I have lower back pain, can I use lidoderm patch?
Question posted by precious62657 on 22 Sep 2010
Last updated on 4 January 2018
7 Answers
I've found patches to be pretty annoying to deal with, definitely prefer a topical cream. Absorbine is my favorite recently because it is moisturizing too. It has seriously helped with my pain issues
The Lidoderm patches are a great alternative or addition to NSAID/opioid, if your insurance covers them (or you can afford approx $10 per patch). They work great for my surface pain and deeper muscular pain, however it can take about 4 hours for them to fully kick in when it comes to my deep leg muscle pain. It seems to work quite a bit quicker on the back. The twelve hours on/twelve off is also not much of a problem, because I still feel the effects for a few hours after I remove the patch. I am asleep by the time it wears off, and I just start over the next day. Unlike Novocain, it does not completely numb the area, but significantly reduces the intensity of pain, so I still recommend augmenting with an oral medication. I can't take opioid medications, so 800mg IBP and Lidoderm has really saved my life. Good luck.
I have MS as well as a bulging L5-S1 disc which causes pretty severe sciatica nerve pain down both sides of my legs, but is much worse on the right. I have been using the Lidoderm patches for more than a year now. I put then up and down the backs of my legs (mostly the right) and typically use 3 but sometimes 4 patches at a time (am really only supposed to use 3... ). Honestly? I don't really know if they do any good or not. I'm almost always in strong to severe pain, and a lot of the time sensation is hard to "tell" with MS. Something that feels hot to you when you touch it may feel ice cold to me. Is just weird. So... I tried an experiment last night. My husband pulled a muscle in his back YEARS ago and every once in a while, he overdoes it working and pulls it again, then he starts having sciatica too (we are QUITE a couple!!). So he was distressed last night, and I said, "try this patch...
I want to see if they really even WORK because I wonder if I am wasting my time... (and liver)". Well. He was SINGING THE PRAISES allll night long and into this morning. One patch and he was feeling great!. :-/ I use 4 patches and take 30-40 mg of Percocet (among others) and am still needing to sit on ice! I also sometimes get arthritic pain in my fingers from my job (transcriptionist), and I will cut a patch up into little strips and wrap them around the joints of my fingers... they don't STICK really well, so I've adapted by using little strips of duct tape over it to hold it on. It looks RIDICULOUS... but it NAILS the pain. So in that respect, I think it works really well. But the jury is still out on the sciatica...
I also use them on my lower back. I only use them when I am going to riding in a car because they are ery expensive. I have disk degeneration & nerve problems. It seems to help both issues. I do wear mine longer than 1r hours. Keep an eye on your skin to make sure there is no irration. My guess this could be one reason the doctor says 12 hours.
I will give you some advice. Don't think they will come off easier if you get in the shower before removing them. I tried that & the patches came off easy. However I had the glue or medicine not come off. If was white looking gel. I had to take my nails & keep pulling this white gel off my back. Soap would not take it off. I thought I was going to need my husband to help pull the goop off. :) lol
lol!! done the SAME THING in the shower... freaked me out the first time... is just GROSS haha!!
I have been dealing with pain that started back in 12/2009 when my leg felt as if it fell asleep and then I couldn't feel it at all. I went to the ER where they ran test for blood clots, ultrasound, CT and was told I was about to have a ruptured appendix. I was told that the inflammation from the appendix was on my nerve and that is why I couldn't walk, but as soon as they do the surgery I would walk again. Well I had the surgery and nothing changed. They then started running neurological test and found nothing. I was seeing a Neurologist who did an EMG which said I had damage at L4L5 nerve root. I was told that what everything shows shouldn't have me in the pain I explain. I went to another doctor which sent me to other specialist and he came to the conclusion that there was a damaged disk at T6T7 although my pain is and has always been at L4L5/S1... He fused my T6T7 disk together 3/2010 and I still have the same issue.
Now I am seeing a pain specialist and he is baffled and put me through a series of epidurals which in the past have not worked. I am going crazy because they did the MS test and I don't have that and I am so confused because I have all the same pain as you with the whole right leg and low back pain. I suffer only on the right side and my toes are all tight and the ball of my foot. I am taking all kinds of pills for pain and a sleeping aid. If anyone knows what I can do to get this under control PLEASE HELP! Is there a doctor I should see that specializes in what I feel that I have missed? I would be so grateful... Thanks in advance, Lisa
Yes lidoderm should be excellent for your back pain but remember it only works on the specific spot so if your having all over back pain you cant walk around with a million of the patches all over your back. You still need to get something for the pain and breakthrough pain do you see a pain management doctor?
Your answers always make me smile...
The pain radiates from your spine so a Salonpas patch on your lowers pain should work for you. But think seriously about going to a pain doctor who can give you shots that will rid the pain for several months. If this works for you they can go to the next step which is to use a special needle which anesthetizes the nerves in the spinal sheath and will last for a year or more.
