Hi Lisa,
I use them now under the Lidoderm generic brand. It doesn't provide much pain relief for AS, and it doesn't work as a anti-inflammatory, but it's working for me a tiny little bit. Technically Lidoderm* is a local anesthetic to relieve Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN), also referred to as post-shingles pain.
http://www.lidoderm.com/ . In my opinion, it seems to work better against muscles spasms and nerve pains, rather than provide me much of any relief for painful joints from AS.
They are pretty expensive, so you might want to ask your doctor for a sample patch so you can test it out.
I hope this helps,
take care,
James.
