Losing pain with Fentanyl.. but still having breakthrough pain..

what is wrong with you for starters? why are you on the fentanyl? its not usually prescribed unless you are already opiate tolerant. and its usually used in conjunction with other pain meds for breakthrough or additional pain.

david

Chronica...what type of pain do you have? This would help to know so we could suggest something that may be good to ask your Dr.

There are muscle relaxers for muscle spasms/deep aching type pain.

There are nerve pain medications that help with the "on fire", tingling, and searing type pain.

As well as many of us are on antidepressants that help both emotionally and physically.

And then many other modalities like daily exercise, aqua therapy, physical therapy, injections, steroids, ice, heat, acupuncture, massage, nerve ablation, biofeedback, counselin, eating healthy, not smoking, etc.

For me, I use a muscle relaxer to take on the bad days with spasms. Thankfully my last fusion helped with most of the nerve pain. Walking every day is great for me and keeps things limber as well as I do am/pm yoga and stretching with bands. And yes, simple things like adding in Tylenol or Advil can be effective too.

So, if you could share a bit more about what injuries or health issues cause your pain that would help.

Because of your condition causing nerve pain, the best type of medications for that are not opiates, but medications like Lyrica, Neurontin (gabapentin)  , Topamax, Celebrex, Cymbalta and the old tricyclic anti depressants work wonders for neuropathic pain.

The fentanyl won't do much for nerve pain, that is for mechanical pain but I would definately talk to your doctor about trying one or more of the medications mentioned above since they work well in treating pain caused by nerve damage. You do have to be a bit patient though because those type of meds can take a few weeks or even months to find the correct dosage for you to get good results from. The side effects usually go away after a few days to a few weeks once your body acclimates to the medication.