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Posted 2/25/2009 5:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

My doc just started having me use lidoderm patches yesterday. Already I've noticed that it sticks well for the first few hours, but then the edges come up. I've found myself taping the edges down with scotch tape (not the best for the skin, but I don't have any medical tape & haven't had a chance to go back to the pharmacy). Has anyone used these before, and have you experienced this problem? Is there any trick to getting them to stick? I do use them in an odd place (my face), which has more curvatures & skin oil than the back, but I'm not sure that that makes all that much difference in how well the patch sticks. Thanks for any help you can offer!

Skeye
Posted 2/25/2009 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, Skeye,
I used them for awhile on my lower back and SI joint area. I don't think I had as much problem with them sticking, but you're right, the area is different. Others here have mentioned some tape they recommended for fentanyl patches, which I presume would be the same thing. The ones I have are a fairly good size for the face - would probably cover most of half of my face. I wonder if they make different sizes?

Wish I could help more, but I'll be someone else can.

Hugs,

PaLady
Posted 2/25/2009 6:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hmmm. Different sized tape, or different size patches? I think the patches only come in one size. And yes, it does cover almost half my face, but in my case, that's good, because we want to try to involve as many of the facial nerves as possible. It's like a mask, I have my eye hole cut out and everything! scool Do you happen to remember what the tape is called? I was just going to pick up some bandaging tape. I'll try to search through some of the older threads too. Thanks Palady!

Skeye
Posted 2/25/2009 6:54 AM (GMT 0)
I used Lidocaine patches for a few months on lower back and used bandaides on the corners sometimes
to get them to stick good, sometimes I used that medical tape for cloth bandaides, but it got bothersome
and then when it got hot down here in Texas, the patch then made me sick, hot weather can effect them
somehow, so use them with caution in the warmer months...
Hope this advice helps..
p.s. the cloth bandaides tape leave residue behind ichy black marks, sure hope you can get a little relief from
them at least until the end of this semster at school, Good Luck to you skeye...
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGZ}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Posted 2/25/2009 7:07 AM (GMT 0)
Skeye,
Ask your pharmacist, he or she should know what would work best.
Posted 2/25/2009 7:20 AM (GMT 0)
What you are looking for is called tegaderm.I know you can get them from the makers of Fentynel patches and wound care in the hospital has great big sheets of it that can cover your stomach.If you called your hospital and talked to someone in wound care they may be able to tell you were you can buy it.
Posted 2/25/2009 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
How many hours a day are you to use them? I have been using them for years now and use it on my foot. They come large, and i just cut them to fit the area that i need to put it on. I am to use them 12 hrs on 12 hrs off. So, i use them in the evenings so that i don't spend the day walking on it, which does cause it to lose it's stickyness. At night, i put a sock over my foot and that keeps it in place. I know you can't do that for the face, but maybe if you do them at night and sleep, it may stay on better???

I am now using them in the groin area and find that they do not stick if there is any hair there, maybe that is the problem w/ having small facial hair??? Hope the tape helps keep them on for you.
Posted 2/25/2009 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
I had used Lidoderm patches for a while. I used them on my lower back and did have some problems getting them to stick. They would almost immediately start to come off from the corners in. I was using them so low on my back, my jeans covered about half of the patch but I did use band-aids to hold the top corners down and keep them from peeling downward. I do know they aren't the stickiest things I have ever seen.

On a separate note, have you noticed any relief from using Lidoderm?


Skrape
Posted 2/26/2009 12:40 AM (GMT 0)
Skeye,
I've been thinking a lot about you for the past couple of days - for selfish reasons. My right eye is doing weird things; I think I need to get in and get checked for cataracts.

I've never had problems with my eyes other than needing reading glasses, and I hope this isn't what I think it is, but it made me think of you with your eye. We so take our vision for granted.

PaLady
Posted 2/26/2009 4:21 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all your help & suggestions everyone! I did pick up some cloth tape today & it seems to be working alright so far. At least it is more gentle than the scotch tape I was using yesterday!

