Neuropathic Pain in upper midriff area

That pain high in your abdomen coulkd possibly be nerve entrapment---if<br>it's at the outer edge of your "six-pack" muscle (rectus abdominus).<br>If a physician can confirm it by finding a tender spot there, it can be<br>treated very successfully with a local anaesthetic injection. I believe<br>this condition was first described at Mayo. Good luck!<br>

Hello, first time responding and using this app so please excuse if doesn't send or appear correctly. I have had the same type of pain and many GI issues. I was recently told it is visceral hypersensitivity syndrome and prescribed an anti depressant called Elavil. I have not tried it because I am afraid to take the medication after reading all the contraindications. I have hypertension, hypothyroidism, etc. The Dr says it works for many people in a low dose of .25mg taken at night because it makes you tired.Anyone else heard of this? <br><br>

How well is the treatment working?

Welcome @carol94 @patreats5674 and @xottawan.
I encourage you to read the messages in this discussion about Peripheral Neuropathy http://mayocl.in/2aWCYXq To quote @johnwburns from that discussion: "There are many possible causes of peripheral neuropathy, such as diabetes, B12 deficiency, certain drugs, autoimmune disease etc but you'll need a thorough workup to get to a root cause. It may still be spinal but that is TBD. Here is a good article that goes into causes and requisite testing: http://www.todaysgeriatricmedicine.com/archive/070912p14.shtml&quot;

I'd also like to bring @bobsconnect @salena54 and @johnbishop into this discussion. @juneia @workwithkids do you have information to share with Pat about Elavil?

@carol94 to connect with other members talking about seizure disorder please see this discussion:
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/epilepsyseizure-related/

On second thought, Carol94 stated that her pain was "high central" in location, and I suggested nerve entrapment syndrome. The latter occurs at the outer edge of the rectus muscles, not on the midline area. I did not mean to mislead you---no harm done, I hope! For those interested, you can look up CNES, which stands for cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome. The importance of this entity is that it a=is a benign, perfectly harmless condition, easity managed, whereas most other causes of abdominal pain could have more sinister underlying causes.

I too have peripheral Neuropathy, only mine is in the left leg and foot. I also have restless leg, degenerative disc disease, kyphosis of thoracic region, COPD, OSA. The neuropathy is getting worse and the pain in my back is much worse. I am taking gabapentin, pramipexole. fentaNYL. Advair, albuterol, symbicort and am in the process of getting the machine for the sleep apnea. Things seem to be getting worse instead of better. I am wondering if some on the med. are doing it?

Elavil can indeed provide relief for some people and just a lot of side effects for others. I was the latter. You say .25 mg but that isn't even a homeopathic dose. Did you mean 25 mg? That is conservative but then again its all about individual susceptibility to side effects. If you are nervous about it, split the tablet and take half. If you can use it its a good, cheap medication. Review the side effects so you know what to expect. http://www.rxlist.com/elavil-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Note that there is a big difference between side effects at a low dose and side effects at a higher dose.

Hello Carol,<br>I have not started taking the Elavil yet. I am still sitting on the fence so to speak. I will keep you updated should I decide to try it. I am excited to have found this forum.<br><br>

Thank you Colleen for making me feel welcome and your suggestions are much appreciated. I am very excited about this site and am still learning how to navigate. I appreciate everyone's responses to my question.<br><br>