Recently, we made the trip to Waco to visit my
in laws. I was having a rough day with the recurring pain in my shoulder
and lower back. During the ride, I decided it was time to test out a
Salonpas pain patch. I had a pulled muscle feeling in my left shoulder
zone. It was affecting my arm as well. Massaging it felt good until I
stopped. I couldn't quite reach the main point though. So during a stop in
traffic, my husband slapped the patch on.
You have to be okay with
the camphor and menthol smells. The patch is strong with it. After about
5 minutes, I could feel a coldness where the patch was. It's like an
Icy Hot, but no follow up of heat.
I was quite surprised. It felt
like there was a numbing sensation going on back there. For the rest of the ride
(maybe 2 hours), the only time I felt the sharp pull was when I yawned.
The ache was toned down. Not completely gone, but low enough that I
could ignore it.
I used the remaining patch I had on my lower back
the next day. It took the pain down, not as well as the upper pain, but
enough.
After coming back home, we decided to pick up some more to
see if the relief could be extended. Our local Wal-Mart had a nice
selection and we found some that had Lidocaine. It's a numbing agent
used to treat pain. Even better that it advertises itself as used for desensitizing aggravated nerves.
Now, I'm not sure how much of my
crazy side effects were from the patch. I had taken Excedrin earlier for
migraine and PMS pain. Normally, I have a rise in internal temperature.
Not fever, just the feeling of being hot and ability to sweat
(something I don't normally do). I also shake and feel weak. So I'm
thinking that might be where such effects came from. I'm not sure where
the lightheadedness came from though. I felt sick to my stomach, but
that could have been from fighting the migraine. Just things I noticed,
but want to make you aware of in case you try these.
In less than
half an hour, I had relief to the back pain. I felt numb. Better to feel
nothing, than to hurt. Or so I believe. It helped with the pains going
down my leg too. What these patches don't help with are the tingling and
numbness that comes comes with the nerve issue.
These patches might
be a life saver for a while. They might return some of my normal
activities. I am not a fan of living on pain killers, but I don't have a
choice right now. We will just have to see what side effects continue
with the use.
I hope these work well for you. Dollar Tree carries some patches but they don't stay in place real well.
ReplyDeleteThe lidocaine version slides too.
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