One of the things I remember the most was not only how much it hurt, but how tired and run down I felt. Just awful. And then there’s the itch too. Not fun at all.

Treating shingles (herpes zoster) pain is hard because it’s nerve pain (neuropathic pain), the toughest there is to treat. Some doctors prescribe gabapentin, which has some success in treating nerve pain, but it doesn’t help everyone. I remember that not much helped me. But researchers have published a study in the journal Pain , that has found that oxycodone is effective in helping relieve shingles pain.

The researchers looked at 87 people who had shingles, half of whom tookk oxycodone and the other half a placebo, a sugar pill. More than half of the patients who took oxycodone reported at least a 30% improvement over their pain level.

Managing pain in shingles is important because many who have shingles go on to have a complication called postherpetic neuralgia. This is a condition where the pain continues along the shingles line, long after the lesions have healed. For some people, it’s mildly painful, for others, it’s excruciating.

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Post from: Blisstree

Oxycodone for shingles pain?

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N is also for…

Neuropathy: Pain caused by the nerve endings is called neuropathy. The most common neuropathies are diabetic neuropathy, a long-term effect of diabetes, and postherpetic neuralgia, which some people develop after having shingles.

NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, (NSAIDs) are pain relievers that include acetomeniphen (Tylenol), ASA (Aspirin), and ibuprofen (Advil). There are also some stronger, prescription NSAIDs. These medications provide pain relieve by reducing the inflammation.

Narcotics: Narcotics are controlled drugs such as codeine, morphine and fentanyl. These are pain relievers that work by altering the pain messages sent to the brain.

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Post from: Blisstree

ABCs of pain: N is for…

DURECT Receives Orphan Drug Designation for Bupivacaine for Post-Herpetic Neuralgia

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Durect Corporation announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted to Durect orphan drug designation for bupivacaine for relief of persistent pain associated with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Bupivacaine is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Eladur(TM), Durect’s investigational transdermal drug patch. If Eladur is the first bupivacaine product approved for PHN, under the 1983 Orphan Drug Act Eladur will receive seven years of market exclusivity following the approval of the product by the FDA.

Eladur is an investigational transdermal drug patch intended to deliver bupivacaine for up to 3 days from a single application, as compared to a wearing time limited to 12 hours with currently available anesthetic patches (e.g., Lidoderm(R), an FDA-approved lidocaine patch for post-herpetic neuralgia pain management).

SOURCE: Durect Corporation

Image: Newscom

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Post from: Blisstree

Press Release: Medication for postherpetic neuralgia pain

As the baby boomers are aging, this could become even more of an issue so the problem of pain in seniors needs to be addressed.

Here at the 10 common reasons why seniors have pain:

1. Falls/trauma – falling from lack of balance or weakness can end up into a nightmare of pain. Safety proofing the environment is a way to help prevent these accidents.
2. Arthritis – osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis affecting seniors; the next most common is rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Pain after surgery – while most people seem to bounce back after surgery once the worst of the pain is over, many times seniors don’t have that ability. This can result in long-lasting chronic pain.
4. Osteoporosis – thinning of the bones causes fractures. The fractures may not be obvious like hip or arm breaks; they can be in the spine, causing chronic and severe back and neck pain.
5. Shingles – the shingles virus attacks as a result of the chicken pox virus, which most older people had when they were younger. After the shingles disappears, it can leave yet another problem called postherpetic neuralgia – very severe nerve pain along where the shingles rash was.
6.  Face pain – whether due to ill-flitting dentures, teeth that need to be pulled, or other problems with the jaw, face pain can be severe and seem never-ending.
7. Back and neck pain – pain in the back and neck can result from diseases such as osteoarthritis or osteoporosis, but it can also be the result of bad mattresses, poor posture, previous back injuries and so on.
8. Abdominal pain – although there are many problems that can cause abdominal pain, one big reason among seniors is constipation. They may be taking medications that cause constipation, they may not be eating well, or getting enough exercises. This pain can become very severe.
9. Circulatory problems – if a senior has problems with the blood circulation, the resulting swelling – most often in the legs and feet – can result in a lot of pain.
10. Cancer – as people live longer, they are developing more cancers. Even if the cancer is not fatal, it can cause a considerable amount of chronic pain – or the pain can be caused by the treatments, as well.

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Images: iStock and Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

10 causes of chronic pain in seniors

What is postherpetic neuralgia

Shingles is caused by the same virus that gave you the chicken pox. If you haven’t had the chicken pox, you can’t develop shingles. After the chicken pox goes away, the virus that caused it remains in your body and – for most people – never causes another problem.

However, in some people, the virus is triggered – researchers think by stress – and the result is shingles. The stress could be any type of stress, from psychological to an illness.

While shingles, as uncomfortable as they can be, lasts about 3 or 4 weeks, after they go away, it can be replaced with a neuropathic pain, described as a severe burning, itching, stabbing pain, or like electric shocks along the same pathway where the shingles lesions were.

What are the symptoms?

You must have had shingles to develop postherpetic neuralgia, so after the shingles lesions go away, you may feel:

·         Itching and numbness to the area where the lesions were

·         Sensitivity to touch and temperature

·         Sharp and jabbing, burning, or deep and aching pain

·         Headaches

Why does it cause pain?

The nerve endings have be damaged and this is why the pain is occurring.

What can be done?

There is no cure for postherpetic neuralgia. Currently, treatment focuses on trying to relieve the pain. This could mean using a topical (on the skin) anesthetic, and analgesics, or pain killers. Some people find relief with different types of antidepressants or anticonvulsants, as well.

For more in-depth information, here are some sites that have reliable and up-to-date information:

After Shingles.com

U.S. Pharmacist

MayoClinic.com

Post from: Blisstree

Postherpetic neuralgia

Pain threshold

Palliative care

Paralysis

Paresthesia

Pathology

Pediatrician

Peripheral

Phantom limb pain

Physiatrist

Physical therapy

Physician assistant

Placebo

Placebo effect

Plantar fasciitis

Postherpetic neuralgia

Post-polio syndrome

Pressure sore

Primary care provider

Prognosis

Prostatitis 

Psychiatrist

Psychologist

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P