what medications would work best?

[sondalalm]

MY HUSBAND HAS SEVERE NERVE DAMAGE TO HIS RADIAL & MEDIAN NERVES IN BOTH ARMS FROM AN INJURY...... THAT HAPPENED A YEAR AND 1/2 AGO......THE DR.'S JUST FOUND OUT THE EXTENT OF THE INJURIES AND SAY THAT BECAUSE OF THE LENGTH OF TIME (OF DAMAGE) HE MAY NOT EVER BE "PAIN FREE". MY QUESTION IS.....   What medications (for pain) work the best for such an injury? He is being refered to a tertiry clinic, and has an appointment with an ortho. surgeon on the 22nd. He just says that he is "physically/emotionaly drained" (from the pain) and wonders if there is anything that could give him SOME relief...
    He is currently taking gabapentin (600mlg's a day) and they are increasing it weekly. Also 10mg's of endocet 8/10 times a day yet He is still in SEVERE pain constantly!    What would you recomend? Is there anything stronger that he can take less of?

[NoMoMeth4me]

I am SO sorry to hear about your husbands horiffic pain levels currently. I happened to have taken all the meds he is currently on so do know a little about them. I was up to 900mg of Gabapentin daily and my Dr finally switched me over to Lyrica which did work better than the Gabapentin, it is mostly used to treat Fibromyalgia but also works well for nerve type pain. I still take Endocet 10/325mg but only 20mg a day for breakthrough pain.

WOW, is he really taking 8-10 10mg Endocet daily? It's not the Endocet I'd be concerned about but the tylenol that come in each pill. It's normally 325mg per 10 mg of the narcotic, so he's taking almost 3250mg of tylenol and this is NOT good for the stomach at all. It's obvious that he needs something stronger than Endocet and there are many options out there. I'm suprised that his Dr hasn't shown a concern for him using that much of it?

Sometimes an antitrycyclic anti-depression med such as Amitriptylene can help with nerve pain as well as helping with sleep.

Being in severe pain WILL drain him emotionaly/physically and mentally and under treated pain is NOT good as anyone else on here will tell you.

I am now on Fentanyl 100mcg patch every 72hours and it has worked great for me, I'm not suggesting that for him but if his pain continues long term it may be an option. It's said to be about 80 x stronger than morphine.

You hubby needs to be on a long acting acting p[ain med which looking at your list he is not. He could consider ms-contin, oxycontin, methadone and there are others out there as well.

I salute you for helping him through this and I pray that he finds a supportive Dr who will really work on making more comfortable quickly. Is surgery an option for him at this juncture?

Please keep us updated on his progress, I will be saying a prayer for your both.

Warm regards.

-Brian.

[opus88]

I too am so sorry for the horrific pain your husbands suffers, nerve pain is severe and hard to treat.
Brian gave you excellent advice abt the pain medications, I agree he is taking way too high a dose of endocet this much tylenol will cause liver damage.
He needs a long acting medication as Brian mentioned.
I just wanted to comment on the gabapentin...I have been on this drug for a number of years at 1800mg...........recently taken up to 2700mg just as a trial as my doctor said it is rarely therapeutic over the 1800mg....(he was right, I felt no more relief at the higher dose).
Its been suggested I try Lyrica because at higher dosage it can be more therapeutic..so I am considering....
How many mg's are you on Brian?

[Mollyrae]

Hello Sondalalm and welcome to the Pain Forum.

There is another nerve medication that has proven to be effective in treating nerve damage and the name is Lyrica. He may want to ask his Physician about the medication as an alternative to the Gabapentin.

Although nerve medications can be effective in nerve damage, the most effective medication I have had to treat mine are opiates. Without the opiates I would not be able to cope.

I agree with the others in that your Husband is getting too much Tylenol. he should be taking a pain reliever without the Tylenol such as plain Oxycodone or any of the extended relief medications. The amount of Tylenol your Husband is ingesting could very well damage his liver.

My suggestion is to get your Husband back into the Doctor and discuss a different daily regiment of medications. I would bring up the concerns of Tylenol with him.

I hope that your Husband finds a solution to his pain and quickly. It's no fun to live that way. Please take care and good luck in the future.
Mollyrae