I have a script for up to 3 Lidoderm patches for 12 hours a day - 2 of which I use on my shoulder, and the other I stick on my upper back just under my cervical spine. I use Voltaren, which is diclofenoc sodium topical gel, (or like a motrin gel, per my PM doc), wherever it would be impossible to put a patch or part of a patch - (you can cut them up in pieces if you want), like on my neck, in my hair, on my hands and feet when they hurt, etc. The equivalent of the Voltaren gel in patches is the Flector patch, which I also have. I use them when I have pain and have used up the Lidoderm for the day, or need more than 3 patches at a time - like when my leg really hurts and I need a patch for it. The Flector patches work pretty well, too, but I like the Lidoderm patches better, so I use those during the day and save the Flector patches for night time.

The patches have medication on them, so when you put them on your skin they numb the skin that they cover. For me, they also serve as a shield between my clothes and my skin. And since I suffer from terrible occipital pain in my head, I rub the Voltaren gel almost every night on the back of my head in my hair to chill the burning pain. Sometimes I put it on my face and the top of my head, too. It works really well and washes off very easily in the shower in the morning.

Let me know if you have any other questions. XOXOX Sandy