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What Causes Pain In Back Inspite Of Suffering From Shingles?
Question: I have had shingles for 5 weeks and the Dr. prescribed Gabapentin 100mg for three times a day. I continue
to have lots of pain in my back and right side....can you recommend a stronger medicine or something else
I could do for the pain? Thank you. My E-mail address is YYYY@YYYY .
to have lots of pain in my back and right side....can you recommend a stronger medicine or something else
I could do for the pain? Thank you. My E-mail address is YYYY@YYYY .
Brief Answer:
Herpetic neuralgia
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for contacting HCM with your health care question.
I am truly sorry that you have had pain associated with your shingles. This is a very difficult and painful condition. As you know that shingles is caused by the reactivation of the chicken pox virus in your nerve endings. This causes tremendous amounts of pain. Pain control for shingles is difficult and we use various different medications to help. For the initial pain we will use traditional pain killers or opiates like oxycodone. For long term pain we try different medication as opiates are addictive. We use medications like gabapentin which are anti-seizure medications. They help stabilize the nerves and reduce pain. I see in your narrative that you are taking gabapentin 100mg three times a day. This is actually a good medication but your dose is very low. In my practice I would recommend gradually increasing the dose of gabapentin to levels that will reduce your pain. My recommendation is that you consult your doctor and have them increase your dose. In my practice I have had patient up to 600mg 3 times a day to reduce pain. If gabapentin does not help Lyrica is another medication choice to reduce pain and again it requires gradual increase in dose to reach proper levels.
If medications do not help there are surgical options like nerve blocks and radio ablation therapy. These are usually done by a pain specialist. Depending on the severity of the pain and the duration your pain specialist may recommend one over the other.
I hope I answered your question. Please contact HCM again with your health care concerns or questions.
Herpetic neuralgia
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for contacting HCM with your health care question.
I am truly sorry that you have had pain associated with your shingles. This is a very difficult and painful condition. As you know that shingles is caused by the reactivation of the chicken pox virus in your nerve endings. This causes tremendous amounts of pain. Pain control for shingles is difficult and we use various different medications to help. For the initial pain we will use traditional pain killers or opiates like oxycodone. For long term pain we try different medication as opiates are addictive. We use medications like gabapentin which are anti-seizure medications. They help stabilize the nerves and reduce pain. I see in your narrative that you are taking gabapentin 100mg three times a day. This is actually a good medication but your dose is very low. In my practice I would recommend gradually increasing the dose of gabapentin to levels that will reduce your pain. My recommendation is that you consult your doctor and have them increase your dose. In my practice I have had patient up to 600mg 3 times a day to reduce pain. If gabapentin does not help Lyrica is another medication choice to reduce pain and again it requires gradual increase in dose to reach proper levels.
If medications do not help there are surgical options like nerve blocks and radio ablation therapy. These are usually done by a pain specialist. Depending on the severity of the pain and the duration your pain specialist may recommend one over the other.
I hope I answered your question. Please contact HCM again with your health care concerns or questions.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Answered by
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