brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Treatment of Pain
Adjuvant Analgesics
Adjuvant analgesics are drugs that are usually used to treat other disorders, but can also relieve pain. Adjuvant analgesics are thought to work by changing the way nerves process pain. An adjuvant analgesic is the first and only drug used to treat pain due to nerve damage ( Neuropathic Pain ) and conditions such as The adjuvant analgesics most commonly used for pain are Medications for Treatment of Depression (such as Antiseizure medications (such as Oral and topical local anesthetics Antidepressants can often relieve pain in people even when they do not have depression. Tricyclic antidepressants (such asamitriptyline,nortriptyline, anddesipramine) may be more effective for this purpose than other antidepressants, but newer antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) andnorepinephrinereuptake inhibitors (SNRIs, includingduloxetine,venlafaxine, andmilnacipran) may have fewer of the side effects that limit how much of the drug can be taken. Tricyclic antidepressants are effective for Neuropathic Pain , appears to be effective for neuropathic pain due to diabetes (called Nerve damage in diabetes ), People may respond to one antidepressant and not to others, so sometimes doctors try a few drugs until an effective one is found. Antiseizure drugs may be used to relieve neuropathic pain.Gabapentinandpregabalinare commonly used, but many others, includingcarbamazepine,clonazepam,lacosamide,lamotrigine,oxcarbazepine,phenytoin,topiramate, andzonisamide, help relieve pain in some people. can be used to treat the pain that can result from shingles ( Postherpetic Neuralgia ) and many other types of can be used to relieve pain caused by Fibromyalgia or nerve damage due to diabetes ( , can prevent Migraines . , may be injected into the skin to control pain due to an injury or even neuropathic pain. Local anesthetics can also be injected around nerves to block pain—a procedure called a nerve block. It is often used to treat pain caused by damage to a specific large nerve. For example, a Nondrug Pain Treatments involves injecting a local anesthetic around a group of nerves near the spine—in the neck for pain in the upper body or in the lower back for pain in the lower body. (A sympathetic nerve block can relieve pain caused by overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations.) Topical anesthetics,such aslidocaineapplied as a lotion, an ointment, or a skin patch, can be used to control pain due to some conditions. Mexiletine,used to treat abnormal heart rhythms, is sometimes used to treat neuropathic pain. patch or gel can help relieve Postherpetic Neuralgia . Corticosteroids, such asprednisoneanddexamethasone, can be taken by mouth if severe pain is caused by inflammation (as occurs in gout). (a muscle relaxant) can help relieve neuropathic pain due to Trigeminal Neuralgia . (used to treat certain bone disorders) can help relieve neuropathic pain due to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome . Low doses ofketamine(an anesthetic) are sometimes given intravenously in a hospital to people who have complex regional pain syndrome when other treatments are ineffective. (used to treat high blood pressure), taken by mouth or applied to the skin as a patch, can help relieve Neuropathic Pain or prevent cream may also help reduce the pain caused by postherpetic neuralgia and by other disorders such as Osteoarthritis (OA) . The cream is most often used by people with localized pain due to arthritis. This cream must be applied several times a day. 