Pain

seven-day-weekend

My husband had his wisdom teeth out at the hospital under general anesthetic twelve days ago. Since then he has lived with constant intense pain.

He has had trigeminal neuralgia all down the left side of his face. He did not realise anything could be so painful, see here:


http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=79817

It is apparently a not uncommon complication after invasive dental surgery, especially in those over 25 (he is 65!! ). It can take months or years to get better and can even be permanent. [blsh]

I'm glad to say that today he woke up and it was MUCH better. Let's hope the improvement continues.

However, it has made us realise how life-limiting living with constant pain can be. In his case, it would stop him doing two of the things he likes doing most; singing in the band with his friend (he could not open his mouth wide enough) and riding his motorbike (can't wear his crash helmet, too painful). As well of course being in intense pain.

It has also made us realise how important are the everyday things you take for granted, like eating .

Praise the Lord, he has been relatively pain-free all day, although he still has numbness of his lower jaw and chin, another complication of the surgery (that also may be permanent). But he can live with that.

I hope we remember the insights we have received about pain through this experience.

People, don't have your wisdom teeth out by surgery unless it is life or death!!

nearlyrich

I had mine out aged 19 it wasn't pleasant but the relief from constant pain was worth going through it. I have fibromyalgia so I understand the world of pain and I hope your DH feels better soon..

Indie_Kid

oh dear. I seem to remember a friend complaining about the pain after his wisdom teeth were removed too. And it looks like mine may need to come out too.

missbiggles1

I agree.

A friend had wisdom teeth out with general anaesthetic and found that her neck had been badly wrenched which took ages to recover from. I had mine out (2 at the same session) under local anaesthetic at the dentist's surgery and had no problems. It wasn't a pleasant experience but much better overall.

Hope your husband carries on feeling better.

seven-day-weekend

The dentist has been monitoring mine for years, I have x-rays about twice a year. I have the same problem as my husband, the teeth growing sideways in the gum and now beginning to decay. I told the dentist a couple of years ago i would not have then done unless they caused a problem. I'm glad I said that - boy am I going to stick to it!

Our poor son has inherited it from both of us....three of his wisdom teeth are impacted. Let's hope by the time he needs them done then they can be done without the risk of this terrible pain!

Person_one

I had a bout of trigeminal neuralgia after having my first and only filling about 8 years ago. If it helps, it only lasted about a fortnight and I've never been bothered by it since.

My dentist was very helpful, he told me to avoid sitting near fans or air conditioners, not to have the windows down when driving and to avoid extremes of temperature in food or drink (there was a bit of a heatwave then too so that was very useful advice).

dandelionclock30

I had problems with my root canals settling down, it took about 6 months before they were o.k.I used to have tingling and throbbing in my gums at night and fluttering on the roof of my mouth. It was the nerve endings in the gums the dentist said.
I've also had 2 absesses in 2 teeth at once and the pain was unreal like been hit in the face with a hammer. So anyone who has dental pain has my sympathy.

codemonkey

I have Trigeminal neuralgia and it's a horrible pain, so I sympathise with your husband.

I had my wisdom teeth extracted under local anaesthetic in the maxillofacial department of our local hospital (after I was diagnosed with the TN). It wasn't the most fun experience of my life, especially when they took a chunk of bone with the tooth which meant I couldn't sneeze or blow my nose for a month after the surgery and I lose half a stone after the procedure because for days I could only eat pudding and smooth soup, but a few months later, I'm so glad I had it done.

lostinrates

I suffer from TN. In fact I suffer from bilateral TN. Its not constant, thank fully, but its not very nice.

Funnily enough some tn sufferers chose to where head coverings go out in weather that they cannot cope with because the wind etc can be such a trigger. I am pretty sure I have read of some one using a bike helmet. Perhaps it was too big for them! ( I have different solutions).

For most people this will pass, I hope your husband is one of them!

Bangton

urgh I know exactly how your husband feels. It took me 2 months to recover completely from having two impacted wisdom teeth removed under general.

I thought it was the worst pain on earth until I had an awful birth a year later!

Having said that I'd have them done. I lost a normal tooth as the impacted one had caused such decay. That caused pain not long after too as I had a swollen blood vessel. When it came out that burst causing a medical bleed.

awful but at least it's behind me!

DomRavioli

It isn't a common complication with maxillofacial surgery - I should know, I've had 14 ops to my MF area and never had an issue. I've had 7 teeth out (due to a severe accident) both under LA and GA, broke my jaw and had it wired, and had a few holes drilled in my mouth. Oh and the 6 titanium screws; not including the hours of reconstructive bits and bats done either at the hospital or at my dentist without anaesthesia. In all that, I've never had any facial pain after the swelling and inflammation has gone down.

Has your OH been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia by a specialist? It could be an impinged nerve or something quite less tricky.

Please don't scaremonger when people with compounded wisdom teeth are in severe pain; trigeminal neuralgia sucks big time, but it is uncommon, and very uncommon to last as long as your OH's has; most last a short period of time until full healing, which can be over a month. If he's still in pain, he needs to go back to the hospital for full diagnostics and treatment.

There is treatment for trigeminal neuralgia, if it is diagnosed, including meds and surgery. Please see the NHS fact sheet here: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Trigeminal-neuralgia/Pages/Treatment.aspx