause there is little published experience with meprobamate during breastfeeding, other agents may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant, or when other drugs that can cause sedation are used simultaneously. If meprobamate is required by the mother, it is not necessarily a reason to discontinue breastfeeding. Monitor the infant for sedation, poor feeding and poor weight gain.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised April 15, 2026. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about meprobamate
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 1,570 reports naming meprobamate, and the FDA flagged 95% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- drug toxicity102 reports
- respiratory arrest84 reports
- dyspnoea63 reports
- pulmonary oedema61 reports
- accidental death54 reports
- cardio-respiratory arrest54 reports
- fall54 reports
- gait disturbance45 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean meprobamate caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is Meprobamate?
Meprobamate is a medication used to treat Anxiety Disorders, Headache, Muscle Rigidity, Muscle Spasticity.
Can you take meprobamate with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run meprobamate against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is meprobamate sold under?
We track 5 meprobamate-containing products in the U.S.: Mepriam, Equanil, Meprobamate, Miltown and Tranmep. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does meprobamate come in?
Across the brands we track, meprobamate is currently marketed as tablet and capsule, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic meprobamate?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic meprobamate product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Meprobamate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/meprobamate
- MLA
- “Meprobamate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/meprobamate.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for meprobamate on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.