Yes, the lidocaine patches do require my husband to be home to put them on since it is too high up to do myself. And with the heat where you live not an option, sorry.
I’m glad you get some relief from heating pad and gabapentin.
They do 4 nerve block injections for me, 2 on left side and two on right upper middle back focusing on area that lines up with rib they cut for the surgery. Like you my pain radiates across to the other side so they do both sides. Might be worth asking about it. Sounds like our pain is similar, a wide swath across the upper back. I’ve had it done twice now and it has taken the pain down from being unbearable to bearable most of the time with the gabapentin. The pain doctor at Mayo I see seems very familiar with the pain from thoracotomy surgery and knew which rib was cut and which nerves to try and focus on.
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m sorry to hear of others dealing with this.
Take care,
Juliette

The same patch brands make lidocaine creams with 4%. I used because patch would not fit area well. Although I can't say if it really helped much. I am taking Gabpentin. Fortunately, my nerve pain has improved.