intercostal nueralgia ... anyone had this ?
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi guys
after 18 months of my gp convinced i had a thorasic herniated disc my neurosurgeon is convinced i dont allthough he is doing a specialized mri scan at the walton neuro center which may still find a herniation
however after discussing this with my gp she says i may just have intercostal neuralgia .... and since the symptoms of a herniated thorasic disc are similar to intercostal nueralgia i can forgive the gp for this
the main symptoms are a band like feeling across the mid line and can be painful at times
im just looking for some more information on this ... anyone help
0 likes, 2 replies
kenny52 brianthesnail
Posted
My gp at 1st was blaming it on the neuropathy but I ended going up to the ER on Saturday where they did an xray and are blaming it on sciatica.. I asked my doctor for a muscle relaxant but he would not give me one because he said it is not muscle pain, it is nerve pain. However after doing some research today, I have found out that doctors do in fact prescribe muscle relaxants for this problem. I can't get them to do an mri on me though because they said it would cost to much money!
?But back to your question, I do have this pain all the time and they won't do anything about it!
brianthesnail kenny52
Posted
your gp is actually right .... muscle relaxants dont work on nerve pain,allthough valium is used if the nerve goes into spasm but only short term ( around 2 weeks )
theres two main treatments for nueralgia ( all types ) and these are
1) gabapentin .... these are very common and your gp should prescribe these before anything else,however many patients stop taking them as their full potential is only reached at around 3 to 4 months .....
2)pregablin ..... similar to gabapentin but are prefered when anxiety is also a problem .. in my opinion these are not as good on nerve pain but are better at relaxing you but thats just me
that said muscle relaxants work by dampening the cns(central nervous system ) and can in turn relax the nerves along with the muscles .... to be honest gp,s dont prescribe them not because they dont work but due to the addictive nature .....
if it is intercostal neuralgia then a cortostreroid injection into the affected nerve is probally the best way forward,however a MRI scan should be ordered to rule out a thorasic herniated disc which presents very similar symptoms
i wish you well kenny and ask your gp for gabapentin .....
good luck