Lidocane reaction?
 

I've been using Lidocane patches to help me sleep. They work great for my pins and needles and joint pain. . I'm only using one patch a night cut up in pieces decorating my body. Very sexy.
Last few nights I had burning pain under the patches on my feet and had to rip them off. The patch on my should caused terrific itching on my chest near the patch which stopped quickly after i removed it.
How depressing, I was so excited about how well they worked and even found them helpful when I knew I'd be on my feet for awhile like grocery shopping.
I'm being careful not to put them in the same spots on my skin and never leave them on more than 12 hours though I'd love to wear them all day.
so has anyone experienced this problem or have any suggestions.
I don't think I'm overdosing but wondered if its interacting with anything else like xanax or pain drugs.

Hi
I'm not a regular poster here, lurker would be more like it. I also have the Lidocane patches, and just love them!

You sort of sound like a reaction to this non medical person. Could you call your pharmacy or doc? Usually the pharmacist is easier to get on the phone, and usually can pull all that up on computer.

Hope this helps
Barb

Hi.

Perhaps your skin is reacting to the topical nature of the lidocaine??

I've used them MANY times for my sciatica and never had any skin reactions whatsoever.

But the king of skin problems is my husband. His skin is super sensitive. He just got rid of psoriasis after YEARS of gigantic lesions. Clobetasol did the trick for him.

My husband used lidocaine patches on each toe (for years), around 6 years ago. He went to bed every night with them. He cut each of them into strips and wrapped all the strips around his toes, making sure to cover each toe.

He has never had any reaction to this. And if anyone would get a reaction, it would be him.

I really don't know why this is happening to you. Call the pharmacist, or the manufacturer of this patch. Maybe you got a bad box??

Possible!!!

Best of luck

Melody

there are two possibilities~~
 

1) you have become sensitized to the lidocaine.
--caine type drugs do cause sensitization, in infants and children and those with sensitive skin

2) you may be reacting to the adhesive. If this is the case,
try to get any residue off your skin, when you remove the patch.
You may also be trapping chemicals under the patch, like soap residue etc.

People typically sweat under the patches, so any water soluble soaps trapped there can burn the skin.

I typically don't get residue from my Lidocaine patches. But the Salonpas do leave a residue and I sometimes get redness from them, but not often. People really complain that Lidoderms don't stick well. I haven't had a recent fill on mine, but it is possible they changed the adhesive. If this is the case, that would be one explanation. Contacting the company would be best to see if this is true.

Lidocaine allergy can be serious, so you need to contact
your doctor, and show him/her the rash.
If it only happens on one area, and not others, then lidocaine
allergy is not as likely as some other explanation.
Over the counter hydrocortisone cream should help take it
down.

Do not continue with them if the rash persists..the allergy can become serious
and systemic. It is important to determine whether you are allergic...before
your next dental appointment.

Reaction
 

Not sure is Mrs D is still around (dont know if these two reactions can be in same fam) - but I cannot have novacaine at all (affects my heart and then fun trip to ER)..... I have tried the lidocaine patch a couple of times - each time had a reaction after wearing for a max time of only maybe 1/2 an hour - I cut off the adhesive thinking that might be it - didnt matter - got very red, sweaty, heart racing, etc with the patch and tape and had to rip that off tooo... the doc told me same thing - to stop asap... as there might have been some cross reactions....

Also, the first time I had the novacaine reaction was after years of novacaine shots at the dentist - the started out of nowhere - so reactions etc can start at any time.....

kmeb,

I have had the same reaction; heart racing that is and I only use half a patch when I feel it might be helpful. And it doesn't happen all the time...just every now and then. I used to cut up one or even two to place on my neck. But found they really weren't all that helpful for my neck. They did take the edge off the lumbar pain but not too much. I much prefer the injections even though I can have the jitters for a couple of days...but that goes away. At least injections don't make my heart race like the Lidoderm can and again, it isn't all the time...just every once in awhile. But when it happens, I rip that thing off. :eek::)

Call your doctor! Sounds like a BAD allergic reaction!
 

Hey there! I also loved the patch, but it made it hard for me to breathe (something everyone with myasthenia gravis can relate to) so I just stopped using them and upped my pain meds.......Now I don't know how wise that was, but it worked. Did you have a thymectomy? Is that what the patches are for? That's what mine where for, and again they worked great except for the breathing thing, and I figured I'd had enough of that. I'd stop using them and contact my doctor if I were you, just to be sure. You just don't want to take any chances:) Take care! Erin

Hmmmm... I wonder how you cut off that adhesive? On Lidoderms it is everywhere---not just on an edge. That is why you can cut them, etc. The lidocaine is IN the adhesive which covers 100% of the patch area.

The "novocaine" used in the dentist's office is a mixture of
lidocaine and epinephrine. The epi, is hard to take. I started to have palpitations from it when I turned 50. The epi allows for better numbing by preventing the lidocaine from being absorbed by the body. The non epi containing version does not work well for me, so I found a solution: I take a beta blocker before I go, and I don't get the reaction. Epinephrine is adrenaline, and very cardio-stimulating.

