[Mona]

Hello,

My husband has been taking Lyrica and Oxycondin for his pain but his pain is not under control. His pain started in 2005. He has been tested for just about everything and the cause of his Neuropathy is not known. He went to a pain management clinic today and the doctor suggested he have a Epidural. Has anyone here had one and did it help? We don't know where to turn to get him relief. Please help. Thanks.

Mona

[hurting]

Epidural work for some people where for others nothing. It all depends on how long he has been in this condition. The longer he has had his problem the chances are they may not work.

I had 3 in a row with no luck but I was this way for years. His dr. may want to try 2 in a row to see if they are working. He could see relief that day or 2 days latter or nothing at all. If he is in that much pain it may be worth a try. Just go in understanding that he has a 50/50 chance that they will help him.

[JCRDN]

Mona,

my boyfriend has been dealing with his pain for 9 years with no relief. He has been to several doctors, a major well known clinic, as well as a local pain clinic. He was injected with a synthetic snail venom called prialt. It did nothing for his pain. He said even if it did there was no way he could live with the effects. When i went to his room after the procedure he asked me to please stand by him as he felt like he could fall over. It was like he had been on an all night drinking binge. Here is no way he could drive or function under the medication.

Please believe me when i say i know your frustration. It is killing me to see my boyfriend in such pain. It has basically taken his life away from him. After 9 long years of pain depression has set in. I can always tell when his feet are bad. He is a totally different person. The pain ranges any where from a 4 to a 10. They have been a 9 or 10 since last monday. He said the warmer weather helps a bit. Once the cold weather arrives he is back to strong pain.

If you have any questions i would be glad to answer them. I just joined the site yesterday to see if i could get him some help. I am not really sure what i am doing but i will watch for you.

I will pray for you and your husband...

You are not alone...
Jcrdn

[mrsD]

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

There are things a patient can do to help with PN pain. Medical doctors typically do not research these avenues and do not commonly offer them.
If you seek out medical interventions, that is what you will get, only.
Becoming informed about PN is the only way to really see improvements for some patients.Many people have found that lifestyle changes(including dietary changes), and some supplements can help deal with many types of PN.

Our subforum above, has many threads with information that maybe helpful.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum119.html

[nide44]

Originally Posted by JCRDN

.............. I am not really sure what i am doing but i will watch for you. I will pray for you and your husband...
You are not alone...

I'm not knocking prayer, every trick in the bag is worth doing- but proper supplements, medication, diet & correct treatment are primary to the road to getting pain under control. Seeing a PN specialist, who is on the cutting edge of PN treatment, (not any neuro who throws out shots in the dark, like darts on a dartboard to see what works) is what is needed here.

[ginnie]

I am sorry for your husbands pain. I had several epidurals, infussions etc. All of them did a pretty good job with pain. They were not too bad to go through eithor. Very little pain at all. The results for me lasted just a couple of weeks. The underlying problem was still there, so I had to have the surgery. Good luck to you and get those second opinions. ginnie

[echoes long ago]

i had two epidural shots in my lumbar spoine about 7 years ago. The first one helped a little with the pain in my feet, the second did nothing. Fast forward to three years ago i was talked into getting an epidural in my cervical spine and it was a big mistake. It set off the burning, stabbing, crushing, throbbing pain in my feet which i had gotten under control, for the next two years. It did nothing for the deep bone pain i have . It was a big setback.

[nide44]

Originally Posted by Mona

Hello,

My husband has been taking Lyrica and Oxycondin for his pain but his pain is not under control. His pain started in 2005. He has been tested for just about everything and the cause of his Neuropathy is not known. He went to a pain management clinic today and the doctor suggested he have a Epidural. Has anyone here had one and did it help? We don't know where to turn to get him relief. Please help. Thanks.

Mona

Mona,
There are over 75 different medications used alone and in conjunction with one another (cocktails) to treat PN. I doubt if your hubby has been thru all of them. As for diagnoses and testing, there is a site that lists all the currently known and used tests for finding neuropathy causes.
Go to www.lizajane.org for a list of these tests (and a lot of other good stuff for PN diagnostics).

[ginnie]

I am sorry there is undiagnosed pain with your family. the question I have is why does the dr. want to do an epidural without knowing where the pain is coming from? That is kind of like a shot in the dark. Do you have a pain specialist? My pain specialist was the one who got me to get further evaluation, since my infussions were only working for a short time. The underlying problem was still there with the epidurals, it only masked the real issues. I don't know if I would choose to do the proceedure without a real "place" that is causing the pain. Just a thought, because I hate needles alot also...ginnie