Help with pain what works???

Hello @mzlovely, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @duchess926 and others. There are many different discussions on what members have found helps with their neuropathy symptoms. Here's a search link if you want to scan through them to read what others have shared - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/.

How long have you had neuropathy? Are you able to share a little more about your symptoms and neuropathy diagnosis?

My friend sent me an article entitled "You've Got Some Nerve!". It's from an AARP magazine. Essentially it says that a recent development that is a treatment for inflammation and the pain associated with it. Patient had been suffering pain from RA at a daily level of 4-5 on good days. On bad days it was more like a 7. An implant the size of a jelly bean was placed under the skin on the left side of the neck. This device was a small pulse generator that wraps around the vagus nerve, the largest cranial nerve in the body. The device releases an electrical impulse for one minute each day. The impulse travels through the Vagus nerve to the brain. The device activates the inflammatory reflex which signals the vagus nerve to slow down inflammation. The patient began to feel relief, and over the next few weeks the pain subsided considerably. Two and a half years later with the device still implanted, the patient reports a pain level of around a one on most days. Specialists expect VNS (vagus nerve stimulation) to explode on the scene over the next five years. It is expected to be able to treat a number of various ailments that cause severe pain.
The article appeared in the April 2026 edition of the AARP Bulletin.

@heisenberg34
What a great reply. Thank you so much!
I have been hearing lots in different research about using interventions on the vagus nerve for pain.
I am printing off your reply.

I’m having a very difficult time with my feet it hurts like hell burning.
Drs are NOT helping they are SO SLOW and my quality of life sucks.
I went to a Podiatrist a few days ago and he prescribed a cream from a compounding pharmacy with lidocaine,Gabapentin ,Capasain(sp) and something else.
He rubbed it onto my feet out of curiosity to see if it helped and it did.
It was by far the best day I’ve had in quite a while.
Insurance doesn’t cover it. It cost about $80 for a 45 day supply and you can apply to three times a day but it seems to help and at this point. I’ll try anything because I’m not doing too well.

Yes I ordered a cream with lidocaine Gabapentin Capasain and another ingredient a podiatrist applied it to my feet and it seemed to help a bit.
I don’t have it yet I ordered it on Friday.
It was made at a compounding pharmacy EBM Medical.

@mrmantra I saw a similar cream that someone here on the blog put together. I suffer from similar foot pain/burning/tingling. I tried to get my Primary to give me a script for it but she hemmed and hawed saying that I was already taking oral gabapentin. So I'm going to get the ingredients and compound my own. Say, did your stuff actually work or was it the placebo effect. I tried pure capscasin but it seemed to burn my feet. I would pay $500/month for something if it actually helped. Good luck!