One LLMD in Texas has standing orders at one HOSPIAL ER for all his Lyme patients: Give prescribed pain meds & no steroids & told to call or see this LLMD in the morning. The patient can actually get some pain relief with dignity.

I wish that kind of provision could have been made for you tonight.

I don't know your situation & my reply may not be relevant to the level of pain your having. I'm just trying to give you ideas for fall-back meds for future pain.

You'll probably laugh at me for what I've taken for pain. However, no one would ever give me anything but anti-inflammatories when I asked for pain meds.

I only got Percoset at dental surgery. I had been fighting this mystery pain (face, ear & neck) for 13 years without a Lyme diagnosis.

It's taken me years to figure this out, but nerve pain is so very different than other types of pain. Yours does sound like nerve pain. But wow, if Duragesic patch doesn't help, you are in some bad-time pain.

I finally started taking Elavil 10 - 20 mg dose (cheap, old anti-depressant/now used for migraines, insomnia) AND always, added to this, three 200 mg Motrin with maximum of 1200 mg daily. Elavil is a non-addictive, unusual, pain killer.

Sometimes I would eventually have to add 1 mg. of Klonopin (anti-convulsant which is also for nerve pain).

The Klonopin was just an add-on pain killer. It would take the final edge off the pain---not a pain killer per se. Yet I did need it during bad times before the Elavil kicked in & to ultimately break the pain cycle.

Elavil doesn't just suppress the pain for 2 hours like Percocet, but actually ends it. It can take a few hours to kick in, but it was the only thing I could get for my pain.

At times I would have to stay on the Elavil a couple of days------until I was sure all the pain was gone. (You can always lower the Elavil dose as you improve/split the tablet.)

High dose Elavil can cause heart palpitations (try to be up on your magnesium/Vit. E & CoQ10) & Advil can be rough on stomach so you need food with it.

Elavil will make you very sleepy. But I've had no other choice, but to sleep off the pain. I could not have stayed out of the ER, except for having the Elavil.

Also, try to keep a bottle of 10-oz. liquid Citrate of Magnesia/Magnesium Citrate for $2 on hand. It can help melt the pain away, too. Yep, it's a laxative (magnesium) available at any drug store. I get the cherry flavor. I take ONLY 1 to 2 ounces if I'm in really bad pain trouble & hope I don't get diarrhea. (I keep it refrigerated.)

As always, stay well hydrated & B-50 might help with nerve pain; also, don't underestimate Valerian. It can be a good add-on pain killer to your Elavil & Motrin.

Antibiotics are my pain killer now, but Flagyl can still bring on bouts of unbelievably painful, burning legs & feet. My LLMD said Flagyl does affect the Central Nervous System & boy does it ever.

I hope others will have some newer ideas. I know some take Topamax now, but I've never tried it. Thanks to my LLMD, I pretty much live a pain-free life now---which is no small miracle.

I still won't live a day without Elavil in my cabinet though. Sleep well.

Take Care.

Hello there. I have the exact same problem. The pain is in the legs from my thighs to my feet. The burning pain is bad and my feet feel like I am walking on rough grit sandpaper.

I went to the ER and didn't have any luck. I had to wait for hours and they gave me something that didn't even help.

The nerve pain in terrible. I wish I knew what to take too.

I bought some BenGay and rubbed on my legs but my family doesn't like it. I tried Aspercreame and it really doesn't help either.

I am up for suggestions myself.

Good luck with finding relief.

Take care.

Anyway, I was frugal last year and was able to not panic when my doc retired. I had no idea that it would be so hard to replace him. I see a LLMD in Texas, but have not heard anything about such compassion that Recipe girl speaks of. If you have the time, could you email me and point me in the direction of someone not "trigger" happy.
In the past I had so many steriod injections, that I contracted adheasions arachnoidis. It seems like the side effects, and after effects of these new fangled treatments are worse than the benefit they are supposed to treat.