When I first started the Lidoderms I did get some heart pounding. But it was minimal and did not continue. So far after years of use, I have no problem. (but then I don't try to use more than one patch at a time---even tho the directions say up to 3/ 12 hr period).

So it is important not to use longer than 12 hrs... or constant lidocaine absorption may occur. Also proper disposal to keep children and pets away from them, is important.

People with pre-existing cardiac conduction problems,perhaps should be monitored closely by the doctor.
Here is a good monograph on the subject:
http://www.drugs.com/pro/lidoderm.html

I personally have not had any skin or other side effects from the Lidoderm patch. I find them a Godsend really.
The only downside is that they don't adhere well. So sometimes I have to tape over them.

You know the literature says, burning, stinging on application may occur. I have NEVER had that.
I think the patches are COLD... and when I apply them to my back they feel like ICE CUBES!

Ah, Mrs. D.

Glad you are STILL around.

lol

Melody

leaving Monday...
 

There are big storms where we are going... and we want to
avoid that. ;)

Mrs D
 

Yes, it is the epi in the novacaine that causes the heart reaction - its life threatening - I pass out cold (I'm already on a beta blocker to control the heart symtoms) - and the docs said it could kill me if I get it again....... but I do have a heart electrical conduction problem and that contributes.... I have to use local anesthesia at the dentist with no epi which unfortunately wears off and repeated shots have no more effect then water - so have to go under a general for many things....

My patch had a sticky outside - probaby different manufacturer?????:(

I think you had another drug entirely, kmeb. There is only one Lidoderm patch. The Lidoderms are covered with a soft white moleskin material, very unlike other patches of other drugs. I have not seen a generic yet, and it is not listed as a generic at the FDA orange book.

The side effects you describe fit fentanyl --esp the sweating.

Patch
 

Hi Mrs D (again!) if they did give me fentenyl that would explain it (I dont hve the patches any more - this was couple years ago) - but I cant touch any type of opiate/narcotic (I'm a doctors nightmare when it comes to meds) - I wish I had known - I'd have killed them - they knew better!:eek:

I have started to react to Band-Aids so maybe it is the adhesive in the patches that is burning my skin.Band-aids just started to burn my skin now. I wonder if that is a symptom of neuropathy? Good idea Ms. D about cleaning the skin well before using as I have not been doing that.
A little concerned about systemic reactions I think my lips get darker and now they are starting to burn.
I hate to stop using them as they usually help or stop the pins and needles in my feet so I can sleep. I'm careful not to leave them on to long.
I can't seem to find any meds that help me more than they hurt me except the xanax . However my doctor hates xanax. I have some vicodin and ultram but they keep me wide awake, make me real irritable and way to talkative.
I've never had much luck with meds even before the neuropathy started this year.
Thanks:

Have you ever tried Tramadol for the burning and other N. symptoms? Opiate based drugs do nothing for me. Tramadol was a godsend. It mutes the symptoms wonderfully.

sometimes skin rashes...
 

are self limiting. That is, they may go away, and not
generalize to other areas of the body.

If you put Hydrocortisone on it for a while ( a few days) and let it rest, you could retest the area with a small strip of Lidoderm in about 2 months and see if the rash comes back.
Sometimes the rashes don't come back.

Also you want to make sure your skin is healthy to begin with.
Adequate amounts of zinc daily, and EFAs, etc.
There is a good skin vitamin by Carlson called
ACEs. Skin that does not have enough fatty acids, is broken and easily irritated.

I have an EFA thread on the vitamin forum:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread6092.html

She mentioned she tried Ultram and said:
"I have some vicodin and ultram but they keep me wide awake, make me real irritable and way to talkative."
Tramadol is the generic for Ultram. I take it and think it is a wonderful med, coupled with Lyrica (Pregabalin) or Gabapentin (Neurontin).
It helps me, considerably.

I'm sure all of you know that neuropathy can be a side effect of Ultram. I had taken it for 10 years for pain management of another problem and have wondered if it did not cause my neuropathy. I'll never know. Almost weekly another drug is black boxed for serious side effects. This week its Cipro (ant-biotic) which is causing Achilles rupture or tendinitis. Who would think a anti-biotic could cause a tendon rupture ! That's a permanently crippling problem.
I believe some day we'll find that many of the recent huge increase in some disease are due to toxins, in our food, drugs, air and of course water.( neurological illnesses , ADHD, autism Etc.) Our fish have such high levels of mercury in them now that there are severe restrictions on how much fish to eat. Did you know it has long been common to add arsenic to chicken feed. I belong to a list serve for organic farmers and they have so much trouble finding "clean" feed for their animals,Same for all farmed fish, contaminated fish feed.
Just venting my frustration about medication and of course the new black box warnings about suicide for Lyrica and Neurotin.
Morphine derivatives have been around a long time yet the American doctors are so restricted in prescribing them because of addiction possibilities. Thats what we're told but the truth is drug companies make huge amounts of money on all the new drugs. The old standbys pay them nothing. Our health care is run by the drug companies not our doctors. See todays NYtimes for more evidence.
So I'm trying to do this without many drugs as besides the above my reactions to these drugs is as unsettling as the illness.
My work is intellectual, I must be alert. I want to be alert and aware.
Now you can see why my doc's are tired of me.
Thanks