Hey there --
Just wondering if anyone has tried any homeopathic remedies to use either in conjunction with, or as an alternative to, traditional drugs (I am currently taking Gabapentin). Would appreciate any insights or personal experiences that you can share on the topic. Many kind thanks!! Robert
I actually just went to the homeopathic store in my town (yes, we only have one :( ). What I found was a store full of ignorance on my condition. St John's wart is NOT going to help, and also very much will cause problems with some of the medication I am taking.... so a big NO to that one.
I actually went in to try and find some face cream. Out of desperation, I found a pain patch in Walgreens this morning. The main ingredient was capsaicin and it actually dulled my pain quite a bit. So I thought they would have something like that in the store, but for the actual face (after I put the patch on I read you were not supposed to put it on the face). This store did not and the lady acted like I was a nut for wanting to put it on my face. I don't think she understood that heat and burning was preferrable to what I have been feeling. I think I might try to find some online instead.
I came home and was desperate again. I put some aspercreme on my face. Not homeopathic by any means, but it is over the counter NSAID cream. Again, it helped dull the outer face pain and calm things down a bit! Strange but true.
Thanks, Lisa! I had heard that capsacin in cream form is an excellent choice and you can ask your pharmacist to prepare some for you. Also read that a little cayenne pepper mixed with olive oil is great to put on your face to alleviate the awful pain. I am going to try them tomorrow as I am now in a super-acute phase which is most annoying, as I imagine you can understand!!
The lady at the store said you could do the cayenne pepper too... but she said be SUPER SUPER careful around the eyes... and she also said it can be hot... same with the capsacin cream.
I do know what you mean about acute phase... been there and am there right now. So I feel for you.
2 things, 1st not really natural but maybe safer than some other things applied to face is lidocaine / patch or cream
killed the pain for 12 hours while I weened off TrileptHELL
Natural? Reiki - As a local volunteer, they gave us a reiki session, so I signed up thinking it was a massage.
Nope, she did not touch me but ran her hands up and down over my body to move the energy, stress, pain..... I don't know how it worked but I had no pain patch for 3 weeks. I went back again before my MVD - and it worked for a few days - but by then every nerve was hyperalert waiting to go under the knife. I told my local support group about this, and now the practitioner is coming to be a speaker this month.
It cannot hurt to try, that's for sure! Do some research and you can find registered legitimate practitioners. My hubby was a complete and utter skeptic - but he's changing his mind a bit ! He saw 1st hand how I came home that first day patch free and pain free - and it couldn't have been my mind convincing me it worked because I did not know what it was, and all she said was that my stress should simmer down - it did.
I've seen mention of homeopathic methods in past TN Association national conferences. You might run a search on the term "homeopath" in their knowledge base. On the whole, homeopathy has very little science associated with it. My personal impression is that those who are helped by homeopathic doctors are basically being helped by placebo effect. In some medical problems, placebo effect can help up to a third of those treated, which is certainly not trivial. But do NOT go into such treatment without supervision by a mainstream medical doctor to monitor for medication interactions.
The earlier comment on St John's Wart is also accurate. But be advised that St John's Wart can interact with other anti-depressant meds in some rather unpredictable ways.
I would also gently but directly challenge the term "natural" as applied to any and all remedies. When substances are concentrated for use in alleviating medical conditions, they are NOT NOT NOT "natural", regardless of the hype offered by various so-called "holistic" physicians and paraprofessionals. AS only one example of many, digitalis occurs naturally in a tree bark, used during medieval times to make a tea to stimulate the heart. When concentrated, digitalis helps some coronary patients to this day, though there are many newer and safer meds. An overdose of digitalis can kill you, guys.
The salutary lesson to be learned from this example is that it is important that the concentration of any remedy you use should be established and controlled during manufacture. With holistic, "vitamin supplement" and homeopathic remedies, it is rare for concentrations to be standardized, even from lot to lot during manufacture.
Buyer beware,
Regards, Red
Hi Robert and All,
I have TN with very severe pain when my pain cycle kicks in. I've had some pretty fair pain relief using Magnesium (Mg) Chloride Brine. There are (2) products available; For Exterior Use Only (Less expensive) and For Internal Use. Both clear liquids come in clear spray bottles and are available at: www.swansonvitamins.com
The External product can simply be rubbed into the cheek on the side of the face where you have pain. Amazingly, it can be quite effective at calming the trigeminal nerve and your pain; at least it did for me. I suggest that you try that one first and if that doesn't provide relief for you, order the pricier mouth-spray (internal use) product.