Shannon, I also use them for about 12 hrs. As far as I know, you can't use them any more frequently than 12hrs on, 12hrs off. I wear my patch at night, as both my pain is the worst & hardest to control at night, and I look pretty funny (to say the least) with the patch on! The patch completely covers half of my face, so I look like I am wearing some kind of mask!

Skrape, this is only my third night using the patch, so it is a little early to say. But I think, think, that it may be helping a small amount. I don't really understand how it all works, since the area of pain itself isn't really being numbed (even superficially), but nevertheless, I seem to notice a slight difference in the pain. Either it is helping a little, or I'm trying to convince myself that there is a difference. I'll have a better idea of how it's working in a few more days.

PaLady, I'm so sorry to hear that your eye is bothering you! I hope it's not cataracts, but either way you should definitely get it checked out. You are so right, we often do take our vision for granted! You don't realize how lucky you are to be able to see until you do something that alters or jeopardizes your vision! Like a lot of things in life, we rely on our eye sight for so much, but we never stop to think for a moment that it can be taken away from us.

Skeye
Posted 2/26/2009 6:02 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Skeye.

Re: the patches I found they helped a little - but didn't really replace any of the other meds. Kind of just a little local relief, which is all they do anyway. I know I experimented a bit with how I placed them, and some areas were more helpful than others.

I thiink you're probably getting some relief - at least i hope you are!

PaLady
Posted 2/26/2009 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
Skeye you can go to your local pharmacy and they can order the TegaDerm for you and it does come in different sizes. When I used the Fentanyl patch I used the tegaderm to keep them in place and they worked very well. The Tegaderm is clear and thin and sticks very well. Chart is right tho, when the temps start warming up you have to watch out. Susie
Posted 2/26/2009 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
I too have been using the lidoderm patches. Been on and off for about a year. I have found that if you clean the area first with alcohol and blow dry (not wipe) the adhesive will work better. Perspiration and skin oil are the main culprits.

I have found that , like everything else in CP managment, the pads are not a solution but rather part of the overall treatment. For me, the medication does not penetrate really deeply so it is more of surface, muscle pain control for me. But used in combination with other pain meds, they offer another degree of help. Every little bit helps.

Hope this helps and good luck with them.

Modelmaker
Posted 2/27/2009 2:45 AM (GMT 0)
I also have been using the Lidoderm patches. I cut them to fit the area that I need to us it on. I'm not so sure just how much relief it gives me but right now I would just about try anything. They do tend to curl up at the edges or don't really stay on very well at all if you are using them on say the shoulder area where there is a lot of movement. Welcome to the site....I'm fairly new too. Lots of good info here and it's great to talk to people who "walk in our shoes". Hope you feel better.
Nurse2
Posted 2/27/2009 4:11 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the info Susie! I think I have to head over to the pharmacy this weekend, so I'll definitely ask my pharmacist about the Tegaderm!

Palady, wouldn't it be nice if they could replace our meds! Oh, I can dream on! I do think that the patch helps slightly though - we'll give it a try for a while. It seems to kind of quiet the pain a wee bit, don't ask me how though, since my pain stems from deep behind my eye, and the patch is just superfically on my face. From what my doc & my father (a doc as well) told me, no one really knows why they seem to help deep pain, or pain not directly at the site of application, but it is a real phenomenon. It might have something to do with the system of how our internal pain signals are received & processed. I guess the numbing can sort of distort the system, thereby giving pain relief in deeper & more distant locations. Everyone seems to agree though, if the patch helps at all, it only helps slightly.

Skeye
Posted 3/7/2009 10:27 PM (GMT 0)
Skeye,
I am new here but I use the Lidoderm patches on my lower back. My doctor told me one way to get them to stick, use rubbing alcohol over the place you are going to place them. It does work. I just dab it with a cotton ball all around the large area and it stays on. Now, I dont know how that would work on your face, but you would have to be careful. You might just dab around the four corners before you put the patch on. OH, make sure the alcohol DRIES before you place the patch on. Dont place the patch on the spot if its wet. Hope this helps, if you can use it.
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