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Effectively- post-neuropathy pain after shingles on your head
Hi all, I'm curious if anyone has found effective ways to deal with post-neuropathy pain after shingles on their head. If you've successfully managed it, I'd really appreciate any tips or treatments that worked for you. Thanks!
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@johnbishop Good morning,
Has anyone benefitted from Tramadol, That’s what the pain management Dr is suggesting.
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1 ReactionGood morning @jandy88us, I've never used Tramadol but you might want to scan through the following discussion to read what others have shared.
-- What are your experiences with tramadol ?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-are-your-experiences-with-tramadol/
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1 Reaction@jandy88us
Shingles pain is among the worst pains imaginable. I had Shingles several years ago (I also had the Shingrex vaccination the year before), and I was prescribed Tramadol. I did not find it to be as helpful as Gabapentin. For me, Shingles pain was the worst at night, so I also took 50 mg of Trazodone at bedtime. Trazodone, combined with Gabapentin at bedtime, allowed me to sleep better. I also recall using Voltaren, which provided some relief.
It took several weeks before I was pain-free. I described the pain as the feeling of a sunburn inside the skin.
@hopeful33250
Thank you so much for responding!
I’m glad your pain is gone!
I have burning throughout my body but worse in my head! It feels like someone is pouring really hot water inside my head!
Gabapentin and Lyrica did not work for me!
I’m considering Tramadol.
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1 Reaction@jandy88us
I would love to hear from you again. Will you continue to post as you try new medications and therapies?
@hopeful33250
Absolutely!
I met with a pain management Dr. last week and told me we can start with Tramadol and see how it goes. I’ve decided against it for a couple of reasons.
Right now I’m dealing with the burning the best I can with God’s help!
How are you feeling?
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1 Reaction@jandy88us
I appreciate you posting again. I am feeling OK. My post-shingles pain has not returned in quite some time. I do have some neuropathy symptoms, but not the actual post-shingles pain.
It sounds like you are reluctant to try Tramadol. Is there a specific reason, or are you just wanting to go it on your own for a little longer?
Thank you so much!!
I decided against the Tramadol
because I’m already taking several medications that cause me to feel drowsy while I’m working! I also do not want to deal with developing a dependency on it!
I hope that makes sense!
I have an appt for acupuncture next week! I’m praying it’ll be helpful!!
Sorry to hear about your trigeminal neuropathy.
Like a few of the other commenters here I have had trigeminal neuralgia as a result of a bad bout of shingles probably 14years ago now. I was initially put on a healthy dose of Lyrica for about 2 years and that helped a lot. I did decide to stop taking it and I went on a course of applying capsaicin cream 3 times a day for 30mins at a time. I did that for about 3 months.
The pain from the capsaicin cream was so intense I believe it causes your brain to change the way it registers pain and the end result is the pain from the trigeminal neuralgia becomes manageable. I have not taken any Lyrica or medication for 12 years and not applied capsaicin cream for probably 10yrs. While my skin is still hypersensitive in some areas and dull in other areas. I rarely have spikes of pain (maybe once a year for secs) and it has a very, very minor impact on my daily life.
It is tough to keep applying the capsaicin cream but the results were well worth it.