My doctor prescribed for me yesterday two different prescriptions for pain patches. I have a ruptured disk in my neck, fibromyalgia and have been having really bad muscles spasms in my ribs, inflammation of my ribs, etc.

I looked them up online and seems like they are very expensive ($200+), even with insurance. One is Lidoderm patch and the other is Flector patch.

If you've used pain patches or know someone who has, would you give me your experience with them, were they worth the money? Any of you in the medical field, maybe your opinions on them?

If they could relieve some of my pain, I'd love to get them but gosh, who can afford them at that price?

Thanks so much.

they are topical patches, and do not contain narcotics (from my understanding).
I see these prescribed for my work comp claimants. I don't see many "success" stories. And the few I've seen have been for very acute strains/sprains. With people only using the patches for 7-10 days. No long term usage.

Have you tried any of the medications for neuropathic/neurogenic pain (like Lyrica)? I see better results with that than the pain patches.

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I tried the Lidocaine patch and didn't get much relief, but my pain was misdiagnosed too. Do you have insurance for prescriptions? If you have to pay out of pocket, they are very expensive. Mine, with insurance, was $35.00. I gave the rest of my box to my doctor to give to people without insurance so they could try them out before spending all that cash. Maybe you could ask your doctor if they have any "samples" you could try.

Here's a link to patient experiences with the Lidocaine patch (Lidoderm):
http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/rx...d=fdb17549_pem

Here's a link to the manufacture's site. They claim they'll give you a $30 rebate per prescription, which would help with expenses a little:
http://www.lidoderm.com/offers.aspx

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My dh used the lidoderm patches for shingles and they helped the pain.

I use the lidoderm patches for my back pain. They help take the "edge" off. They don't relieve the pain completely, they just make it to where it is not the front of my mind all the time. They do help, though. To me, they would be worth it.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have prescription insurance. It's just reading about it it seemed to be really expensive and my doctor told me that it would cost me more than my normal co-pay. I take other meds and I thought "Gosh, MORE $$ every month!!" And seems like I pay out the cash and it doesn't work and there's more money thrown away. My rheumatologist has tried almost every med on the market made for fibromyaglia (lyrica, etc.), and it makes me so sleepy, sick to stomach, floating feeling, that I'd rather endure the pain than feel like a zombie.

Guess I'll go to the pharmacy today and try the patches. Thanks again!

That's what I love about them. I too take narcotics for my chronic pain. I as matter of fact just started a thread about losing my Medicaid. So I totally get the money aspect of it. Trust me. When my doc prescribed them for me, I didn't think they would work either. I thought "how could something that goes on top of my skin help my disc and nerve pain?" But they did. Just enough where I could do stuff I had to do that day. I also like that they aren't something you have to take all the time. You can put one on whenever you feel a "bad day" coming on.

I hope they work for you as well as they have for me. I was really pleasantly surprised by them.

I work with orthopedics and I recently had shoulder surgery. I have tried lyrica, it worked but you do have to use it for a while to build up in your system. I have also tried flector patches, those work without the effects of narcotics but I found the therma care heat patches worked better. The best thing I have seen that helps after knee and hip replacements is a new topical gel called Voltaren gel. These do come in sample tubes so you can ask your provider for samples.

Do Salonpas pain patches work? They are over the counter.

I don't have a lot of time this a.m., so I'll have to come back to give you a more in depth answer, but mom used duragesic patches for severe pain. They started her on the Lidocaine patches and they didn't do anything at all. A waste of your money!! The duragesic, dangerous and VERRRY addcitive though. Mom's been on them for a while now. Insurance pays for them.

Lidocaine patch worked great for my broken ribs.

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lidoderm patches help my back some. they are a tier 3 rx for me. my dr writes the rx for me to use 3 at a time even though i can only use one. also she has told me to use them for my shoulder too. the thing that helps the most is topamax. it has been like a miracle drug for my back. it makes the pain manageable most of the time. plus it is now generic. it is still not cheap. it takes a week to get into your system completely and you do have to take it everyday or it will take a week to get back into your system. it calms down the nerves. it is similiar to lyrica.

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