The Lidoderm patches work well for many people and the advantages it that you can cut up into smaller patches so you can get more use out of one patch. They are expensive so this will make them last longer. You can cover a greater area on your body this way or several areas on your body or use one smalller piece of a patch and make one patch go further. I was told to keep the patch on for 12 hours, not 18 hours. I unfortunately did not have luck with the patch. I like the fact the medication goes directly to the area of pain and does not have the systemic effect of an oral medication. This a great advantage over the oral pains meds. Good luck with the Lidoderm. I wish you great luck with it. Let us know how well it works for you.
I live near Syracuse,NYand have severe problems with pain in my lower spine area and hips. I have been using Salonoas patches which work for a while. However my primary care doctor sent me to the Spine and wellness Clinic in Syracuse. The Doctor gae me shots in my back to alleviate the pain. worked fine for over two months. I go back next week to schedule the follow up shots that use a pulse wave of some kind that will alleviate the pain for up to a year.
I have RSD; a disease with chronic nerve pain that hurts to the bone which is in my hip/back area also. I love Lidoderm patches. I used to get them and only due to the cost of them when I'm in the donut hole/gap on Medicare Part D I can't afford them so I only get them for the 1st 4 months of the year and spread them out as much as possible. The medication I take for pain unfortunately costs $570 a month from May through December and I'm allergic to everything else the doctors have tried.
If anyone knows if there is a generic and if so, does it work as well, I would like to know.
You can actually leave them on for up to 18 hours as my own doctor told me and you can even cut them in case you need to use them on different areas or save them like I do because of cost.
I also use a heating pad for back pain but never use heat while you have the patch on or close to the time of putting one on or taking one off.
They are nothing like the dangers of the Fentanyl patch but if you have children or pets, make sure you throw away not only the patch well but also the clear plastic that covers it as it could be poison to them.
I hope they are as great for you as they are for many others but if you notice a rash or red spot in the area you use them on, I would discontinue use immediately and call your doctor.
Best Wishes
Up to 18 hours? That's awesome! My doctor and pharmacist told me 12 hours on, 12 hours off. I take it the prescribing information changed? I also wear one on my lower back and one on my hip. Really helps me with sciatica, too :) Even the arthritis!
If you see this, and I pray you do, I get in the Medicare Part D gap as well. I suffer with MS and I have so much damage in my back from Degenerate Disc Disease,Osteoarthritis & the list goes on. My pharmacy devastated me when I was told my Part D didn't cover the Lidoderm patches because after several other attempts to ease my pain, they seem to work better then anything. I called Medicare & pleaded my cause. They now pay for them all year round. There is an old saying, " The squeaky wheel gets the grease. " while its my back that needs the grease, I let my voice do the squeaking!! I pray you call your part D provider & squeak LOUD!:)
I just got put on them for chronic pain. I actually ask for them. I had seen so many people talking about how well they work. Well, My prescription label says 12 hours on and 12 hours off. So... I plant to do it, 7 or 8 am until 9 pm. If they are still working I will do it until bed which is normally around 10pm. I have medicare part D too. and It was covered. You may need to see about changing Medicare part D insurance companies. I have Aetna Medicare Part D and it covers it. But the quantity limit is one patch per day, however it says on the box you can wear up to 3. but my insurance will only cover one per day. I hope these help me with my chronic horrible pain.
You sure can :) It doesn't work for everybody I guess, but I wear one practically every day and they make such a difference. I hope they work for you!
So I guess if my low back is totally numb, they wouldn't work for me? I know it's a topical kind of menthol patch, but it works mostly on the surface?
I use the patches for pinched nerves and it does a great job. What kind of pain would you say you are having? Lidoderm (Lidocaine) is like Novacaine when you go to the dentist... it numbs the nerves that would normally cause pain while getting dental work. Lidocaine is similar, but obviously not for the mouth lol . Have you tried one yet?
My mom gave me one a few years ago for low back pain and it did seem to help. Unfortunately, the pain I have now is caused by burst fractures, spinal cord damage,etc. The surface of my skin I can't feel anything on my low back. The pain is above and below the fractures. But the worse pain is at the fracture site where the surface is numb. Just wondering if that would penetrate through?
I would assume that it would help you. Spinal cord damage is a type of nerve damage, though I am unsure of the fractures because I have never had a fracture. I sure hope it helps you!
I am here to alert and warn everyone out there that does use a Lidoderm patch My husband went to his physical therapist and she gave him a sample pack when he went for therepy Without the doctors approval she gave him the patch to put on his open wounds on his left leg that was amputated in a fire He has four open wounds and she made sure the patch was large enough to cover all wounds Well he put the patch on the open wounds and about the next day he was laying here in the bed next to me gasping for air and went into seizures and his face turned white as a ghost I honestly thought my husband was dead Called 911 and they ran all kinds of test on his and at the time we didnt know that the lidoerm patch could kill you until he got out of the hospital and the next day went to his doctor appt My husband not knowing the danger of putting Lidoerm patches on open wounds asked the doctor if he could get a prescrition for them because the physcial therepist gave him the patch like I said ...
earlier The doctors response was YOU CANT PUT THOSE ON OPEN WOUNDS THEY CAN KILL YOU AND CAUSE SEVERAL OTHER SIDE AFFECTS SUCH AS CARDIAC ARREST Low and behold we must contact an attorney as the physical therapist for one gave a prescrition for the Lidoerm with out the doctors permission and not to mention she almost killed my husband
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