Nerve pain can interfere with everyday life functions. Some common descriptions of nerve pain include, burning, shooting, and tingling. Nerve pain can be caused by injury or by a health condition, such as cancer, diabetes, shingles, HIV, multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia. Several types of medications are available to help with nerve pain.
Anticonvulsants
Anticonvulsants are commonly used in the treatment of nerve pain, as described by Dr. Robert Gatchel in “Clinical Essentials of Pain Management.” This type of medication was developed to manage seizures among individuals with epilepsy, but anticonvulsants were found to be effective in reducing nerve pain. Some anticonvulsants work better for some conditions than others, so physicians select an anticonvulsant that research has shown to be effective in treating pain from a particular ailment. Individuals taking an anticonvulsant usually start at a low dose, which is then increased. A physician monitors the increased dosage for effectiveness of pain relief and for side effects. The side effects of anticonvulsants include drowsiness, nausea, slurred speech, confusion, and muscle coordination difficulties. Sometimes side effects are severe, which limits the usefulness of anticonvulsants. Anticonvulsants used for nerve pain include Neurontin (gabapentin is the generic name), Tegretol (carbamazepine), Lamictal (lamotrigine) and Dilantin (diphenyldantoin).
Antidepressants
Antidepressants are often used to treat chronic nerve pain, according to an article in the January and February 2003 issue of “Practical Pain Management.” As the name indicates, antidepressants were originally developed to relieve symptoms of depression, but this type of medication also improves chronic pain conditions. Tricyclic antidepressants are used for chronic pain. Tricyclics often have unfavorable side effects, including dry mouth, insomnia, constipation, nausea, headaches and vision difficulties. Cardiac difficulties, such as an irregular or rapid heart beat, may occur. Thus, medical monitoring is required when taking a tricyclic. Some tricyclics used in the treatment of chronic pain include Elavil (amitriptyine), Trofanil (imipramine) and Norpramin (desipramine).
Another type of antidepressant used in nerve pain treatment is the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). SNRIs have fewer side effects than the tricyclics, but SNRIs seem to be not as effective in relieving pain. Effexor (venlafaxine) and Cymbalta (duloxetine) are SNRIs that are used for pain treatment.
Opioids and Other Painkillers
Opioids may be used for severe nerve pain. According to Dr. Gatchel, opioids are beneficial for pain relief and act quickly to dull pain unlike other pain relieving medications. However, physicians are cautious to use opioids, as these medications pose some risk for addiction in some individuals. Some of the side effects of opioids are drowsiness, constipation and nausea. Some opioids used in pain relief include Morphine, Methadone, and Oxycodone.
Non-narcotic analgesics are usually effective on treating pain associated with joint and muscle pain, but this type of medication may be used to treat chronic nerve pain that is of mild or moderate intensity. However, these medications are not as effective in treating nerve pain as the others. Non-narcotic analgesics include aspirin, Tylenol (acetaminophen) and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS. Some NSAIDS are Advil and Motrin (ibuprofen), Alleve (naproxen) and Celebrex (celecoxib).
References
- “Clinical Essentials of Pain Management”; Robert Gatchel, Ph.D.; 2004.
- “Practical Pain Management”; Antidepressants in Pain Treatment; Joel Hochman, M.D., A.V. Anderson, M.D. and Forrest Tennant, M.D.; 2003.
