For those who have episodes of breakthrough pain bad enough to go to an emergency room, what medications have they used for you that work? The form from here on the site is wonderful, but the doctors have asked me what medications have worked, and I don't remember other than they kept adding different ones to try and help (at least they kept trying).
Lidocaine patches / cream for topical relief
Heavy narcotic like dillaudid will work short time
We are on anti epileptics as a rule / trileptal or neurontin
I hope somebody was able to help tonight
Let us know!
I like dilaudid as well for emergency pain relief.
I ended up in the ER,the doctor was so nice, it was refreshing. He admitted that he was not super familiar with TN, but knew how painful it was, he ordered Dilaudid and gave me 1mg ever 30 minutes for as long as it took to get the pain down, I told him they had given me droperidol in the past and then he ordered that added into the mix, it took several hours of multiple doses, but eventually they got the pain down to a 4. Praying for a sooner surgery date but thankful for a little bit of relief…in fact I slept for about 20 hours, considering I hadn’t been sleeping for three days…it was all good.
I never thought to go to the E.R. I just sit and cry and after a few nights of not much sleep, I contact the doc and they usually increase my meds (that I already increased from being in so much pain, LOL).
Me and you both, Donna...that's usually my m.o. too....
However..the one time that my hubby insisted on an ER visit, they gave me Dilaudid too. It really just made me fall asleep for a couple hours.
So that seems to be what to ask for by the responses here.....*makes a little note of my own..just in case*
~Mistee
Every time I have gone to the ER (haven't bothered to go that route in a year or so) they either don't know what TN is, or say I am too young as they've not treated someone my age with it before regardless of what my Neuro or GP has diagnosed/treated me for. They DO hear pain, headache, light and sound sensitivity, and try to dope me up with some migraine cocktail that costs way too much and does nothing. I follow the Mistee and Donna m.o. of just sitting it out most times these days.
The only medicine that has helped me, and helps as a breakthrough is Indocin (a very old NSAID that works for neuropathic pain where the others Advil, Motrin, etc. don't seem too).
Anecdotally, I often go make the hottest, spiciest plate of food that I can handle when I get a really back spike in pain. The
"hot" must include capsaicin from cayenne or habanero peppers though in order to get your brain to order the CN5 to spew out Substance P (a neuropeptide/neurotransmitter) and use it up on the hot instead of the pain from the Trigeminal Nerve. When the burn subsides, so does the TN pain usually...at least to a more tolerable level. I am not a Doctor, or even an expert on TN, but I have it and over the past many months I have found that this works. The theory behind it is that your nerves only have so much of the neurotransmitter within them, when you use it up on the capsaicin it takes the body a while to replenish the supply to the nerve endings which equals temporary pain relief.
Medicine: Indocin (Indomethacin)
Natural: Hot hot peppers
Fred
Mistee Humphreys Shelton said:
Me and you both, Donna...that's usually my m.o. too....
However..the one time that my hubby insisted on an ER visit, they gave me Dilaudid too. It really just made me fall asleep for a couple hours.
So that seems to be what to ask for by the responses here.....*makes a little note of my own..just in case*
~Mistee
There’s a form on this site in the resource section that I take with me…this is what has helped end the discussion and speed up treatment
aCuppaCoffee said:
Every time I have gone to the ER (haven’t bothered to go that route in a year or so) they either don’t know what TN is, or say I am too young as they’ve not treated someone my age with it before regardless of what my Neuro or GP has diagnosed/treated me for. They DO hear pain, headache, light and sound sensitivity, and try to dope me up with some migraine cocktail that costs way too much and does nothing. I follow the Mistee and Donna m.o. of just sitting it out most times these days.
The only medicine that has helped me, and helps as a breakthrough is Indocin (a very old NSAID that works for neuropathic pain where the others Advil, Motrin, etc. don’t seem too).
Anecdotally, I often go make the hottest, spiciest plate of food that I can handle when I get a really back spike in pain. The
“hot” must include capsaicin from cayenne or habanero peppers though in order to get your brain to order the CN5 to spew out Substance P (a neuropeptide/neurotransmitter) and use it up on the hot instead of the pain from the Trigeminal Nerve. When the burn subsides, so does the TN pain usually…at least to a more tolerable level. I am not a Doctor, or even an expert on TN, but I have it and over the past many months I have found that this works. The theory behind it is that your nerves only have so much of the neurotransmitter within them, when you use it up on the capsaicin it takes the body a while to replenish the supply to the nerve endings which equals temporary pain relief.Medicine: Indocin (Indomethacin)
Natural: Hot hot peppers
Fred
Mistee Humphreys Shelton said:Me and you both, Donna…that’s usually my m.o. too…
However…the one time that my hubby insisted on an ER visit, they gave me Dilaudid too. It really just made me fall asleep for a couple hours.
So that seems to be what to ask for by the responses here…makes a little note of my own…just in case
~Mistee
I am going to try this next time! Or maybe I will just eat a bunch of hot peppers! Seriously, I am willing to try anything when it gets bad.
aCuppaCoffee said:
Every time I have gone to the ER (haven't bothered to go that route in a year or so) they either don't know what TN is, or say I am too young as they've not treated someone my age with it before regardless of what my Neuro or GP has diagnosed/treated me for. They DO hear pain, headache, light and sound sensitivity, and try to dope me up with some migraine cocktail that costs way too much and does nothing. I follow the Mistee and Donna m.o. of just sitting it out most times these days.
The only medicine that has helped me, and helps as a breakthrough is Indocin (a very old NSAID that works for neuropathic pain where the others Advil, Motrin, etc. don't seem too).
Anecdotally, I often go make the hottest, spiciest plate of food that I can handle when I get a really back spike in pain. The
"hot" must include capsaicin from cayenne or habanero peppers though in order to get your brain to order the CN5 to spew out Substance P (a neuropeptide/neurotransmitter) and use it up on the hot instead of the pain from the Trigeminal Nerve. When the burn subsides, so does the TN pain usually...at least to a more tolerable level. I am not a Doctor, or even an expert on TN, but I have it and over the past many months I have found that this works. The theory behind it is that your nerves only have so much of the neurotransmitter within them, when you use it up on the capsaicin it takes the body a while to replenish the supply to the nerve endings which equals temporary pain relief.Medicine: Indocin (Indomethacin)
Natural: Hot hot peppers
Fred
Mistee Humphreys Shelton said:Me and you both, Donna...that's usually my m.o. too....
However..the one time that my hubby insisted on an ER visit, they gave me Dilaudid too. It really just made me fall asleep for a couple hours.
So that seems to be what to ask for by the responses here.....*makes a little note of my own..just in case*
~Mistee