What Causes Nerve Pain While Suffering From Shingles?

Posted on Tue, 20 Oct 2015

Question: I have phn nerve pain after having shingles in July. Gabapentin did not work for me. Then my doctor prescribed Lyrica 75 mgs twice a day. Really doesn't help either. My question is can Lyrica cause swelling of the abdomen or is it the nerves themselves that are swollen? Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
shingles is not supposed to cause that

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

shingles is not supposed to cause abdominal swelling. Lyrica may cause swelling sometimes but abdominal only swelling sounds strange too. Facial swelling would be a common presentation of angioedema. Dependent edema is also possible (peripheral edema in ambulatory patients, edema of the back in bedridden patients).

You'd better let your doctor have a look. Clinical examination is very helpful in cases of swelling.

There is another thing you can consider. Since neither pregabalin nor gabapentin worked for you, you can try to stop them for a while to see what happens with the swelling. Paracetamol with codeine (or tramadol) sounds like good alternative for the pain.

I hope you find my answer helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Kind Regards!

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar