question about tens unit and topical medications

I am using a tens unit. I am also using prescription strength cream, although I am out of it.

The tens unit I bought myself. I had a prescription for one, But when I saw my co-pay I was a bit dismayed. I contact I spoke to the pharmacist where I was getting it and one of them told me to check out Amazon.com. I was able to find a tens unit on there for approximately $60. Recently I've been seeing the devices in Walgreens Pharmacy over by the heating pads. I picked up one by a company called Omron and it has variable speeds and input. I was able to get it on sale for about $25 and find it very helpful. As it is winter, I use it a lot. And go through the three AAA batteries about once a month. It is extremely small - about 1" x 2.5". And I can use it even in a movie theater, where I often get uncomfortable from sitting in one place for too long. It has a convenient plastic holder for the leads that is easy to take them off of and put them back on. I have used it all over my body. It has very clear instructions on how to apply the electrodes for the best response. It gives examples of where to put them everywhere. If you get one and are interested, I found a link to a medical website that shows placement for all different areas of the body.

As for the cream, I was prescribed a cream by a company called Transdermal Therapeutics. It contains Gabapentin, ketamine, and a few other things that I can't remember. I am more tolerant of these as a topical cream then I am of taking them internally. They give away a sample set first. And then you have to pay. Most insurance companies do not cover the cream. Recently I have been fighting with the doctor and the company as I would like to purchase more, But a couple ounces will be well over $300. The company suggested another compound they have come up with that they feel might help. For some reason the communication between the company and my doctor is not going well and I have been able to get that cream for six months. I really miss it as it is January and this is one of the times I use it the most.I have been substituting by using my tens machine a lot more. I also use Arnica cream.

Recently I have heard that CBD has been released for general purchase. It is the non-high inducing part of marijuana. They sell ointments, creams and items you can take internally. I havent tried it yet, but I heard there were some thought that it couls be helpful for Fibro patients. They started developing this for children with a severe epileptic condition called Dravet syndrome. This led to the CBD being distributed more generally. I havent looked into it fully, but some people swear by it.

I should also mention that many people here have trouble tolerating the tens units. I find it extremely helpful, but I have been in pain so long, I think my pain receptors are a little messed up. I find the tens unit occasionally uncomfortable,but it helps so much that I couldn't go without it. I tend to suffer from severe edema in my muscles. The variable tens unit has gone a long way towards relieving that pain by twitching the muscles and disbursing the edema.

Nooneknows-- I know you want the pain to stop, and that is something we all understand. When we feel bad, everything bites big baboon balloons. We will do almost anything to get it to stop.

One thing to remember about medications is that you need to give them a good try to work as they were designed. You won't reach the medication's full potential of effectiveness immediately. I generally will give things 6-8 weeks before making a judgment call and contacting the doctor. That's generally why physicians make the spread between appointments two months.

That being said, I use aspercreme periodically, a topical with 'aspirin' in it. I use it primarily on my toe, fingers, ankles, and neck. It's not really practical to use it everywhere.

Lido derm can get pricey and as i understand with long term use could impact the liver..i believe it is meant for short term use..

I use a gentle form of the tens tecnology called mens.. Which is more gentle but relieves pain and other odd things i feel with barometric pressure changes..that tiny unit firfly uses under her clothes sounds so practical and useful..

Maybe getting these injections that seem to be helping will just encourage you..if you keep pushing to see what helps you personally, you can get a good bit of relief!!

I just saw a show last night about cannabis (sp?) use in Colorado. That strain that was mentioned is called Charlotte's Web. It's named after a little girl that's finding life changing results with it. Families are actually moving from other states to Colorado to get it legally for one of their children.

There's a major study on the strain for the benefits it seems to have for all kinds of diseases and disorders. I actually thought how much I would love to try it.

Down side, it was $1000 for a medium sized prescription bottle of it!

As far as tens units go- Tens Pro online has a tens unit I want for $39.99. It has 10 selected preset areas to place the pads. But you can still adjust speed and intensity. A major plus I like is it comes with the adapter to plug it in. I wouldn't have to worry about batteries unless I wanted to.

I hope you find some kind of relief soon. I've been following your post and I'm rooting for you!

Dawn