My Pain Management doctor recently rx'd some Lidoderm 5% patches for ongoing pain that I have in my back and knee. The patches contain Lidocaine, the same medication that's used to deaden the area when you get stitches, spinal injections, etc. The patches are pretty good in size, I'm guessing 4 x 6 inches, and you can use up to 3 at one time. Each patch contains 665mgs of 5% Lidocaine. What I've experienced is that I feel no numbness, but they definitely do take the edge off severe pain. And if you're a severe pain sufferer, you know what a relief it can be to just take that edge off for awhile. They are suppose to last for up to 12 hours, but I've found them to be most effective in the 7-8 hour range. I think most importantly, they are helping me to cut back a little on the use of my pain meds which is normally pretty significant. I don't see there being any potential for addiction to them, but I could be wrong. Hopefully if Cam sees this he can give his input on that.

If you're having bad pain, this might be worth talking to your doctor about. I hope this is of some help to someone here.

Greg

"You might as well learn to like yourself; you have an awful lot of time to spend with you."