I haven’t blogged in quite a while - had a lot of things going on in my life and honestly, I have been able to keep my TN under control with the go-ahead from my Pain Clinic doc with self-adjusting my meds as I need to.
I’m not on all these crazy drugs that some of you are, and I count my blessings for that. I really do feel for all of you who are on mounds of different pills 
My GP prescribed dose is only 900mg Neurontin (Gabapentin) and 400mg Tegretol (Carbamazapine) 3x a day and if necessary (when I cannot sleep at all without being woken up constantly, or the pain and attacks are too frequent and unbearable at night, I can use 20mg Amatriptyline to help me sleep).
I have had 2 visits to the Pain Clinic at my local hospital, and the doc and psychiatrist have been very happy with the fact I have not had a bad flare up and have taken it upon myself to adjust my medication when things get bad, within a reasonable limit. I was close to doing some very dangerous things to myself in my previous flare ups because I had a GP who didn’t understand the condition (they looked it up on the internet before I arrived for my appointment), and therefore were blind when giving me my first dose of anti-spasmodics. This was in 95, before I actually had gone through any treatments/MRIs etc for my TN. I honestly believe the doc thought I was over-dramatising some of what I was telling him as he looked at me with a blank expression. For the levels of pain I was having (definitely no less than a 10 every time it flared up), he had me on a ridiculously low dose that maybe would have helped someone with a headache, but was doing precious little for my condition.
I phone up a Neurologist myself as it was clear the GP was not understanding my problem, and had a few consultations with him and my first MRI scan. Since then, I have moved cities and have a new doc, had another MRI (all clear - which doesn’t surprise me because it wasn’t done when I was in remission again rollseyes) and have upped the doses on both my main meds and been to the Pain Clinic (which I highly recommend doing).
I no longer get zombiefied because I am used to the high level of meds now, but lately, I have noticed that when I need to up the dose of my Tegretol, my vision blurs, I feel disorientated and becomes distorted (I start seeing things like they are in a kaleidoscope) and my motor functions go completely (I cannot walk straight, fall over, stumble etc). My speech is completely unaffected though, so it is definitely the medication causing it. It’s very frightening when I have spells like these (they can last up to 3+ hours) and I have had them happen twice when I have been out of the house, once when I was alone and when I got home (I walk home), I was covered in bruises and scrapes from struggling along the sidewalk. The other time, I luckily had a friend with me whose arm I could take and he guided me home. I’m just terrified that this could strike again when I am driving or travelling alone or anywhere really, especially that they last for so long
I also notice, that on my regular dose, my hands get small tics and will shake and move “on their own” every now and then. I especially notice it because when I am on the laptop, it is easy to spot.
Another flare up is on its way, and I have my soft food ready for then but it does get depressing because it does always come on with the seasons changing to freezing nights and gusty, icy cold winds.
I hope you are all doing well and that no one is having a bad spell at the moment. If you are, I hope that something comes to take your pain away, and that you have someone caring in your life who may not feel your pain, but who understands how you are feeling and can be there for you when you need them 