So I continue to have burning pain in the balls of both my feet. A recent nerve block did not seem to help any and I have been on gabapentin (300 mg 4x a day) for 3 weeks as well.

In regards to the gabapentin, could a higher dose calm the burning down?
Can anybody offer any advice or suggestions?

I asked my PM doctor for a pain patch and he said that they don't help!

Hi Sophie,

Some people respond well to a class of drugs called TCAs, the old tricyclic antidepressants, which are used in low doses for nerve pain. I took nortriptyline 20mg just at bed (two 10 mg capsules as the 30s made me dizzy) and found it to be helpful. It gave me less drowsy feeling during the day than gabapentin and had the added bonus of providing a small noticeable boost in my mood, which gabapentin had dampened. Amitriptyline is also used but tends to have more side effects so I never tried that one. Gabapentin and nortriptyline can be given together and were shown in a study to work better in combination for nerve pain than either drug alone.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/neurolog...nagement/16202

Does anything help as far as footwear? Be sure you have as little heel rise as possible, a wide toe box and arch support or metatarsal support. I have found with my foot issues that shoes really can have significant impact on my comfort level. It took forever to find the pairs that work for me but the search was worth it.

Little paw

In addition to the gabapentin, I am also taking 25 mg of nortriptyline at bedtime. In terms of footwear, I have switched to zero drop/wide toe box Altras and I also have custom orthotics which I can't tolerate at the moment because of the burning and sensitivity in my feet.
Littlepaw, I am so fearful that this burning will never stop and I have only been dealing with this since mid September. THis has effected every aspect of my life and I am holding on really tightly right now! thank you for taking the time to reply to my posts.

What does your doctor say about increasing the Neurontin (gabapentin)? Have you asked him?

hello Marleen

I did ask him about increasing the dosage, however he didn't want to because he is giving me sympathetic nerve blocks. His reasoning was that if he increased the gabapentin at the same time he was doing the blocks there would be no way for him to determine what was actually helping me.

True. But if the blocks don't help... then there you are. That's the downside to it.

I never went to invasive therapies as blocks, for me that was crossing a line but each of us has to decide that personally.

Blocks can be iffy. They're great if they work. IF they work, but if not then it's a mess, and I always heard they might even exacerbate the CRPS. So, I held off on anything that was invasive.

I'm going to chime in here on burning pain and gabapentin. I'm willing to try almost anything to lessen the burning (which was so severe at times that I was taking Vicodin).

I was taking as much as 3,300 mg./day (1,100 three times/day). Then I saw an article posted in a pain journal about good results with turmeric curcumin, and even its ability to regenerate nerves. I spoke with my neurologist about it, and he gave me the go-ahead. I started taking 500 mg. of turmeric curcumin 3x/day and have been able to reduce my gabapentin to 600 mg. three times per day. The turmeric curcumin really does reduce the burning pain.

Now my neurologist has recommended electronic signal treatment (also called combined electrochemical therapy, or CET). It's not covered by Medicare or most insurance, but I'm going to go ahead and give it a try. I've seen some studies saying that there's nerve regrowth in about 80% of patients.

Would appreciate knowing what brand, number of milligrams, and other details about the type of turmeric-curcumin that you are taking. I'm glad that it is helping you.

I've just been diagnosed with RSD after breaking my foot, but I was in a car accident which lead to surgery, bone harvesting, bone grafting and instrumentation into my lower back. I Iearned one thing. If something hurts, DON'T STICK A NEEDLE IN IT. I used a patch. Of course it worked! The atmosphere regarding schedule two (ll) narcotics is repugnant. With the DEA involved, its just like having the government prescribing medication for our bodies. I'm tired of the stigma. Until you do something that shows your doctor you cannot be trusted, he/she should prescribe WHATEVER he can until something works for you (within reason). Research says that nerve blocks ARE NOT more effective than pain medicine. The effects are temporary if they work at all ( just like any other therapy, drug, PT etc...). I was told: Only nerve blocks work. That's not true. I changed doctors. I wanted what works for me. More Methadone! BUT I don't have a doctor who knows me anymore. I was not happy being prescribed Lyrica...UNTIL IT WORKED. I don't want to jinx it...but...no more burning! Different things work for different people. Turmeric curcumin? I shall now look that up. (sorry I don't mean to impose my beliefs or values on another, but you do have the right to say "NO"! & actually i was looking to post a question of my own and didn't know where to post it. I couldn't help but see your post. I'll try to be short & sweet next time).