And NOW I'm new to taking Lidocaine Patches - please assist :) - Pain Management Message Board

igy76 · 09-23-2003, 05:12 PM

Hey guys

As was talked about in my Topamax post, I have what my PM doc believes is brachial plexus neuritis (MRI next tuesday). I'm on MS Contin 15mg with Perc 5/325 for BT, and Topamax currently 50mg at bedtime. Well just today the doc was nice enough to give me 8 free samples of the Lidoderm Lidocaine Patch (I'm a cash patient), so I don't even know how much I would've saved here. Anyway, this is all for a problem in my right shoulder, and centers right above the arm pit, so as you can imagine quite an awkward area for a big patch. My question to those that have used that patch: does the numbing power you get from it end RIGHT at the edge of the patch, or does it radiate at all further, if even for another inch down the skin? Because I'm wondering if I should break up the patch. Since it's going on an area of a joint where there'll be a lot of movement, I was thinking of cutting it up into smaller pieces, then maybe placing one on the left of the center of the armpit, then on the right of it, etc. (So nothing will be on the part of the skin that's actually moving all the time)

I sure hope I'm articulating this as I'm picturing it in my head. Well, for those of you who've used the patch, I'd appreciate the feedback, and to know if it worked well. Thanks!

dwpavlik · 09-23-2003, 06:52 PM

Hello
The patch will send its medication into your blood stream from where it is placed. You need not place it directly on the troubled area. The idea of the patch is that you could place it on your leg and get relief in your arm. So you need not put it on the effected part of your body. Just place it in a comfortable area and it will do its job in your entire body. I put the patch on my arm when I used them. It took care of my legs and arms both.
Don

igy76 · 09-23-2003, 07:49 PM

I'm sorry Don, please pardon me for asking this, but you do realize I'm talking about the Lidocaine patch, and not the Duragesic or Fentynal patch, right? I mean, when I put this thing on, I'm not expecting it to make my entire body numb. The pamphlet even talks specifically about the patch being designed as not to deliver the medication deep into the blood stream, but just deep enough into the skin so that the nerves right there are affected.

HikingFan · 09-23-2003, 08:28 PM

You are correct Igy. The lidoderm patches are a local anethestetic. It delivers relief whereever you place it, and radiates out only a small amount (less than an inch from the edge of the patch.) The narcotic pain patches are a time-release patch and is absorbed into your system. The Lidocaine is an external thing (sort of like Icy Hot or another penetrating OTC)

I think the previous poster is thinking of the long acting pain med patches, which work very differently.

I cut them up in smaller pieces to put on my shoulder spasms...otherwise it is too bulky and movement pulls it off at my pivot points.

Good Luck!
Sara

HockeyCrystal · 09-23-2003, 08:32 PM

igy,
Sorry I didn't realize you posted this as a seperate topic so I answered this on your other post about Topamax, but I'll repost for you....

I don't know how much those lidoderm patches are on your Rx plan, but I don't have coverage on my Rx's and I went to get my patches filled after I had gone through my samples that I was given, and I was so irritated to find out that they cost over $300 for just a month's supply. That was for 60 patches, because you're not supposed to use more than 2 a day. Oh and by the way, you can cut those to fit your site of pain. And they save the patches to make the amount of patches you have longer. I cut mine in half and put one half on my shoulder blade at a time. That way one patch lasts a day as long as you only have one site of pain that you use them on. And also, I had trouble getting them to stick for more than 5 hours so hopefully you'll have better luck with them than I did. They also didn't help terribly well, so they definitely were NOT worth over $300 to me. I refused the script and told my doc that I didn't get them filled due to the fact that they helped only slightly and they made my skin very itchy. I believe you're supposed to let your skin breathe from the patches at times. 12 hours on and 12 off. But my doc told me it was okay if sometimes I put one on right after taking one off, but don't do that constantly since you keep applying them to the same area of skin, and you can get lots of irritation if you don't let your skin breathe. I hope they help you better, and I hope you don't have to pay over $300 when you get a script for them. Hopefully the plan you're on will give you a lot bigger of discount on them.
Have a great night, and hope I've helped some about those Lidoderm patches.

