[icelander]

Maybe? As an adjunct to other meds some find opioids helpful. I'm not a big fan of pharms but we all use them at times so it's helpful to do your research and find what is best.

Here's an interesting article I came across while researching pain meds.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/2/485.full

[en bloc]

After trying everything under the sun over the last 19 years (some helped for a while, others could not be tolerated or didn't help), I am now using the Fentanyl patch for both my neuropathic pain and joint/inflammatory arthritis pain...successfully, I might add.

Fentanyl patch works better on nerve pain than other opioids. I don't know the reason behind this, but the doctor told me of this when prescribing and sure enough, it was true after just the first few weeks of treatment (compared to other opioids I used before). However, I personally find that Fentanyl does not work as well for joint/bone pain.

My doctor had mentioned Methadone as an option for neuropathic pain, but side-effects are high (according to him) and Fentanyl was a better option for me with severe gastroparesis, which causes GI absorption problems. The Fentanyl, of course, is transdermal and doesn't rely on going through the GI tract.

[icelander]

Originally Posted by en bloc

After trying everything under the sun over the last 19 years (some helped for a while, others could not be tolerated or didn't help), I am now using the Fentanyl patch for both my neuropathic pain and joint/inflammatory arthritis pain...successfully, I might add.

Fentanyl patch works better on nerve pain than other opioids. I don't know the reason behind this, but the doctor told me of this when prescribing and sure enough, it was true after just the first few weeks of treatment (compared to other opioids I used before). However, I personally find that Fentanyl does not work as well for joint/bone pain.

My doctor had mentioned Methadone as an option for neuropathic pain, but side-effects are high (according to him) and Fentanyl was a better option for me with severe gastroparesis, which causes GI absorption problems. The Fentanyl, of course, is transdermal and doesn't rely on going through the GI tract.

Don't you have to be opioid dependent for some time before they will give you Fentanyl?

[en bloc]

They won't use fentanyl on opioid naive patients...they must be opiate tolerant.

I had taken other opioids before the patch. They also worked pretty good on the neuropathic pain, but after trying the patch I must say it is noticeably better for this type of pain.

[icelander]

Originally Posted by en bloc

They won't use fentanyl on opioid naive patients...they must be opiate tolerant.

I had taken other opioids before the patch. They also worked pretty good on the neuropathic pain, but after trying the patch I must say it is noticeably better for this type of pain.

I don't remember if you mentioned it but have you used methadone? How did it work for you if you did?

[en bloc]

No, I have not tried it. The new pain mgmt doctor I saw mentioned it as an option but said the side-effects were more problematic than other opioids. We decided to try the patch to bypass my GI problems. It ended up being the best choice for me and has worked out well. This is very new (only second month on the patch) so we are still working on finding the right dose/strength.

I also receive IVIG monthly and although it doesn't make a huge impact on my permanently damaged nerves, it does help some. I know this because after 3 weeks, my nerve pain is much worse when the IVIG wears off (half life of only 21 days).