Neuropathic pain is not very easy to treat. Once you have the diagnosis that you have a type of neuropathy then the doctor must decide on which treatment will be best for you.  There are treatments that only help part of the pain such as an opioid analgesic. This form of treatment is considered as temporary. Some of the treatments that are not regarded as painkillers are very effective. They can work with another opioid or they can work alone. Some of the combinations are with medications such as Elavil, Neurontin, Lyrica and Cymbalta.

In scientific study done in animals they have found neuropathic pain mixes with the body’s serotonin is found not to reduce the pain found in a diagnosis of neuropathy. Mixes like dulexetine, venlafaxine and milnacipran they can block the body’s serotonin and norepinephrine they however decrease the neuropathic pain.  When an anti depressant is given as a treatment, they do work but they work on the pain a little different than the painkillers would. They also work on neuropathic pain differently than on depression as well. Researchers believe that it is because the norepinephrinergic and serotongeric pathways that are located in the spinal cord, they block the pain signal from going to the brain.

Overall, the antidepressants work better on the burning pain associated with the neuropathic pain. The anticonvulsants work better on the shock like stabbing pain that includes many nerves misfiring at the same time. The newer anticonvulsants such as Gabapentin and Pregabalin work by blocking the calcium channels from the already damaged peripheral nerves. The sodium channels are treated with the anticonvulsant Tegretol and Trileptal. Those treatments are known to work very well.

In other forms of neuropathy, for example, post herpes neuralgia they would give a topical form of treatment rather than an oral one. Local medications such as Lidocaine work well for that condition. A transdermal under the skin treatment patch that has Lidocaine is currently available. Ketamine is also available in a transdermal gel. The drug is very, very effective when the doctor can diagnose neuropathy in one location. Those conditions would include Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
 
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