Good Luck and May GOD Bless, Rick
Lisa, Voltaren Emulgel is 10x better than aspercreme and I don't think it has any smell. You can also ask your Dr. for a cream I use which is prescription strength Voltaren cream. The OTC one is 1.6% but it helps, the prescription one is 10%. The official name is diclofenac cream 10%. It helps a lot and has no smell. The pharmacy makes it for you, it's not a ready-made item, so you'll have to ask your pharmacy if they can make that, or find one that can. The ones within bigger stores like Walmart and Shopko usually don't, but the pharmacies that are only pharmacies usually do.
Lisa (iamrite) said:
I actually just went to the homeopathic store in my town (yes, we only have one :( ). What I found was a store full of ignorance on my condition. St John's wart is NOT going to help, and also very much will cause problems with some of the medication I am taking.... so a big NO to that one.
I actually went in to try and find some face cream. Out of desperation, I found a pain patch in Walgreens this morning. The main ingredient was capsaicin and it actually dulled my pain quite a bit. So I thought they would have something like that in the store, but for the actual face (after I put the patch on I read you were not supposed to put it on the face). This store did not and the lady acted like I was a nut for wanting to put it on my face. I don't think she understood that heat and burning was preferrable to what I have been feeling. I think I might try to find some online instead.
I came home and was desperate again. I put some aspercreme on my face. Not homeopathic by any means, but it is over the counter NSAID cream. Again, it helped dull the outer face pain and calm things down a bit! Strange but true.
Hi Robert,
Please read my story given in my profile. I opted for alternative forms of medication like acupuncture, homeopathy and ayurveda only. My recent experiences with alternate forms of medicine have also been posted in form of discussion thread today. Please go through that as well. If you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them. Regards, Ramakrishna.
hi robert i have type 2 pain but the only homeopathic thing that worked for me was chiropractic it helped my headaches and the burning I got in my face stay away but as soon as I stopped it came back so it wasn't a cure. I have also tried accupuncture twice which didn't do anything and went to a chinese doctor his answer to my face pain was comical and embarressing to say but he told me I needed to move my bowels like really?? I paid you 300 dollars for that! Alot of people will take advantage of you cause they know your in pain. Massages are always nice cranial sacril therapy its for your head...feels good but again not a cure. I rinse my mouth with an essential oil for my teeth pain which seems to help. they say that herbs like flaxseed oil any omega 3s help with nerves ive taken them on and off no result really. I also eat healthy and workout which I really believe helps my pain! good luck hope I helped feel free to friend me and inbox me
Just a warning about capsaicin. I tried it after reading that it might provide some relief and just the opposite happened. It triggered one of the worst attacks I had early on in my disease process. Way worse than the pain I was feeling at the time. I tried chiropractic for awhile, but really didn't get relief. If your TN is caused by an artery pounding on the nerve, the best way to get relief is to have an MVD. If you don't fix it, the pain gets worse until you can't stand it any longer.
Yes! Yes! and Yes! I found homeopathic Chamomilla 200c was the perfect remedy for my TN pain. I have been on gabapentin, and a variety of other pharmaceuticals with all their myriad of side effects and have undergone 3 nerve ablations. Each ablation gave me about 6 months of relief during which time I moved myself slowly off the pain drugs. Always a few months later TN would rear its ugly head again. The fear and anxiety of this happening has always hung deeply in my core.
A few months ago, it was re surging. In despair, I began to use an energy healing technique known to help with fear and anxiety and had a thought come to mind I should try Chamomilla 200c. Within an hour of the time I took a first dose, my 7-8 pain was reduced by about 50%. I continued to take 4 pellets of Chamomilla several more times that day. Gone. TN was gone by that evening. Since, I have had 2 minor flairs and took 4 pellets of Chamomilla 200 right away and have not been bothered since. It’s been blissful as the anticipation fear seems to have gone away with the pain. I carry it with me where ever I go now. I hope this helps you find relief from this horrible affliction. So inexpensive and SAFE!
Without the pain and fear hanging over me like a black cloud, I feel my life settling into peacefulness and people are actually starting to like me again. LOL go figure. Pain can do a lot of damage to your personality too.
Hi Redbekia!
Did you find your Chamomilla 200c at the healthfood store? Where can I get that from?
Coco
Hey there ArtsGuy!,
I recently bought and tried Charlottes’s web its a hemp product with no marijuana inside, its a roll on for the pain area or skin, I also ordered the capsules waiting for them to come in. I cant wait. I also use Orajel for the pain in my mouth on my gums. I’m fearful of medication because I have so much bad side effects. I use Tylenol, ibuprofen and hydro and that’s about it. I’m waiting to have my MVD surgery soon. And am also on A vitamin B complex that I take in the morning with another B12 sublingual.