I have moments like this too. I read that there is an increased suicide rate in people with long-term shingles and related nerve pain. I take gabapentin and hydrocodone for the pain. I also use capsaizan cream (even if you can't see the shingle it helps by desensitizing the nerve endings). You are not alone. Don't give up. I hope something in my message will help you!

dont give up there is hope....!!!!i am geting botox injections for phn pain which i have had for six yrs now and it helps a lot. ask your gp to ref you to pain spec who does this....i have this spasm in my jaw that puts me about on the ground and all this left over stuff and i had first series in march. it lasts about 4-6 months but as you get more shots they layer on each other and theory is you would be able to get on top of pain and have less injections and maybe even some pain goes away!!! going for next series in august. one day at a time.

How does the capsaizan cream work? I have used it for muscle pain but it heats up. Mom uses an ice bag but sometimes says it feels like her skin is ripping but it really isn't.
Her pain is so much less but she gets stabbing pains occassionally. Her face was actually relaxed a couple of days ago before we found out our doctor was quitting. He and his partener wife are so good with people, I want them to stay forever! They are not old enough to quit. I feel lost again.

I use the capsaicin cream on my jaw line to relieve the stabbing pain when ice pack does not work. By using it after the ice pack, the swelling is already down, so when the cream works its magic to soothe the irritated nerve endings, I can rest.

The spasms in the jaw are horrible...and I've been on the ground in pure fire agony. What works then is to have a cold cloth on the back of the neck, and holding my jaw on both sides with both hands pushing downwards.

When it comes to losing doctors who you trust, I'm right with you, now looking for another one.

I'm with everyone else, you're not alone, and hopefully something will help relieve the agonizing pain.

Merry,you are so sweet to write to me. I no longer have hope. I am a total p and p. a total percoset pothead. The pain is so bad after more than 15 months
Of this ,it will be for life. I pray for early death to be released from this miserable hell on earth.

Do you have burning pain that is constant?

It breaks my heart to hear everyone's stories...but please do not give up hope. More and more, Shingles research is on the frontline of new medical developments. I use Gabapentin to control the PHN pain I have on my face and it wasn't even approved for use until 1993. It works very well for me, with little if any side effects. However, everyone is different...so keep trying things until you find what works for you. By the way, be careful with the capsacin cream on your face. Try a small area first. I put it on the entire side of my face that was hurting, and it felt like my face was actually on fire! Then, I tried to wash it off. No go. Then I tried milk. Still on fire. Finally, I dug the instructions out of the trash and read that cooking oil will decrease the sensation...so I poured the last of my olive oil on my face. Afterwards, I looked like a lobster on that side! I started laughing because it was the final injustice to my poor face. Anyhow, I recommend a small patch as a test.....
I know this is a hard thing to go through....please post whenever you need someone to listen.

I could take gabapentin it made me depressed and suicidal.
I am on my second day of a pain patch and steroids, So far pain patch helping some but this morning right hand is useless again and firing burning pain.

Lino, I saw where others were using the capsacin cream, I know with my pain patch it says not to use anything with it for pain, I am hestitant to try it on my own, afraid overload will be fatal.

I thought fibro was bad until I got this. I hope it leaves our bodies soon.

I could not take, being left handed sucks also.

Lino, I did that one time, and the fire actually felt better than the pain was previously. Now when I use it, I use it sparingly just along the jaw bone itself. You are right, though, to try it on a small spot first.

I do find relief eating salsa to relieve the jaw pain as well.

Julietta, have you tried drawing the line of pain on a stick drawing, to help you find the direction it is traveling in?

I ask, because there is a type of pain that is sometimes associated with shingles, and when depression is combined with this, a different treatment needs to be added to help you with the pain.

When I mentioned depression to my doctor, I was impressed with the way the situation was approached, both with the medicine, and with the therapy for the medicine and pain.

I agree, do not give up.

Mideyebrow, I am curious as to what you mean about a different treatment needed when shingles(phn) and depression are involved. I have shingles(phn) and depression. Can you elaborate?

Hi juliettegirl, my heart goes out to you as one how knows personally what you are going through. I have had PHN pain since 2009 and I have days when I cannot see a reason to go on. I have tried every drug out there and it seemed my options where to be so doped I had no life or drugs that just don't not work including Epidurals, etc. my pain is on my right Torso and seems to involve more than one nerve so Botox didn't seem to be a good option for me.

I have had some relief from Lidocaine patches but only if I can catch the pain early enough to be able to tolerate the touch of the patches. Capsaicin does not work for me on any consistant basis. I worked with a therapist to learn to meditate and that has done more than anything although I still have unbearable pain at some point each day but I have gotten much better at managing my pain with little or no drugs. And I was not wanting to live on heavy narcotics although sometimes I have no choice.

This is one of the worst disabilities out there and when I was first diagnosed most of the doctors I saw didn't seem to take it seriously. I was orig denied disability coverage and told to " Walk it off".

I don't get that response any more but still am not sure people really understand what we go through. I wish I had a better response for you but please don't give up as between you and your doc you will find a way to make the pain more tolerable. If you don't get more opinions if appropriate and don't give up. God bless or mind over matter if more appropriate and discuss meditation with your doctors. The real fight for me is to avoid depression.

Hope for all! Mom slept most of last night without an ice bag. She said it was tollerable to not much pain. When she lifts her arm it feels like skin being pulled. Today Mom did laundry of two or three loads.
I'm not much help because I am really sick with a cold or something. Anyway I have been sleeping alot today. We both had "naps".
I noticed her strength is so much better. Now at age 87 things are improving. FINALLY!
Hang in there all who are suffering because there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Take care
Mary

Glad your mom is doing better.

I found this website in the hopes of finding something that might help the pain. I got shingles in the left sciatic nerve in March, 2012. I have had neurological testing, and the nerve is damaged. They can't tell when, or if, the pain will ever diminish. I've tried a number of medications, but they not only didn't work, they had side effects to them. My pain management doctor is giving me injections along the nerve (about 10-12) every two weeks. The injections are painful, but it does give some measure of short-term decrease in pain. I have been on Percocet (low dose) for a year-and-a-half now, and it is the only thing that can make the pain tolerable. Some of the meds available are known to cause depression in some people on top of the pain. I don't know, J, whether that might be contributing towards your feeling. I can only tell you that I understand, as do a lot of other people on this thread, apparently.