Does anyone have Trigeminal Neuralgia!!

Richie-from-the-Boro

skintmacflint wrote: »

Same thing here. Had this terrible pain across face many years ago. Started with really bad earache then moved across face. Doctor advised seeing a dentist. Dentist did an x-ray said he couldn't find a problem But took a back tooth out, and problem solved .Never had it since.

- than you for that, skintmacflint, most people understandably go to see a GP
- most doctors, for most of the time, can't pin it down, simply because they are doctors not dentists
- go to see a dentist however .. .. and s/he has a good understanding of maxillofacial anatomy

To others in the thread, tri means three, it can be confusing when one nerve serves three different pain points. Eliminate the less than obvious, get a referral from your GP to Orthodontics and get checked out, best of luck

Toothsmith

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

- than you for that, skintmacflint, most people understandably go to see a GP
- most doctors, for most of the time, can't pin it down, simply because they are doctors not dentists
- go to see a dentist however .. .. and s/he has a good understanding of maxillofacial anatomy

To others in the thread, tri means three, it can be confusing when one nerve serves three different pain points. Eliminate the less than obvious, get a referral from your GP to Orthodontics and get checked out, best of luck

Not only that, but a lot of cases of what a Dr might diagnose as 'trigeminal neuralgia' can be explained and sorted out because they're not trigeminal neuralgia but dental problems!

TN is actually quite rare (Although a lot of the cases described on here do sound like 'proper' TN). Sometimes it can be something as simple as a chronic abscess under a tooth, sometimes it can be something a bit more 'etherial' and hard to pin down like a tooth grinding problem.

A good Dr should tell anybody he thinks has TN to go and see a dentist, just to eliminate any dental causes.

I must admit though, that if I come to the conclusion that a patient has TN, I then send them back to the Dr to be prescribed tegratol, as I don't see it very often, and so I don't feel comfortable putting somebody on this drug and managing them on it.

Ladywriter1968

festival84 wrote: »

Does anyone have Trigeminal Neuralgia, and if so, what medication are you on,and does it affect your work. Do you know if this condition is classed as a disability???
Thanks .

I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia a month ago, my grand ma had MS, I also have thyroid which is autoimmune disease. so I hope I dont end up with MS

Ladywriter1968

festival84 wrote: »

Does anyone have Trigeminal Neuralgia, and if so, what medication are you on,and does it affect your work. Do you know if this condition is classed as a disability???
Thanks .

I think it should be classed as a disability though as it can stop people from working if they are in pain with it. I read a few cases of where people had to give up their jobs as the pain was to much for them to handle. When you think about it, its the nerves nearing to the brain which can also affect concentration.

samredred

I was diagnosed with it a few years back now. Although everything i've read about it slightly differs from what i get. Slightly as in, the pain last from a few seconds to a few minutes. (I WISH!!!) Yet mine lasts from 2-4 hours! Does anyone else have it this bad?

The fist time i got it was about 6 years ago, only once, then it was gone. Popped up again about 2 to 3 years later as more of a permanent thing. That's when they diagnosed me with it. No painkiller worked, so i was put on beta-blockers which worked fine for the last few years, then they suddenly stopped working. So now i've been put on Tegretol 200mg 2x daily and Sibelium 5mg 2x daily. Still only been on them a short while, but not much of an improvement...

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!! (oh, and i'm only 30)

Pdcali38

allydowd wrote: »

I had it and was 'cured'! It turned out that I had an unnoticed, and hence untreated, dental abcess up under my cheeckbone that was causing the pain. Have you seen a dentist lately?

allydown: Turns out you were one of the lucky ones who had a dentist and identified your dental abscess immediately. You never had to experience the "real" horrific stabbing, shocking, crawling, burning, numbness & pain in your face, cheek, forehead, eye, mouth, teeth, tongue, brow, lips, head, ear.

tazfan

I was diagnosed with TN a couple of years ago. My pain tends to start with a feeling as if someone is trying to rip my back tooth out without numbing it first, then it spreads to feeling like my lips are stuck in a zip, my eye is being jabbed by an ice-pick, my eardrum is being pounded on by an elephant wearing ice skates, and my eyebrow is trying to rip itself off my face in an insane attempt at waxing. And that's a mild attack. I'm on carbamepazine, topirimate, and to help me cope, Cymbalta. I originally thought it was toothache. Had three teeth out. Nothing wrong with any of them. Changed dentist. Took another tooth out. Went to the doctors because I was thinking of killing myself to escape the pain. The Doctor I saw diagnosed TN, and it was confirmed a week later. On these meds I can barely function. It takes me twice as long to do anything as it used to. I can't read for long as my eyesight is affected. I HATE this problem, and it's not a disability? It disables me!!!

Pdcali38

tazfan wrote: »

I was diagnosed with TN a couple of years ago. My pain tends to start with a feeling as if someone is trying to rip my back tooth out without numbing it first, then it spreads to feeling like my lips are stuck in a zip, my eye is being jabbed by an ice-pick, my eardrum is being pounded on by an elephant wearing ice skates, and my eyebrow is trying to rip itself off my face in an insane attempt at waxing. And that's a mild attack. I'm on carbamepazine, topirimate, and to help me cope, Cymbalta. I originally thought it was toothache. Had three teeth out. Nothing wrong with any of them. Changed dentist. Took another tooth out. Went to the doctors because I was thinking of killing myself to escape the pain. The Doctor I saw diagnosed TN, and it was confirmed a week later. On these meds I can barely function. It takes me twice as long to do anything as it used to. I can't read for long as my eyesight is affected. I HATE this problem, and it's not a disability? It disables me!!!

I've had TN Type 2 since I was 37 years old and was awarded SSD eight years ago; I lost my career, home, friends, family, life. I completely understand how this illness robs people of their lives. You might want to try applying to social security and if you're turned down the first time, which is par for the course, apply again and again. If I may offer a suggestion... if you are not already part of the Facebook trigeminal neuralgia support groups you might want to seek them out. There are many Facebook TN groups and the people in them are very supportive, loving and full of information. Search trigeminal neuralgia on Facebook and you will find them; BTW, one great thing about the Facebook groups is they are 'closed', meaning, no one on your personal wall can see what is written in the groups! Best of luck to you.

Morglin

I get it, but as part of other neurological problems, so I don't know if it would be classed as a disability as a stand alone issue.

It's extremely painful and drives me nuts....:wall:

Lin

HB58

I don't get this myself, thankfully, but I know several people who do, so I understand how debilitating it can be. My heart goes out to all TM sufferers!