I am just curious as to what type of pain medications everyone is taking, I know for all of us it is different. I am on 2400mg of Neurontin daily and take 5/500 Lortab, but I am only allowed 2 a day. I have a Dr.s appointment coming up and need to discuss an alternate pain med because the Lortab just isnt doing the trick anymore, I think my body has gotten used to it.
Suggest you join the Opoid Treatments group, Mail Lady... Likewise there is an extensivesub- section on medications in the Face Pain Info article.
Regards, Red
ONLY TWO A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! 5/500 is the lowest intro amount they can give you of hydrocodone. That would not even solve pain in my big toe for me. This is what the ER gave me.
Do you have liver problems? The 500 refers to the tylenol in the product.
When I went to see my regular doctor he gave me 10mg of it and I could have up to 2 every 6 hours.
I am now on oxycodone - no tylenol. This seems to work well for me. The problem with oxy is that it is extremely controlled so everytime you need a refill you have to physically go into the dr's office for a prescription. Whereas, a pharmacy can request a refill for you of your current pain medication.
Yes Lisa only 2 a day...and the sad part is I started at 1 a day, I suffer alot!...and no I do not have liver problems, at one point last year my Dr. cut me off of my pain meds for 3 months, saying that lortab is highly addictive...I believe alot of people abuse this drug as well as many other drugs but at 1 or even 2 pills a day I do not believe I am an addict..LOL. Thank you for the reply.
Lisa (iamrite) said:
ONLY TWO A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! 5/500 is the lowest intro amount they can give you of hydrocodone. That would not even solve pain in my big toe for me. This is what the ER gave me.
Do you have liver problems? The 500 refers to the tylenol in the product.
When I went to see my regular doctor he gave me 10mg of it and I could have up to 2 every 6 hours.
I am now on oxycodone - no tylenol. This seems to work well for me. The problem with oxy is that it is extremely controlled so everytime you need a refill you have to physically go into the dr's office for a prescription. Whereas, a pharmacy can request a refill for you of your current pain medication.
Thanks Red!
Richard A. "Red" Lawhern said:
Suggest you join the Opoid Treatments group, Mail Lady... Likewise there is an extensivesub- section on medications in the Face Pain Info article.
Regards, Red
I don't know if you have type 1 or type 2, but for my type 1 zaps, before my recent MVD, I used lidocaine patches on my cheek. It also comes in a cream and is a prescription....Works for 12 hours on medium to mild pains.
Kimberly
I think your doctor is kinda whacky. Yes it is addictive if abused. While those with Tn are habitual users, wetend to not abuse the sustances. To me it is about quality of life whenwe are chronic pain patients. It makes me so sad to read about people with doctors who are unwilling to prescribe what helps. You are your best judge, not the dr. Is this a neuro or regular GP?
This is my regular MD, my neuro is 2 hrs away and he stated there was nothing more he could do for me. He did try to refer me to a pain specialist, however, they never contacted me and after several attempts to contact them I gave up out of frustration. The pain Dr.s in my area just push the injections into the nerve, they want to go up under my cheek and into the orbital area of the eye..and I have to be awake during this..ughhhh. They said that I would just have to keep having injections until they were able to give me the longest relief, all of this was with no guarentee! I am considering looking into a different pain specialist though, maybe they would be more helpful with the pain medicine. My regular MD did increase the Lortab yesterday to 7.5/500 2 pills a day...LOL..that was the most I could get her to do.
I take a number of meds but the opiod I am on for pain attacks i is now Percocet. The Loretab did not do it for me either.
My Dr. wants to break my pain cycle. I'm on 1200mg of Tegretol and 900mg of Gabapentin. Has anyone ever been on both of these at the same time. I haven't seen anyone on her that has. I take Vicodin also I am in so much pain and nothing seems to be breaking the pain. Any help or suggestions would be greatly apprecaited.
Kimi, I've talked with patients using both Tegretol and Gabapentin. However, especially if you have symptoms of ATN, you might need to be tapered down from one of the two anti-convulsant meds, and tapered up on one of the tricyclic antidepressants like Amitriptyline. Talk with your doctor.
Regards, Red
When I was first dx'd I was put on Tegretol. That was not controlling the pain. I had to call my doctor and he put me on gabapentin as well. That did not break the pain cycle. So I was taken slowly off the Tegretol due to the liver side effects, then the doctor increased the gabapentin. I am currently in a very bad pain cycle where the only thing controlling the pain is oxycodone. I know that every person is different though. Some do not even find relief from that.
** Update** I finally got a referral to a pain specialist. My appointment was today, I can honestly say that since I was diagnosed with TN I have had a hard time finding Dr.'s that even pretended to understand the pain and affect that this disorder can have on your life. BUT today I met with a Dr. that seemed extremely interested and understanding. He increased my Lortab dose and also prescribed Naproxen. They feel that I might very well have RSD (reflex sympathy dystrophy) in my face, its not common but very possible, that would explain the swelling and redness that I get sometimes. I go back in a month to see how things are going. They told me not to get discouraged if it doesn't work because they still have several options and combinations of medicines to try. I left there feeling hopeful for the first time in years. :)
Hello. I’m new here. I have great pain in my right ear and moderate pain going into my face. It started after repeated dental work. The neuro I saw says it is nerve pain. I’m at the beginning of this nightmare.
Mail lady, I hope the Neurontin helps and you can find something for break through pain fast!
Red and everyone: can you give me an example of an Opoid? I was given Percocet by my Oral surgeon and it only helps when my pain is mild and barely. If my pain is severe or even moderate , it doesn’t help at all. And Vicodin doesn’t help, PERIOD. Have you noticed any tendency toward any particular medication having even a slight tendency to help with breakthrough pain? I’m seeing a pain specialist in almost a week. Thank you.
Nomad, the most helpful drug for me is the Neurontin. No matter what drug you are on I believe all of us unfortunately have the breakthrough pain. I wish there was a magic drug that would take away everyones pain but so far there just isn't. I am truely sorry you have to deal with this. I wish you all the best and I hope your pain specialist will help you find some relief!
Opiods examples are...Vicoden (hydrocodone),Oxycodone and Morphine. There are more but I am not familiar with them all.
I have used oxicontin as well as Vicodin for breakthrough pain with some degree of relief. The problem I see is also the side effects of all the medications used to treat TN debilitating fatigue Can’t they do anything for all of us to help us function. Why do all medications have the side effects of fatigue? Isn’t there anything that can be used to nullify that side effect also??? I know your looking for a majic bullet but I don’t think it exists. But I continue to hope for future medications to be developed to end all of our suffering. You’re iny prayers.