After a bad month with days of intractable pain, I went back to my pain doctor. She explained to me for the second time that there was nothing left to try. I cried. I will find a new doctor because I can't believe that all has been done.
She did a review for me of the meds I have been on and all the classes of drugs available for pain:
Tizanadine, Neurontin, Topomax, Lyrica - central nervous system operators
NSAIDS, specifically Sulindac - anti-inflammatory
Narcotics - well, you know what these are. She says they don't work for chronic pain and lead to habituation so you need more drug to get the same amount of pain relief over time.
She doesn't know about Lamictal, Tegretol, and Trilecta in that she hasn't used them before - anti-seizure drugs. I am going to explore this with a new doctor as I already take Lamictal for mood stabilization under the direction of my psychiatrist.
With strong pressure by me, she came up with taking more Tizanadine on a flare day, but it made me sleepy, taking Neurontin on a flare day (supposedly will make me mildly sleepy and chillin' - haven't tried), Topomax (supposedly will make me stupid and tired), or Lyrica (didn't write down the side effects).
With even more persistence on my part, she came up with applying 5% Lidocaine cream 3xday to an area the size of a tennis ball at most. I have tried this once so far and it may have worked.
I suggested a TENS unit and she recommended the EMS2000 two times a day for 15 minutes.
I really felt positive about my care under her. And now I don't.
Skype with Therapist
I've been having a hard time sitting through therapy because of the nerve pain. After bringing my own cushions, then a rocking chair to our sessions, we skyped yesterday for the first time. It went well and makes me feel much better about therapy. Before that, mixing therapy with physical pain was bumming me out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)