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Treatment for Post Herpetic Neuralgia

Posted , 19 users are following.

mervyn3507
mervyn3507

Any new or novel treatments for post Herpetic Neuralgia? Nothing has worked so far.

1 like, 85 replies

85 Replies

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  • keith46188
    keith46188 mervyn3507

    Posted

    Hello I've had PHN for 2years and 2months now and it gives me big time pain, I've been taking lyrica 150 mg twice a day for quiet a while now and before that I was on 300mg morning and night and I found I just couldn't remember things or would be talking about something and midway through sentence my mind would go blank an couldn't remember what I was talking about. I've had lidocaine infusion x3 and never worked or lowered my pain, I've got another appointment at pain management next week an hope I can get something from them to help. But I read your paragraph and your remidy with the vitamin E cream cold sore omointment and Dincorub gel , I went an got the ingredients an mixed them up and applied it to my chest across the nipple line an a bit lower around to my back and yes it did work for me by about 30% but only with out a shirt or singlet. It's the only help that has worked except the lidocaine patches and lidocaine cream.

  • ruth57682
    ruth57682 mervyn3507

    Posted

     have had the nerve pain in the same area for over a year now.  I get about a 50 % relief from gabapenten 300 mg x 3(total 900 mg) a day plus 4% lidocaine cream.  No side effects. I can now tolerate a bra for part of a day which is a vast improvement.  When not wearing clothing at home, I am almost pain free.

    .

  • susan46308
    susan46308 mervyn3507

    Posted

    I live in Texas and have been treated PHN for the past 18 months.  Lidocaine ointment, gabapentin, antidepressants p, nerve blocks, and codein inclusive drugs have done little to deter the severe pain.  It extends from mid-spine around my right side and under my right breast.  About one month ago I was referred to a physical therapist who has treated many pain patients.  She suggested that I might get some relief using a device similar to tens treatment, although she had never used it on a shingles patient. She has given me five treatments using a Dolphin neurostimulator. It uses an electric current to treat the painful nerve areas.  It has worked to stop the very bad pain on the main nerve going from my back to my front. I am no longer having to take the codeine for the extremely bad nerve pain.  I still have sensitivity on the surface of my skin, but I can deal with that much more easily than I can deal with the really severe main nerve pain.  The Dolphin neurostimulator treatment helps to relieve the bad pain for 3 to 4 days, at which time I take another treatment. She has trained my husband and I how to use the device and we are now treating me at home and conferring with her as needed.  It is so wonderful not to take the codeine as I certainly do not want to become addicted to it and need to drive without being under the influence.  We are curious as to what the long term effects will be using the Dolphin device, but so far it is great!!!
  • ramesh1936
    ramesh1936 mervyn3507

    Posted

    Where do you buy this simulator?

    How long it takes to learn the simulator?

    Do you use daily?

    • MissUSA
      MissUSA ramesh1936

      Posted

      Put the name in Google search to get to their website. 
    • susan46308
      susan46308 ramesh1936

      Posted

      Look it up on the internet. It is a Dolphin neurostimulator (not simulator).  I would try to find a physical therapist who has one of the devices first before buying one.  They cost around $400 each and the treatment goes much faster if you have two and use both about 1" to 2" apart at the same time. I need to do a treatment every 3 to 4 days, but you can use it as needed.  They have training sessions for physical therapists in the U.S.  It took about two or three sessions with the therapist helping my husband and I learning how to correctly hold it, how much pressure to use, etc.  You can feel the small electric current in the nerve when it is being used correctly. It is generally not painful; however, in the area of the nerve which is most aggravated or sore, it can be slightly painful. Although you do not need a doctor to buy it for you, I would not attempt to use it without a therapist's assistance to make certain I am doing it correctly.

  • babs99203
    babs99203 mervyn3507

    Posted

    I'm usually VERY conservative when it comes to meds and treatment as I've worked in healthcare for 30 years as a medical secretary.  This has me intrigued however. I just read an article on NPR's website (National Public Radio) about a researcher who found that Resveratrol (the chemical found in red wine, so you may have heard of it) may help break up the nerve signals. He was wondering why sometimes after an injury, there is still pain. He found that a cream with a high percentage of resveratrol can help with pain. He couldn't get the money for a clinical trial so he started selling it himself! I actually found it on Amazon, it's $19.00 for a 3 oz tube. I have never tried it, but the science behind it seems sound.

    • babs99203
      babs99203

      Posted

      Here’s an update.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who read that report. The sold out and the product is on back order. After the night I had last night, I tried to  order some and found that out. 
    • ramesh1936
      ramesh1936 babs99203

      Posted

      Please inform me the name of the tube so I can order the cream from Amazon.

