Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Journey to Pain Relief: Salonpas Pain Patch

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.

2 comments:

  1. I hope these work well for you. Dollar Tree carries some patches but they don't stay in place real well.

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