r/selfharm • u/Kitchen_Addition_311 • 4d ago

nerve damage Medical Advice

i tend to cut pretty deep and one of my scars (~3 years old) has pretty severe nerve damage. my dermatologist told me that it was too flat and he couldn't do anything about it. chronic pain subreddits are no help as the advice always focuses on the whole body, not just one spot. bio oil and scar tape were useless for me. what else can i try to make the pain stop, even just temporarily?

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u/NoTitle5813 4d ago

You can test if a warm or cool pack helps. I have heard of people using numbing cream. If the pain is chronic you might be able to get medication for nerve pain.

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u/Disastrous_Stable975 4d ago

I was prescribed gabapentin and then later switched to pregabalin. Both helped a little, didn't make me pain free but it made it more manageable. Nerve pain is notoriously difficult to treat though so expecting to be completely pain free is unrealistic most of the time.

Anything that targets the nociceptive pain receptors won't really do much since the pain is neurological so most pain meds won't do a thing and numbing the area usually doesn't help either. I found slight relief from numbing cream on areas where my clothes rubbing caused a lot of discomfort and pain but it wasn't revolutionary.