What is the treatment for postherpetic neuralgia?
Treatment will depend on the type of pain, as well as some aspects of the patient’s physical, neurological and mental health. • Antidepressants – these help patients with postherpetic neuralgia not because the patient is depressed, but because they affect key brain chemicals, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, which influence not only depression, but also how the body interprets pain. Dosages for postherpetic neuralgia will tend to be lower than for depression, unless the patient has both depression and postherpetic neuralgia. Examples of drugs that inhibit the reuptake of serotonin or norepinephrine are tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, desipramine (Norpramin), nortriptyline (Pamelor) and duloxetine (Cymbalta). They will not get rid of the pain, but are said to make it more bearable. • Anticonvulsants – as with trigeminal neuralgia pain, postherpetic pain can be lessened with anticonvulsants, because they are effective calming down nerve impulses and stabilize abnor
