Hi everyone,
I have type II TN and what I believe to be geniculate neuralgia. This means I have pretty constant pain.
Unfortunately, I seem to be allergic to the big three meds (gabapentin, Tegretol, and Lyrica). To top it off, I don’t seem to have very effective doctors, and until I have health insurance, I won’t be finding new ones. So, I’m left with extremely limited choices regarding pain management.
I have been out of work caring for the in-laws for over a year. Now that they are in a nursing home, I want to go back to work (if for no other reason than to be able to afford health insurance), but I needed a way to ice my head while I’m working. I’m looking for manufacturing work (leaving higher ed behind), so what I look like won’t matter.
Here’s my trick: I poured 2/3 water and 1/3 vodka onto a Depends pad. You can use isopropyl rubbing alcohol instead of the vodka. Sadly, I had lots of vodka but no rubbing alcohol! Once the pad swelled a bit, I put it in the freezer. When it was frozen, I took off the “cloth” wrapping, leaving the frozen gel interior, and then cut it into the right shape for my purposes. Next, I put it in a food saver vacuum bag and sealed it.
I’ve created several of these and plan to make more. They stay cold for at least an hour.
Here’s the neat thing, though: I use a Buff scarf to hold it on my head. I fold the tube in half, then in half again. I slide the gel pack in between the layers, and I put that on my head. The gel pack stays put!
I will be building a collection of these scarves, and I intend to have a number of gel packs that I can take to work in a cooler or store in the freezer.
This, ibuprofen, and the occasional Tramadol are all I have for pain relief right now, but the gel pack system has been a Godsend.
I hope this helps someone!
Beth
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