...since I am newly diagnosed I wonder if a seasoned pn vet could explain the term breakthrough pain. I have been having good luck with Lyrica for 4 1/2 months now. Boy, last night you would have thought I was back at square one! I THINK this is what is known as breakthrough pain. At least I hope so , or I am in a heap o trouble. What happens to make such a thing occur?

B/T pain is a flare-up that lasts longer than a momentary flare-up.
It's when you should have a fast acting med to affect the pain,
at the moment ......until it subsides back to your regular levels.
Special B/T meds should be Rx'd by your doc,
if you have this occur too often.

What you went thru I call a flair up. It happens when your feeling real good and become to active trying to make up for loss time. It took me a while to realize what was causing this. Some people react to temperature changes and such. You might try keeping a daily log about your condition. Good luck

Alan had breakthrough pain when he was on the 125 of the Fentanyl patch.
HIs doctor prescribed Vicodin and that's what he took. It did the trick.

Melody

..for your replies. And yes indeed, I have gained a lot more energy as time goes by and my b regimen has continued. I did a lot of physical things lately that had fallen to the wayside and I just might have paid the price. So , that does make a lot of sense to me. There's a quote on the forum that makes sense too, concerning play and pay. I tell you what , there's no substitute for talking with fellow pn'ers who have" been there done that"!

For me, pain such as you describe is often triggered by strong emotion. One thing that provides dramatic and long lasting pain relief for me are micro-electric stimulation of the area as as with the ReBuilder or my interential electro stimulation unit. I've other lengthy postings on this subject.

Another is Alka-Seltzer, surprisingly. Two Alka-Seltzer tabs contain an adult dose of aspirin along with citric acid and heat treated baking soda. When they all get done fizzing in the water, the aspirin is completely dissolved so it doesn't create stomach upset or bleeding. The baking soda causes the dissolved aspirin to be absorbed into the bloodstream almost as fast as if injected, providing quick and powerful pain relief that lasts for a few hours.

I can't take Alka-Seltzer often because the repeats of that high dose of aspirin gives me tinnitus, but occasional use reduces the pain dramatically, allowing me to fall asleep. The pain is usually better in the morning.