Patient education and self-advocacy: queries and responses on pain management; erythromelalgia.

Questions from patients concerning a disease process known as erythromelalgia, its diagnosis, symptoms, and treatments are answered to help patients and caregivers understand the disease and its treatment. The responses from the author are intended to educate patients about their disease and make them more effective self-advocates.

Profound pain reduction after induction of memantine treatment in two patients with severe phantom limb pain.

We present the cases of two patients who suffered severe lower extremity injuries and subsequently developed phantom limb pain (PLP) that was refractory to high dose opioids and adjunctive pain medications. Both patients were receiving large doses of oral methadone, IV hydromorphone via a patient-controlled analgesia delivery system, and adjunctive medications including tricyclic antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and anti-epileptics. Despite these treatments, the patients had severe PLP. Upon induction of the oral N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist memantine, both patients had a profound reduction in their PLP without any apparent side effects from the medication.