Relief for Postherpetic-neuralgia
At first the burning itching irritation on her face was something Ange thought she could live with. She was busy planning her daughter’s high school graduation party, and she was distracted enough to ignore it during the day. She got a script for gabapentin, and quickly dismissed taking it, due to the exhaustion and dizziness she was feeling while on it.
“I was already tired from lack of sleep” Ange recalls “I didn't need to be tired from my medications as well.”
Night time, however, was a different story. At night, the pain in her face transformed into a gnawing, deep ache. The deep ache would wake her from a dead sleep. Then, one night, she scratched her self so deeply trying to erase the itching/burning pain, that she left a mark! It was then that Ange new she had to find another option for pain management.
Angela was experiencing postherpetic-neuralgia, known in medical language as PHN. PHN is the most common complication of shingles. One in five people who get shingles also get PHN. Pain from PHN can feel like a burning sensation, sharp and jabbing, or a deep gnawing ache. For some the pain comes and goes like Ange. For others it is near constant. For a lucky few the pain of PHN resolves on its own in a few months. For others the pain becomes a near permanent fixture of their lives, with no relief or answers.
“I truly thought I was flipping out” Ange recalls “I was in terrible pain all the time, I wasn't sleeping, and I was planning my daughter’s graduation. It was a lot.”
Ange didn’t know where to turn, and luckily her golf friend Tina was a long time patient of Dr. Frank, and suggested she give acupuncture a try.
“I didn’t know what to expect” Ange remembers “But I was immediately put at ease by Dr. Frank’s range and breadth of knowledge. When he laid out a plan for my recovery, my first thought was, ‘this makes sense’. It was the first time anyone had given me a plan that didn't involve me being on medications the rest of my life. I was set up for care the same day and I haven't looked back.”
“Patients like Ange benefit from our multifaceted approach.” Dr. Harris Frank LAc, DACM explains “We use cutting edge technology coupled with ancient wisdom to create a power house treatment system that works for stubborn, hard to treat cases.”
Ange is now through the worst of her PHN flare up. She has successfully graduated her daughter from high school, and is ready to tackle life with energy and gusto.
“When I think of how I was living before, I can’t believe I waited so long to get help. My advice to others would be don’t wait! Go see Dr. Frank first!”
If you are suffering from the itching, nagging, burning, deep aching pain of PHN, there is relief! Give us a call to see if you are a candidate for care today. 770-756-1979.