my neurologist told me that pain meds do not help tn? is this true?
If Vicoden & Percoset didn’t work for me & popped a lot! Tripleptal & Baclofen are my drugs of choice. Not working so well now & scheduled for my 2nd MVD Nov 15th & can hardly wait. The pain is too much?
Pain meds help many people; one can't make a blanket statement like that. However, I think when they say that, they mean that pain meds don't help classic TN. If you have neuropathic pain, like constant aching and burning, pain meds can be quite beneficial and offer many people relief, including myself.
Hi Crystal- I did say they didn’t help ME & didn’t think I was generalizing. I have TN 1 & was trying to help. Perhaps you were referring to the doctors statement & I am grouchy because my drugs aren’t working very well now. I used to say that tegretol & now trileptal were my magic
Pills but they seem to have lost the magic at almost any dosage.
Hello Michelle,
Maybe he meant meds won't CURE the TN.?
I take Carbamazepine for my classic TN. Doesn't work all the time, but it shure works a lot Wouldn't know what to do without it.
Ellis (netherlands, europe).
Hi Michelle,
I think it's individual. I got prescribed several pain meds because my neurologist believes they should help when I get a sudden attack (I have ATN with constant feeling of pressure in my teeth and occassional painful day), but none of them work. I have found a doctor who does acupuncture on my face/hands/feet and it helps quite a bit on my pain days, although the results last "only" from one day to a few days.
Hi Michelle,
Maybe he meant pain meds like paracetamol, aspirin, ibruprofen and other non prescription pain relief. They certainly didn't work for me. Before I was diagnosed with TN2 I tried them all but none gave me any relief.
Linda, I was replying to the original post, where she says her Neurologist told her pain meds don't work. Sigh.
I also agree that it depends on the person and which pain meds you try. Percocet, Lortab didn't touch my pain. MS Contin (extended release Morphine) helps me alot with TN2 symptoms. I still get shocks, but when the throbbing is bad, I can't function. Morphine has been a life saver for me.
I think some in the medical profession hold onto this belief, which is a shame for their patients. Each person needs to be treated as an individual and assessed for the best help available. We all know what the pain is like, flaming awful. We would literally do anything to relieve it so no holds barred is what I would suggest. Try whatever your medical advisor says will help. I was prescribed something to boost my Tegretol, if pain meds don't help then I am at a loss to see why I was prescribed it. Bottom line: we pay costly Dr's to help us and they should try all legal options.
I was told this week by the doctor I saw at a pain clinic that in general pain killers such as paracetamol/ibuprofen etc that most people would try first if they are in pain are not the best for nerve pain and many people report that they have no effect. He also said that in his experience some of the stronger pain killers often don't deal with the pain but can help because they knock you out a bit - many of them have a sedative effect. He said one pain killer that can have more effect on nerve pain is tramadol, it actually has some effect on nerves. However he said it's worth trying things if you're in pain because if it's bad even "just" being knocked out for a bit can help, especially if you're having problems sleeping. I assumed from that that they know whether the active ingredients in pain killers specifically target pain. I have found tramadol helped a bit, and when the pain is bad it can help me get to sleep, but I don't like the side effects so don't take it often.
I think this goes to show you everyone is different and you have to try different things to see what works best for you. tramadol doesn't help me one bit.
Ruth, I am glad it helps you. it is so nice when you find something that helps, even if it just takes the edge off.
ruth13 said:
I was told this week by the doctor I saw at a pain clinic that in general pain killers such as paracetamol/ibuprofen etc that most people would try first if they are in pain are not the best for nerve pain and many people report that they have no effect. He also said that in his experience some of the stronger pain killers often don't deal with the pain but can help because they knock you out a bit - many of them have a sedative effect. He said one pain killer that can have more effect on nerve pain is tramadol, it actually has some effect on nerves. However he said it's worth trying things if you're in pain because if it's bad even "just" being knocked out for a bit can help, especially if you're having problems sleeping. I assumed from that that they know whether the active ingredients in pain killers specifically target pain. I have found tramadol helped a bit, and when the pain is bad it can help me get to sleep, but I don't like the side effects so don't take it often.
Sorry, my question is pretty much the same as yours, I had the window up typing mine while I was taking care of kids so it took me awhile to get done. I'm learning a lot about pain medicine from this discussion. My Neurologist said pretty much the same thing, but I guess I feel like he just doesn't understand. This thing called TN is affecting every aspect of my life. Even if I could just get a good night sleep it would make a big difference.
I had some success with slow release Oxycontin.... problem was the dose had to be slowly increased to maintain effectiveness. From memory I was on 200mg 3 times a day after 3 months. Morning, afternoon and small hours of morning. It helped. Problem was, besides dose tolerance, if I delayed a dose I started to feel massive anxiety / trouble sort of welling up behind me. Just dreadful. And my body was starting to complain - constipation, stiff tendons, particularly in ankles. Most peculiar. So I stopped, too abruptly! I felt like rubbish, plus the ATN back. The worst was "restless legs", which I guess you've heard of? Well I had it over my whole body, usually thru the the night so I had trouble sleeping... low dose valium helped.
I've been on Tramadol slow release now for nearly 12 months. Initially ( 3 months or so) it helped. Now I don't think it's doing a thing. I take endone for break through pain... which translates to when I've had enough of the pain / nausea I take a dose and feel like a human for a couple of hours. Helps a little with pain / nausea , but main thing is it helps my attitude a little. I even smile! But I ration this out to avoid dose tolerance. I trust this is the correct spot to be posting this. ??