Lidocaine patch anyone??

feelbad

how well the lido patch actually works for anyones particular pain process is highly dependant upon the actual pain generator the actual patch placement and what that pain process is.with some of my pain,they are an absolute godsend,with others,i get no real relief from them.all you can really do with them is try them and see how they work for you.i have one pain process called central pain whcih is a constant non stop burning and stinging in my skin,they work wonderfully on that one.also my trigger point pain in my upper back,huge help there too.all you can do is try them for yourself and see.sorry i couldn't help more but like with everything else we take or try for our pain,any response to the stuff is always pretty highly individual.is there any way you could possibly get a free sample from your doc or something just to try before you fill the Rx?just a thought.good luck and i hope they help you.just what type of pain are you trying to treat and where is it located?marcia

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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.

kdel

Hi, The doc didn't have any samples. The pain is in my neck, shoulder, upper back area and most likely due to spasms. I can feel the knots and the larger areas feel like brick.

ms_west

I have them and I have used them on 5 different occassions. Two times I received dramatic relief. I found that I needed to use 3 of them and I would add one at a time. Sometimes I would get relief from applying one above the pain generator. For me, I could not justify the cost for the amount of relief I had. However, that was my experience and your experience might be very worthwhile. Good Luck.

feelbad

for the type of pain you are describing which i am sure also includes trigger point pain?these work really well for me.i have constantly generating TPs all over my neck,upper back and even under my shoulder blades.when things get really nasty i place one patch over that wad of muscle/tissue.it really helps keep the pain from radiating out.it numbs the TP pretty well.for the areas where the patches wont stick like up into the hairline,i use the lido ointment too.it has the same amount(5%) of lido as the patches in it but it doesn't work quite as well,but it sure does help.i think you would probably benefit from the lido patches on your upper back area for sure.i recently got this gel called biofreeze that really really helps alot with my neck and upper back pain too.no other topical that i have tried even comes close to the benefits of the biofreeze.i just tried a sample of this stuff that my hubby got from someone he works with and wow,was i impressed.it really helps keep things less intense.i am using this stuff and lido to try and treat the pain of my newest injury,a torn rotator cuff.i need surgery again(damn) but honestly between the lido but mostly the biofreeze,i have not had to actually increase my narcotics to handle it.that i am really happy about.you can only get the bio from a chiropractor for some stupid reason,tho i am pretty sure you could probably track it down on the net somewhere.i love this stuff.

i would most definitely get that Rx for the patches filled when you can.it honestly really helps tons with my TP pain,much better than alot of other things i have tried in the past,including the nasty TP injections that i think i have probably had at least 100 or so of at this point.i also use the tennis ball in a sock thing where you place it behind your upper back and a nice solid wall and roll it around and push it into the actual TP?sometimes by holding firm pressure for about 45 seconds you can kind of pop the TP or break it down?it also just feels kind of good to push and roll that ball around kind of hard into the whole upper back sometimes.just little helpful hints i use that help.i do think the lido would be worth filling tho.just being able to actually 'numb' those radiating wads of torture really helps.good luck and i hope you can get the same relief i get with the lido.please let us know how things go.marcia

__________________
3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.

kdel

WOW, Thanks for so much info! I have no idea where I should stick it though because the painful area is so big. I do definitley have the TP pain along with such severe tightening of the muscles in upper back, neck that the chiro (and also a massage therapist) would not touch for fear of actually snapping the muscle. So I have wasted alot of money already. Any idea how much these patches cost? Doesn't insurance cover them?
As for the biofreeze stuff-I have never heard of that. I have a chiropracter in the family-he is my husbands cousin but I have never gone to him (not very close). Maybe I can get my husband to ask about this stuff. I'm sure he will want me to come in first though. The pain is so intense I went to call him myself yesterday but his office was closed. He keeps strange hours. he's only in some early mornings then closes for like 3 hour lunch. Sometimes he comes back but not always and he's about an hour away.
Also Feelbad- I had rotater cuff surgery 2 years ago also on the side that is giving me so much trouble. I hate to say it did nothing for me and recovery was long and excrutiating. Have you had this done once already?