Macophine,
I see the Dr. Monday so will pm you by Tuesday, she is young and really into this PN crap. The only drug recommend by a doctor was Neurotin and Flexeril the rest I found on this forum, after reading about their use I go to askapatient.com and read the results of their usage by patients taking them, after making copies I gave them to my PCP and thus is how I am taking Methadone 10mg. twice a day with Lyrica 100mg x 2. The VA takes care of everything now. If there is a health system that works IMO its the VA. After retiring I worked in the medical dept of the county jail part time(population 300+ both male, female) and a RN was in charge, she could tell by the meds taken by the inmate (doing screening) what ailments they had. Any way I've rambled enough. I like your quote about the Roses, mine is "May the vase of love the broken the scent of the rose still lingers".
Lanny

I would like to say that I am very impressed with your understanding of your condition. But, I don't understand why a pain doctor would tell you that opiates do not work on PN. I have been on elavil, tegretol, tramadol, lyrica, cymbal, gabapentin and all eventually lost whatever effectiveness they had. I went through years of pain hell until I found my pain doc. He immediately put me on Subutex. For the first time in a decade and 1/2 I was pain free. What a difference the right opiate made. I went to him because, out of desperation, I had begun abusing hydrocodone. The PN pain had impacted my life to such a degree that I was willing to do almost anything to get relief. I was taking up to 15 Norco's a day. All that tylenol could have killed me. I had scripts from 2 doctors and was buying additional pills on the street. At the age of 57, I found myself committing felonies. I knew that was no good. I knew I needed help and I was fortunate enough to find a doctor who specializes in treating pain patient who had become addicts. I am still physically addicted but mentally I am free. I was not seeking drugs to get high, I was looking for relief from pain. Now that I am receiving the proper medical care, I don't have the terrible anxiety that comes with the daily battle against unbearable, unrelenting pain. I pray that you find the right doctor who will give you the correct medications to treat your situation.

amatriptyline has helped me a lot with peripheral neuropathy i take 75 mg at night. Zanaflex as mentioned before is also good for sleep and relaxation.

hope you can find relief

Thank you. I like to try to understand what is going on with me as when I go to other Dr's or get sent to specialists they all ask about it, and need the full rundown so inorder to do this in a concise (or semi concise) way I have to kind of know what I am talking about. (Or at least know what my other Dr's are talking about)

I don't understand my Pain Dr. either, but I am unsure how to go about getting a new one- or where to go. I might try asking a few of my Favorite Dr's for recommendations, but I find that sometimes patients can give you the best reviews. I know that there has to be something that works on the pain I am in. I know there are sometimes I am not too bad off, but there are other times I would kill for something to help with the pain. So my opinion is that people should not be living in pain and that there has to be something that can be done.

"So my opinion is that people should not be living in pain and that there has to be something that can be done"

I agree with you. This society does not take chronic pain issues seriously. Doctors worry that you will become "addicted" to opiates. So what! That happens to be a manageable side effect of the medication. I am open to any new class of drugs that are being developed to treat PN pain, but until I find one that WORKS I will stick with my current regimen.

My pain is primarily in my feet so I also rub a combination of capsaicin cream and Biofrezze on my feet twice a day and it reduces the burning and tingling sensation. My DPM prescribed me a compound cream that contains ketamine but it was not covered by my insurance (AARP Secure Horizon Medicare Advantage). It would have cost $120. Whoops, too much for me.


I am confident that you will find the right doctor if you continue to advocate for yourself. Hang in there!

Frank

mrsD,
You are correct about placing the patches, I also use Lidocaine cream and placing it at the source of pain caused me to experience leg jerks at night and was given Flexeril for this. After reading your article about this I simply did as you suggested and it worked. Don't need the flexeril but it helps a little with the flair ups. Thank you
Lanny