Again, I hope they help with your pain... Mine barely helped much.

Much

Crystal

Edited to add:
P.S. You are right about it not going everywhere. The lidoderm patches does not go elsewhere in your body. And it doesn't even feel "numb" there. It just seems to like numb the nerves so they don't get the pain signals. At least mine doesn't feel numb when I use it... It's a localized pain reliever. It will not help other pain away from where the patch is located.
------------------
-21 year old chronic pain patient..
-Have a transitional vertebrae @ s1.
-Slight bulges in disks L4-L5 and L5-S1.
-adhesions from years of not knowing gallbladder was bad then had it removed, lots of abdominal pain now... also referred pain in mid and upper back from gallbladder as well...
-Chronic severe migraines, and tension headaches... Taking Axert for migraines.. Working well...Nothing px'ed for tension headaches... Sometimes even get both kinds of headaches at the same time..... Really weird.
-Lots of low back and mid back pain growing up..
-Then was in 2 very bad car accidents not even a year apart, 1@17y.o. and 1@18y.o. Had fractures in both... Arm in one, and wrist and hand in the other wreck. Arm was broke by airbag.. Wrist and hand by impact of hand slamming into steering wheel... Also had back, neck and chest (from seatbelt) pain from these wrecks. And in one slammed knees into dash. Also fell on ice a couple yrs ago and landed right on tail bone. This is what my PM doc feels caused the bulges.
-Also have had a few cysts on left ovary, that burst.
-Also had pre-cancerous cells on cervix, and had surgery in Dec. 2002 to have them removed. Have been having normal paps ever since! (Didn't have one of those for like 3 years!)
-Now having lots of knifelike shoulder pain between spine and shoulder blades..Also having a lot of hip/pelvic pain and soreness under my butt, if that even makes sense...And pain in low-back/sacral area and tailbone area...like it's going to crack and break or something... It hurts to sit for very long at all.
-Pain overall between 7-9 everyday with OR without meds.. Because Percocets aren't working well anymore at all.
-Still somewhat undiagnosed, but have had these tests for my pain issues... :
*CT Scan on entire spine
*CT Scan on abdomen
*X-rays on shoulder and entire spine
*MRI on head and spine
*Also been to these specialists: Chiropractor-Did adjustments, and a few other treatments; Orthopedic surgeon-gave stretches and PT exercises to do, also px'd Ibuprofen800 which I can no longer take any NSAIDs; D.O. (my PCP)-Did adjustments, and px'd my meds until I got into pain management.
Pain mgmt doc and his P.A. Have changed my previous meds, and plans on doing Trigger point injections and a couple steroid injections on November 19, 2003. Hope that helps! Then maybe I can go off these pain pills! If not, who knows what's going to go on, but I'm trying to stay positive!

-Started at PM Clinic on 9/9/03, and went wonderful. First saw the P.A. Then saw the PM doc on the 18th, and he's absolutely wonderful.
-Moderate case of TMJ
-Lots of throbbing pain in left knee and left arm from previous fractures.. (knee from sports; arm broke in a car accident)..
-Also arthritis in hands.. Broken 6 of my fingers several times, and also broke 3 of my toes...
-Meds I was taking, then the meds I was changed to and I'm taking now : Percocet 7.5/500 every 4 hrs as need for pain changed on 9/23 to Percocet 10 (hope it does better!), Flexeril 10mg 2x/day changed on 9/9 to Zanaflex 3x/day, Tofranil 50mg @ bedtime changed to Gabitril 40mg @ bedtime on 9/9, Imitrex for migraines changed to Relpax on 9/9 then to Axert on 9/18, also given Zoloft 50mg in the morning on 9/9 to counteract all the meds that make me drowsy to keep me more awake.

[This message has been edited by HockeyCrystal (edited 09-23-2003).]