OT: Foot Pain

Oct 15, 2017 8 Replies
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Gentlemen,



I consider myself to be very 'lucky' because last winter I contracted Shingles. It certainly didn't seem lucky at the time, of course, but it has proven to be, with the benefit of hindsight, one of those cases where the 'hand of every problem holds a gift' as they say. The acute phase of Shingles passed and left me with an on-going case of post-herpetic neuralgia (a not uncommon complication of Shingles). To mitigate the pain of this, I was prescribed Amitriptyline - an old-fashioned and virtually obsolete tricyclic antidepressant which has gained a new lease of life repurposed as a nerve pain killer. The great thing is this old med has completely wiped out the severe foot pain I was suffering from, too. Whereas previously I'd been unable to continue with any standing-related jobs beyond about 2 hours, I can now pretty much do a whole day with no difficulty. For someone that really needs to be active, as I do, this has proved to be a massive benefit. If you are like I was, and suffer with your plates, I thoroughly recommend this wonder drug. It doesn't just sort out nerve pain, I've discovered. I've found it beats *all* OTC painkillers AND strong, prescription-only opiates *hands down* for me in this particular application. See your doc and give it a try if you're similarly afflicted. You might just be amazed.


I tried it for nerve pain. I could no longer function as it made me sleep all the time!

Then they put me on gabapentin. Even worse, sapped most of my motivation.

The solution turned out to be a TENS machine!

Well, I'm glad you found something that worked for you. The truth is, we're *not* all the same and different approaches work for different people. I'd just like to apologise to Dave Plowman at this point for asserting that everyone's not the same. Sorry, Dave. An iconoclastic revelation for you no doubt.

Yes, my point was that it seems to vary greatly. A TENS machine is a bit awkward on the foot - a pity, as I have some foot pain for another reason.

That's great, and you are not alone in finding that benefit. But: it doesn't work at all in some people; and it can have very unpleasant, and dangerous, side effects in some people, especially older ones.

IOW, "Always consult your doctor or other healthcare provider" as they say in those American medicine adverts. :)

Quite so. Still worth mentioning when glowing testimonials are presented. Not everyone fully takes in the implications of your general point.

However if it makes you end all posts with a silly statement, should we be a little bit careful in case we all turn into lawyers? Brian

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