Medication Treatment

In recent years, varieties of adjunct analgesics have been used to treat chronic pain syndromes, including NSAIDs, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, local anesthetics, topical agents, baclofen, and N- methyl-D- aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists.

Tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants have been used as the first- line drugs in the treatment of neuropathic pain. If a patient does not respond to treatment with different agents within one drug class, agents from a second drug class may be added. When all first-line options have been exhausted, narcotic analgesics may provide some benefit, with the risks of tolerance and addiction.