I certainly do not agree with this statement. While some doctors even believe this comment, and tell patients that, it is really not true nor compassionate. They will often use this line, to avoid pain management for their patients. Many doctors are afraid of prescribing opiates for their PN patients. This is especially true for the younger aged patients.

Tramadol does work for fibromyagia pain, and is often used for that. And it can also work for nerve pain, because fibro is a form of nerve disorder.

As en bloc states, everyone is different, and some people do respond to opiates, in fact. This response is not 100% but then none of the treatments for PN are 100% effective.

I personally find plain old aspirin helps my PN pain, so I use it in the form of AlkaSeltzer for rough times, like this week when we are having lots of low barometric pressure (storms) and hence I have more PN pain as a result. I also use Lidoderm patches when necessary.