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Diagnosed With Trigeminal Neuralgia. Took Anticonvulsants, Lyrica, And Cymbalta. No Relief. Could I Take Vicodan?
Question: Hello I have been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. I have been to two neurologist and two pain clinics. I have tried two anticonvulsants, lyrica, and cymbalta which seem to be the drugs of choice but they either did not provide pain relief or I had side affects that I was told were severe enough to warrant discontinuing use of that particular medication. I have been reading that vicodan seems to help a lot of people with this disease, although I have never been prescribed this medication by any of the doctors I have seen. Any suggestions what doctor would be willing to let me try this medicine since I can't seem to get any relief from wht has been given to me? Thanks, XXXX
Hi XXXXXXX
Thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this troubling pain and the difficulties to get it controlled by classical and routine drugs.
Vicodin is a drug used to relieve clients of their pains. If the pain is severe enough to warrant this, then it should be strongly considered. I don't think you will need to look for a new doctor to get this drug prescribed. Simply have an honest discussion with your neurologist when you next pay him/her a visit. Tell him/her you are still in pains and have read that vicodin has been helping others with similar conditions and you wish to find out whether he would consider you for it and see whether it works for you, too.
Depending on his response you will know what the next steps would be.
If the answer is a categorical NO, then you may want to try out with some other physicians. This will be a very unlikely response because doctors are always ready to try as many medications to find out what works best for their clients and this will not be an exception.
If the answer is yes, which is more likely, then you will not need to look for a different doctor.
Try the above and if it should fail, then you may start the process of looking for a new doctor. However, know that your current doctor is more likely to consider you for this drug than a new doctor. As a doctor, if what my client demands on our first meeting is Vicodin, I may think she has a drug problem and likely deny the request. However, a client I have been treating for pain and is not getting relieved would most likely benefit from this drug upon request because I already know her, understand her problem and think it is a rational request.
I hope you find this helpful. Keep me updated.
I wish you the best of health.
Dr. Ditah, MD
Thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this troubling pain and the difficulties to get it controlled by classical and routine drugs.
Vicodin is a drug used to relieve clients of their pains. If the pain is severe enough to warrant this, then it should be strongly considered. I don't think you will need to look for a new doctor to get this drug prescribed. Simply have an honest discussion with your neurologist when you next pay him/her a visit. Tell him/her you are still in pains and have read that vicodin has been helping others with similar conditions and you wish to find out whether he would consider you for it and see whether it works for you, too.
Depending on his response you will know what the next steps would be.
If the answer is a categorical NO, then you may want to try out with some other physicians. This will be a very unlikely response because doctors are always ready to try as many medications to find out what works best for their clients and this will not be an exception.
If the answer is yes, which is more likely, then you will not need to look for a different doctor.
Try the above and if it should fail, then you may start the process of looking for a new doctor. However, know that your current doctor is more likely to consider you for this drug than a new doctor. As a doctor, if what my client demands on our first meeting is Vicodin, I may think she has a drug problem and likely deny the request. However, a client I have been treating for pain and is not getting relieved would most likely benefit from this drug upon request because I already know her, understand her problem and think it is a rational request.
I hope you find this helpful. Keep me updated.
I wish you the best of health.
Dr. Ditah, MD
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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