Painful PHN in head
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi,
Has anyone suffered from post herpetic neuralgia in their head after having shingles in scalp above right ear? I am absolute agony and have been put on amitripiline but not finding it's relieving any of the pain yet.
I wasn't diagnosed with shingles until I saw the fourth doctor! I am 34 and have young children and am struggling with the daily pain.
Any thoughts are welcomed!
Thanks
3 likes, 7 replies
croft4Penny kim_piano
Posted
You are lucky in that your'e young and probably still have a good immune system. Hopefully your body will fight it off.
marks_tarot kim_piano
Posted
i have PHN on the left side of my head and know exactly how you are feeling i have been on many drugs for this over the past 5 years some very helpful but the ones that worked best i became allergic to i am noe on Tizanidine and lidocaine patches also anti depressants. My hope came when reffered to a nurologist in London its a struggle to get there with the condition but its worth while fpr the first time i feel i am getting somewhere eventhough i am still suffering with the pains i do get a little releif now. Unfortunatley GP's dont have the experience of this condition so it takes a long time to see the right consultant i had a couple of nerve blocks through the pain clinic but they only lasted a couple of weeks i would suggest you try and get your GP to refer you to a Nurologist rather than pain clinic. Also be aware that some of the drugs for this condition are quite expensive and GP's are reluctant to precribe them sometimes im quite lucky as my GP is very supportive
gloria22937 kim_piano
Posted
All this pain because two doctors didnt know what shingles was.
gloria22937 kim_piano
Posted
All this pain because two doctors didnt know what shingles was.
patricia49047 kim_piano
Posted
Patricia
ron96331 kim_piano
Posted
I've had PHN on the right side of the head and neck since September 2015, after shingles in that area. The GP didn't seem to know and the possibility of Postherpetic neuralgia. If he had known, it's possible I wouldn't be in this condition now. Pain all the time. I take Neurontin Gabarpentin about 2000 mg per day also another form of the same thing at night. What it does is build a kind of wall around the pain - I can't really feel it but I know it's there. Sometimes it seems to seep out of the right side into the left back and sometimes all across the front. I'm scratching the right side of my head constantly as if it was a painful rash. If I press in the ear it seems to help. I hope you find some reliefBest wishes
ron9633
Geezee kim_piano
Posted
I know your pain. I have PHN across the top left quarter of my face and head. I find that an icepack sometimes helps, but it depends on where the pain is and what type of pain I'm feeling.
I tried amitriplyine for awhile, but it became ineffective at a low dose and the higher doses turned me into a zombie. Similarly with gabapentin; initially it was great but I slowly started having to increase the dose. The side-effects got too much and I started suffering from short term memory loss and confusion. I'm working on my PhD at the same time, so any sort of brain-related side-effect is a major issue.
I'm not on pregabalin, and it sort of works, but it's major side-effect is depression, which is not helping at all.
I take regular doses of paracetemol and sometimes codeine through the day to keep the pain at bay. In general I find it an immense struggle.
I hope you have found the relief you need and are getting lots of support