Cautiously optimistic about capsaicin cream
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A friend gave me some leftover high potency capsaicin cream to try. I cautiously dabbed on a little bit. It worked up to a pretty good burn, but then slowly faded away within an hour and seemed to take some of the pain along with it. Encouraged, I tried more on a larger area and waited for the same effect. Too much, too soon! It felt like I was pressing a live coal against my skin. I kept waiting for it to fade away as it had before, but after 2-3 hours I had to wash it off.
The next morning the skin felt irritated but looked fine, and I experienced my most pain-free day since the misery began 3 months earlier!
The next day the pain started returning, and the day after that made me despair that I was ever going to feel better. The pain itself wasn't as bad as the letdown; I'd been so sure it was going away. Feeling I had nothing to lose, I screwed up my courage and applied some more capsaicin cream. It burned again, but not as much as the first time, and again, it did help with the neuralgia.
Since then I've been using the cream 2-3 times. I dab on a little more as soon as I feel stabs returning, and as long as I do that, the stabs stay under control. I can't guarantee that it's working, because I've been having good and bad days all along and it's possible that I would have had good days with or without this treatment. However, for what it's worth, the best days I've had since October have been since I started the cream, and I've had more of them in a row than ever before. So it seems to be having some effect. I had a bad day earlier this week despite the cream, but I figured out it was probably due to tight clothing that's given me trouble before. I'll be retiring that shirt!
The cream still burns, but I seem to be getting used to it. Also, I prefer this kind of discomfort to the neuralgia pain. For me, the crazymaking part of the neuralgia is that it is so unpredictable. I never know when I'm going to feel a stab, or whether the stab is just a stab or the beginning of hours of misery. With the cream, I know what it's going to feel like, where, and for how long. It feels more like "normal" pain, and when I'm feeling it, I don't feel the neuralgia sensations.
I'm posting this because I've seen a lot of poor reviews of capsaicin cream from people who have used it only once. I won't deny that the burning sensation is pretty awful, and everyone has their own limits on what they can tolerate. But in my limited experience, it's worth sticking out if you can bear it. I'm going to give it the full 2 weeks, which seems to be the recommendation.
0 likes, 9 replies
santosh67656 jana02303
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jana02303 santosh67656
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jocelyne44618 santosh67656
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kindest regards Jocelyne
jana02303 jocelyne44618
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tim70769 jana02303
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I think I would like to try that. What strength is this high potency capsaicin cream? Thanks for passing along the info your the best.
jana02303 tim70769
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It's 0.1%. I'm probably not allowed to specify a brand name, but the pharmacist should be able to direct you to it if you can't find it on the shelf. I learned after the fact that it's recommended to start with a lower percentage and work your way up after you get acclimated, but I didn't, and no harm done. You can also dilute it with regular lotion if you want. Good luck! I hope it will work for you!
jocelyne44618 jana02303
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croft4Penny jana02303
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jana02303
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