      Thank you,

      Ramesh

    • babs99203
      babs99203 ramesh1936

      Posted

      I can't believe I wrote that whole post and forgot to give the name. Blame it on the 1600 mg of Gab. It's Ted's Pain Cream, named for Dr. Ted Price, the medical researcher. Here's a bit from his website: "Try the first product on the market that doesn’t just numb pain, it outsmarts it on a molecular level. Two natural ingredients in Ted’s™ (methyl salicylate from the wintergreen plant, and resveratrol from grape leaves or Japanese knotweed) appear to work together to target pain in a brand new, previously unknown way. Unlike other topical treatments, Ted’s™ doesn’t numb your nerves, nor does it simply distract you with menthol or heat. It actually resets your nerves to their pre-injury state, eliminating false pain, while allowing important, true pain signals to still make it through."  The article and website are both very interesting. A friend bought some the same day I read about it. Unfortunately, I waited and now it's on back order. But I did do a pre-order on it. I had a bad night recently, despite generally improving, so I figured it's worth trying.

      Rather than Amazon, which will only tell you it's not currently available, go to his website. If you want to risk paying in advance for it, you can do that and it will come in about 12 weeks.

  • louie_70722
    louie_70722 mervyn3507

    Posted

    17 years ago, I had a browlift. My scalp nerves were damaged, and I had a high level

    of itching, burning pain that never ceased. I went to several pain clinics, and was given narcotics which did nothing. Two years passed with this awful pain, and I met a physician who told me of the difference in neuropathic pain, also called nerve pain and the more common nociceptive pain, which responds to narcotics. Lyrica, neurontin were designed for this neuropathic pain, but had no effect on me. He prescribed oral sinquan with oral tablets of clonazepam. Within 45 minutes of taking the two medicines I was 100% pain free. I learned later on that it was primarily the clonazepam that was doing the job. I stopped the sinquan and am now on 3 mg of clonazepam at bedtime, to this day. I am still pain free. The dosage of the drug was of utmost importance, usually clonazepam is thought of as a tranquilizer, and seldom prescribed above 1 to to 1.5mg per day. If you look in the PDR, or Drug Facts and Comparisons, it has a much higher dosage when  prescribed for its anti seizure properties. Each of us is different, so the dosage should be titrated by a pain manager. I find very few physicians are familiar with this use for the drug. Most default to their knowledge of the drug as a tranquilizer, and wont consider the higher dosages required for nerve pain. I find psychiatrists are quite  knowledgable concerning the benzodiazepines, of which clonazepam (Klonopin) is a member.

    In closing, remember this wont work for everyone, and as the drug is a tranquilizer, make sure a physician is involved in determining the dosage. Neurologists, who work with seizures, and psychiatrists will be your best bet on being knowledgeable on this drug's "secondary use."

    Good Luck to all

     

    • babs99203
      babs99203 louie_70722

      Posted

      That's a very interesting explanation of nerve pain and of a drug I'm not familiar with, (with which I'm not familiar, there. My inner-grammarian is now happy). I've got an update on my Ted's Pain Cream. I've been using it 3 times a day for the last 5 days and I believe it's helping. My friend didn't like it (but her pain is NOT from nerve pain) so she gave it to me. I've waited to report anything, but here it is.

      I'm very cautious in saying this, as PHN can increase and decrease for all kinds of reasons. However, certain movements that would consistently cause greater pain, like bending to tie my shoes or reaching for something on a shelf are much more muted. I haven't had that super sharp lancinating pain either. They don't specifically suggest it for PHN, but from what I've read, it's logical it could help. I stopped my Aspercreme 4% Lidocaine and use this instead. I'm still on my prescription NSAID, Extra-strength Tylenol 3X a day and my 1500 mg of Gab (500 3X a day).  They feel that it could take a week to see any improvement so of course I'm hopeful that I'll see continued relief, but I'm not looking for a cure.

      They also told me that back-log time has been greatly shortened to about 6 weeks. So, it's up to you. The mint smell is quite strong, like Ben Gay, but I don't mind it. There's also some burning feeling, again as in Ben Gay, but it's tolerable and lasts about 5-15 minutes.

    • babs99203
      babs99203

      Posted

      Hmm, I thought I had updated this. Unfortunately, on my 8th day, I had to stop using the cream and go back to my Aspercreme, as the Ted's wasn't helping. It was very disappointing, for many reasons. I've been in touch with the company and they were sorry it didn't work, but said they're trying to create a new which may be more effective. I'm also dealing with a lot of other things now--my hubby's having a knee replacement tomorrow, so as others have mentioned the stress is probably making my symptoms worse. But even so, I don't think it was right for me as once I got back to the Aspercreme, the pain did decrease.

  • ron96331
    ron96331 mervyn3507

    Posted

    Hi Mervyn

    I had this treatment called Pulsed Radio Frequency. The idea is similar to nerve ablation but less invasive. I had that on July 25 and the pain was gone for 3 months, now it's coming back and it seems like at a lesser intensity. I have PHN in the right occipital nerve, means headaches all the time. It's worked let's say 70%

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