red hot chili peppers

Flu. Darn. Fever and icky flu stuff for two days. Bleh. Today all day in bed getting *nothing* done. Poo. My fever hovered around 38.4-5 (around 101 farenheit), even after Advil. And stronger kidney pain today, on *both* sides now. Gotta get to that urologist. Yeah.
Well, it'll pass.

There was another recommendation from Dr. D in Jerusalem that I didn't write about yet. It was his suggestion for how to desensitize the numb yet painful thigh skin. (the whole numb/painful paradox was some synrome that he had a name for; it is a known phenomenon.) The numb problem started with the original hernia (& lipoma) surgery. I woke up from that surgery very numb, and surprised about it. Then it was exasperated with the graft surgery, and again when I had cellulitis in 2008 on the outer thigh & buttock.

Dr. D's suggestion was to rub hot pepper cream on it. Apparently hot peppers have a chemical- "capsaicin", that works to reduce pain. OK, so I bought the stuff. It's called "Zostrix". Then I read the package insert.

You need to rub this stuff on while wearing rubber gloves.
You need to do it *three to four times a day* in order to get it's effect. If you do it for less, your pain may increase.
You need to rub it in till there is no remaining cream on the area.
You may not feel positive effects until four weeks.
If it burns too much so that you can't put it on, you may need a topical lidocane anesthetic cream on the area first.
And the piece d'resistence, no warm water bathing with this treatment.

So, I am too put off to start with it. It is very high maintenence and inconvenient. I am embarassed to call Dr. D and tell him that I don't want to get started with this. What am I supposed to do?

I went looking for a way to get out of pain... I wanted a low-maintenence procedure.
I got complicated medicines to try, and this hot pepper cream which demands a huge committment... a committment to taking care of pain. I just don't feel that I have it in me to spend so much energy on licking my wounds.
Should I call him? I am so confused about all this.