
Chronic pain often causes depression, and depression can intensify a person's sensitivity to pain some antidepressants address both. They may have a synergistic effect in people who experience depression along with chronic pain. That reduces side effects.Īntidepressants: Certain types of antidepressants also help to control nerve pain. Your doctor will usually start you on a low dose and gradually increase it.

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It takes about three to four weeks for the full effect to kick in. Several are in wide use for chronic pain (see "Medications for nerve pain"). Adding one of these nerve pain medications won't completely take the pain away, but it may help.Īnticonvulsants: These medications were developed to control seizures, but they also help to blunt pain signals in the nerves. Nerve pain medicationsĪ variety of drugs can be added to conventional pain relievers to reduce nerve pain.

Certain drugs that were originally developed to treat depression and seizure disorders also damp down inappropriate or excessive pain signaling in the nerves. Narcotic pain relievers don't often help and even when they do, they should not be used as a long term solution. In neuropathic pain, the nerve that was the mere messenger of pain now becomes the actual source. "In those cases, the nerve may be involved." Padma Gulur, a pain medicine specialist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. "People say things like, 'My knee hurts and I feel like it's coming up to the middle of my thigh and down to my shin," says Dr. One of the most common causes is diabetes, although it can also be brought on by injury, infection, and some medications. Typical signs of this "neuropathic" pain include sharp, stinging pain or pain that radiates from one part of the body to adjacent areas.

Often the discomfort is only arising from nerve pain. For instance, pain can be coming primarily from irritated nerves, along with the injured and inflamed muscle or joint. However, muscle and joints may be only part of the picture. Usually, the pain calms down and you feel better. When chronic pain comes from the nerves, these nerve pain medications can help when added to other pain relievers.įor chronic muscle and joint pain, effective therapies include rest, ice and heat, anti-inflammatory medications, and time.
