Originally Posted by
canklecat
Try gabapentin/Neurontin, if she hasn't already, or consider asking to increase the dosage. It's very effective with neuropathic pain in some folks, and appears to be quite safe for most patients.
My mom got shingles a few years before she passed away - it would have been in 2012, so she was 87 when she got it. A lot of pain, and unfortunately, the gabapentin made her lose her hearing within a few weeks of starting it, which had been very good until then. She ended up with hearing aids, which helped, but it wasn't the same. Eventually, they put her on Lyrica. Neither the gabapentin or the lyric gave her very good pain control, alas.
Just something to check with your doctor about - hearing loss is, I understand, a pretty common side effect of gabapentin, especially in patients 70 and over.