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gabapentin for post shingles nerve pain

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Posted 7/27/2013 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
My elderly father had a severe shingles outbreak over 15 years ago, and still has what I think is residual nerve pain. He also has severe chronic pain from a hard life in the construction business. The pain meds take the edge off of the crippling arthritis, but doesn't touch the nerve pain. He tried neurontin but gave up after only 2 weeks b/c he said it didn't work. I've heard that it takes awhile for it to build up to a therapeutic level. Does anyone have an experience they could share regarding how long it took to notice a difference, effectiveness, etc for post shingles nerve pain? I'm exploring as many options as possible to increase his QOL.

Thank you for your help

P.S. BeRock, I'm sorry your mother is going through the same thing.

Post Edited (1 day at a time) : 7/27/2013 10:45:54 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/27/2013 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
Some medications do take awhile to work and need to build up in your system and you can check on this at www.drugs.com, however, there are other nerve pain medications out there and you might want to look into getting your father into a good pain management doctor for better help...Lyrica can help with nerve pain and might be worth a try...
Many well wishes and keep us posted as we do care...
Posted 7/27/2013 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
I have tried for years to get his primary care doc to refer him to pain management but he won't do it. I think the primary's concern is the possibility of falls if pain meds are increased.

Both of my parents want to stay at home. We've been doing our best to honor their wishes, but it is getting harder. My father had a major fall down the stairs a few years ago & has been rapidly going downhill, health and pain wise. My mom has dementia, so she can't care for him, much less remember to do anything. Needless to say, each day is a challenge.

I work full time & have my own health/chronic pain issues, but between work & my folks, I just have to gut it out. I'm fortunate in that my husband/friend for life has taken on the weekday tasks after getting laid off a few years ago. That layoff turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I would never be able to take care of them without his help.

I have gotten off topic here, sorry for the rambling. I think the stress of everything is catching up...

If anything, thank you for listening

Post Edited (1 day at a time) : 7/29/2013 9:36:15 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/28/2013 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
OneDay I've come to the conclusion that very little is OT for us since everything effects our pain if not directly then indirectly. We'll listen to anything you want or need to tell us and boy do you have your hands full.

I commend you for trying to honor your Parents wishes and keep them home but please realize sometimes that's impossible due to health and safety issues and those times would not mean you didnt do as they wished, just meant there came a time it wasn't possible anymore.

As for Neurontins reaching a therapeutic level that can differ vastly but usually by the end of 4 weeks you should see some relief. Trick is it's not one of those meds you can go on a dose and have that dose be the right one. It takes titrating to an appropriate amount of medicine.

Lyrica is pretty good but same thing again, titrated to a adequate dose. I wouldn't recommend cymbalta as it tends to have adverse effects on elderly.

Wishing you the best and try to get your Dad to stick it out longer, making him understand why may take some finesse.
Posted 7/29/2013 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
Than you for your response. My dad has an appt this week with his pcp. I plan to bring up neurontin and lyrica again. The annoying thing is that when we first tried the neurontin and my dad said it didn't work (after only a few days), his pcp didn't say anything about it needing to build up in my dad's system or titrate up. Thus my frustration with trying (& failing) to get a referral to PM where they know what they're doing. I'm pretty sure the doc thinks they should be in assisted care now, but at $7500/month for both parents, it's out of the question. Ugh.
Posted 7/29/2013 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
I got shingles first when I was 8 years old. Way back then, they quarantined me outside of the waiting room to see the doc. They never explained anything about it to me other the label. Only after years of dealing with multiple CP issues, and a resurgence of shingles that I got 2 months ago, did I gain a fresh perspective.

I was prescribed Neurontin/Gabapentin and the med has to be titrated up to an effective dose (you don't start on the "right" dose immediately, the docs help to get you there by gradually raising how much you take until it reaches a therapeutic effect. I do agree that 2 weeks may be too soon to try). Unfortunately I had a severe allergic reaction to it, so it had to be d/c. It bummed me out because in the beginning it felt like it was working,...but it poisoned my body and my bloodwork went all over the place and my face and throat swelled up. She suggested switching me to Lyrica, (but I'll admit, I panicked at the idea of another nerve medication).

But I have heard wonderful things and great success with both of those medications for post herpetic neuralgia. I can relate because I have it, and it is very painful, very hard to describe, and it can take you out of your daily life plans with its intensity.

There's a few options. Hopefully he'll give this another, longer try or maybe see if an alternative might work?
Posted 7/29/2013 9:57 PM (GMT 0)
I have no idea if this works or not, but we had someone post here a few months back that they went to a chiropractor and had Cold Laser Therapy and it helped more than anything they tried. I suggest doing a google search for Cold Laser Therapy........Susie
Posted 7/30/2013 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
I posted this earlier on an old thread, but thought the info may help in some way....

When my hubby had shingles (he has bad scars now on his back and side), the Dr felt he had been under an exceptional amount of stress that triggered the episode. I remember him getting shots and using very strong creams with capsaicin in them. He said the capsaicin blocked the nerve pain at the site better than anything else for him.

I feel horrible for anybody with shingles, as my husband is a very strong man with a high pain tolerance and it was Awful for him.

Best of Luck!
Posted 7/31/2013 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
RM mentions a very good topical product,...a cream that has capsaicin in it. One aspect that makes it so effective is that it is cumulative if you stay on top of it and apply it as prescribed regularly and on schedule. Capsaicin has very unique and particular properties that make it highly effective for pain management. I've never tried it for my Shingles.

Ever hear of the liquid product called HEAT, that comes with a wand and a sponge tip applicator? I'm not sure if that's the same ingredient, but I found it effective (although as I mentioned, didn't use it on my Shingles breakouts).

It sounds confusing to put an ingredient that causes "heat" sensations over Shingles which already feels like it's burning your flesh off, but the incessant itch may be the aspect that it helps relieve sufficiently. Might be worth a try.

Best of luck to you.

Sookie
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