Treatment for Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain Can Last for Weeks, Months or Even Years

Different from acute pain, which usually resolves quickly, chronic pain can persist for weeks, months, even years. Generally, it's diagnosed after three to six months. There is a "wind-up phenomenon" that causes untreated pain to get worse. Nerve fibers transmitting painful impulses to the brain become trained to deliver those signals better, making your pain feel more severe and last longer. In some cases, the pain comes and goes. Chronic pain conditions often affect older adults.

Chronic Pain Can Have Many Causes

Chronic pain can result from an initial injury or infection, or from illness, but some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury.

Most Common Types of Chronic Pain

• General somatic pain is pain from the outer body – your skin and muscles
• Visceral Pain is pain from your internal organs
• Bone pain comes from bone cancer, osteoporosis, osteomyelitis or arthritis
• Muscle spasms (cramps) like a charlie horse
• Peripheral neuropathy is pain arising in the nerves
• Poor circulation , usually caused by tobacco use, diabetes, or autoimmune diseases such as lupus or rheumatiod arthritis
• Headaches, including migraines, tension, cluster headaches and headaches caused by sinusitis, neuralgia or brain tumors

Chronic Pain Can Be Treated with a wide variety of over-the-counter and prescription medicines, including pain relievers such as acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and analgesics like aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline appear to have pain-relieving effects distinct from their mood-boosting effect, and are useful intreating neuropathic pain. Anticonvulsants, like gabapentin may help. Opioids (narcotics), like codeine, morphine, and oxycodone may help as well. However, many patients and doctors are wary of opioids because they may be addictive.

As a Compounding Pharmacy, MYERS Medical Can Be Part of Your Interdisciplinary Pain Management Team

For many people, living with pain is a way of life. But you can increase your functioning and quality life while reducing your suffering. We can work together with you and your health providers in a collaborative effort, with measurement, interventions, and strategies designed to offer a complete approach.

Topically-applied, Transdermal Creams May Be of Help

We can prepare treatments using any of the following ingredients in various strengths, alone or in combinations:

• Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant. It affects chemicals and nerves in the body that are involved in the cause of seizures and some types of pain. It is used alone or in combination with other medications. It is commonly used orally to treat neuropathic pain.
• Ketamine is an anesthetic medication. It acts at the NMDA receptor site for use in treating chronic pain.
• Amitriptyline is in a group of drugs called tricyclic antidepressants. It affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced. While most noted for its use to treat depression, it is prescribed for many pain and pain-related conditions such as migraines, chronic pain, persistent pain following a shingles attack, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, diabetic peripheral neuropathy and neurological pain.
• Clonidine Though prescribed historically to treat high blood pressure it is now used in the treatment of some types of neuropathic pain. It works by stimulating receptors in the brain stem, reducing outflow from the central nervous system.
• Baclofen is a muscle relaxer and an antispastic agent. It is used to treat spasms, pain, and stiffness.
• Lidocaine is a local anesthetic (numbing) medication. It works by blocking nerve signals in your body. It is applied topically to numb the skin.
• Cyclobenzaprine is a muscle relaxant. It works by blocking nerve impulses (or pain sensations) that are sent to your brain. It is the most well-studied drug for this application and it also has been used for treating fibromyalgia.