Hi, Larry. I’m so sorry about your suffering. It does drive you crazy, doesn’t it? I was on an intrathecal pain pump for 10 years with morphine, then snail venom and last was dilaudid. Before that I used the fentanyl patch, hydrocodone, tramadol, you name it. For me personally, I found that narcotics didn’t help. They just zombied me out. My pain management doctor was also trying to treat the pain in my spine from degenerative disc disease. Eventually, nothing worked for either as far as narcotics go, so I don’t take anything for pain. It tore up my stomach from decades of meds so unless I went back to the pain pump, I can’t tolerate oral narcotics after one or two doses. They cause severe stomach pain and vomiting. That creates an extra problem when I have surgeries.

I know a lot of people can’t tolerate Lyrica or gabapentin (Neurontin), but as an anti-seizure drug with an off-label use of helping nerve pain, it is the only thing that reduces the degree of burning. My feet still tingle all the time and I get intermittent sharp jolts like an electric shock. Have you tried higher doses of gabapentin? Although I don’t recommend it, at least not for a woman my size, the maximum dose of 3200 mg per day helped but was too much for me. It made me fall asleep in my food and I was afraid of drowning in my cereal or soup! LOL. Seriously though, it prevented me from driving for 10 years and I couldn’t carry on a conversation without nodding off, so I had them reduce the dose again and again until I am fully alert and can function well. I take 300 mg 2 to 3 times a day. I’m sure since you’ve had it so many years, you’ve tried everything. I am so sorry and will pray for you Larry.

Peggy