Drugs to Treat Neuropathic (Nerve) Pain

Many types of pain can occur in the body. Each type of pain is treated differently. Pain can range from uncomfortable to intolerable. It seems the most complicated of all is nerve pain. Nerve pain, medically called neuropathic pain, occurs when messages are not transmitted correctly in the body. The pain includes miscommunication of the nerves of the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord, although the result is felt in the body. Peripheral neuropathy is a neuropathic pain that arises in the nerves of the body or those outside of the central nervous system. Other, specific types of nerve pain include trigeminal neuralgia or nerve pain on one side of the face. Shingles (herpes zoster) is a nerve pain that follows the course of one of the spinal nerves that branch around the body.

Neuropathic pain can arise from nerve damage, compression, pinching, or nerves that are separated within the nerve body or separated from their connecting nerves. It can result from trauma or disease. Neuropathic pain is associated with brain injury, spinal cord injury, diabetes, alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, amputation, viruses such as shingles, infection, cancer, or vessel malformation, among many others, especially neurological diseases.

Some medications can affect nerves. Just because you take these medications does not mean you will develop neuropathy, but there is an association or increased risk. The medications include those taken for heart conditions (Amiodarone, Hydralazine, Perhexiline), some chemotherapy medications, drugs used to fight infection (Chloroquine, Dapsone, Isoniazid (INH), Metronidazole (Flagyl), Nitrofurantoin, Thalidomide), drugs for autoimmune disorders (Etanercept (Enbrel), Infliximab (Remicade), Leflunomide (Arava), seizure medications (Carbamazepine, Phenytoin, Phenobarbital), Disulfiram which is used to treat alcoholism, and drugs for HIV/AIDS (Didanosine (Videx), Emtricitabine (Emtriva), Stavudine (Zerit), Tenofovir and emtricitabine (Truvada), Colchicine for gout treatment, arsenic, and gold. Do not panic if you take any of these medications but speak with your healthcare professional about the signs of neuropathy so you can monitor your condition.

Neuropathic pain is a unique experience for each individual. There are similarities in cases, but two cases are rarely the same. This type of pain can range in intensity from a minor inconvenience to excruciating. The pain may be just in one body location, such as a toe or a location somewhere on the thigh or arm. However, it can be anywhere on the body. Neuropathic pain can include an entire body part, such as an entire leg, arm, and/ or torso. It can also be inside the body, such as a damaged spleen. Individuals will describe the pain as numbness, tingling, electrical shocks, cramps, weakness, prickling, sharp, jabbing, burning, throbbing, buzzing, humming, itching, and other terms. Sometimes the skin is sensitive to touch, the weight of clothes and bed linen, or even a breeze such as a furnace or air conditioning turning on can set off neuropathy.

Activities can be affected by neuropathic pain to the point where an individual does not move the affected body part to avoid triggering the pain. Internal body functions can also be upset in the form of abdominal cramps, impaired balance, and weakness.