New pain drugs to ask for

Cymbalta and Effexor are 2 medications I have used successfully for nerve pain. Lyrica is also a common medication some people have had good results with.

I have also recently found out that Nucyenta has been FDA approved for treatment of diabetic peripheral nueropathy (diabetic nerve pain). As far as I know it is the only narcotic medication actually approved for treating any kind of nerve pain. Most narcotics are rather ineffective for this kind of pain. Never having tried Nucyenta myself I can't speak for it, nor can I personally speak for Lyrica.

I know that burning sensation all to well! I found Lyrica to work well for it then again I probably don't have the burning and nerve pain as bad as you but I had a bulging disc that was wayyyy out there to the point of loosing control of my arm. I remember the Lyrica helped the burning a little but unfortunelty there is a reason doctors are hesitant to prescribe strong opioids: because they work TOO well and thats not to say that you shouldn't suggest them. I find Diazepam to work AMAZING for my nerve pain, I have very little nerve pain if any now and my muscle tension is well controlled. I have Crohns and Ankylosing Spondylitis and general spinal inflammation...

I took all the Cymbalta, Lyrica, Gabapentin, Effoxer, etc. in the world and well it did help the pain in the end an extended release Opioid was really what I needed for better quality of life, it has its downsides but I feel better than ever, I still feel pain and inflammation but its much more manageable...I'd strongly consider discussing something like Nucynta with your doctor, I wouldn't take it only because I am pretty tolerant to strong opioids at this point but it looks VERY promising...that said I had a pain management doctor say it was utter crap and she was switching all her Nucynta patients back to Morphine and Exalgo.

Heres what I experienced summed up with medications:
-Exalgo (Hydromorphone ER): Very strong opioid, I would say this kills most pain I had although it would go in and out through out the day without breakthrough meds. VERY sedating, I was taking naps 3 times a day sometimes.

-Hydrocodone: Good for as needed pain or breakthrough pain...not really something to use for Chronic pain since there are no long acting pill forms.

-Fentanyl patches: Hated these, therapeutic index for fentanyl is pretty small and while the patches are safe mine dose dumped and I almost overdosed on them. Also only lasted two days and on the third day I'd be in one hell of a withdrawal.

-OxyContin: Probably the best, it lasts a sincere 10-12 hours for me, very little highs and lows, I have never been more comfortable before and the dose of my OxyContin is less equivalent than the amount of Hydromorphone, Fentanyl, or Morphine. I do get breakthrough pain but my doctor prescribed me 5mg of Roxicodone to take up to 4 times a day, its more than I need but I won't complain, I only take it once or twice a day, usually towards the 10th hour of the OxyContin when the dose wears off a bit (but not always) or if I end up with a random flare of pain.

Opioids have a bad reputation and in an ideal world with perfect medicine and accurate science we wouldn't have to take Opioids for anything other than severe acute pain but that is NOT the world we live in...I chose to keep my head out of the clouds and be aggressive about my health care and I can say my life is much better. Worrying about addiction makes little sense if you can't even get out of bed from pain, even if you can self control is something every human posses to a certain extend and you need to gauge what type of personality you have. I can't afford a massive massive tolerance to pain killers because I have serious pain.

MedicalKid2: Interesting to hear about all those drugs, I don't know much about all the extended release type opiods. Could be worth a shot maybe, but since my pain is as far as I know purely of a neuropathic nature (suspected trigeminal neuralgia) I am not sure opiates of any kind would help. But then I have only tried the standard codeine/tramadol and not any of the more heavy-duty ones so am willing to give it a go.

The worst thing by far is the sudden jolts of pain that go through my face though, I was on the phone earlier and I felt it building then a massive one went through and my whole face shook violently. The pain is beyond comprehension, if only for a few seconds. This is really worrying me and I hope there is nothing serious going on underneath.

I reckon diazepam is definitely worth asking for from the responses so far, going to do a bit more research. Standard doctors here are scared of prescribing it but if I stress the severity and maybe I can get it. Seeing a good neurologist soon but this is not for 4 weeks, not sure I can manage that long without something to control the tremors.

Jim1969: I tolerate Gabapentin well so I reckon Lyrica will be fine. I wonder if I can get this from the normal doctor tomorrow too? I can ask on here how to take it haha

If your having tremors and shakes, maybe ask about propranolol, its mostly used for high blood pressure, its a beta blocker but it has also been used for anxiety/panic attacks, it blocks adrenaline, I don't know if it would help, but its something you can ask your doctor about? Good luck to you.