Good morning. I believe I have ATN, although I have not been diagnosed. I have had constant pain on my right side for almost 10 years now. The pain centers in my jaw joint and runs up around the top of my ear to the back of my scalp behind my ear. I have been to countless doctors (some say it is TMJ and some say it is not). I am in constant pain, however my jaw sometimes "pops" on my right side which triggers my pain from a 5 or 6 to about an 8 or 9. Have any of you experienced this? It is almost like something is triggered when my jaw pops which makes my pain much worse. The reason I believe it is ATN is because I have done 2 months of TMJ therapy, acupuncture and everything else. Nothing seems to help which makes me think it is nerve related (although acupuncture seems to help briefly). My quality of life has gone down the drain. Some days the pain gets so severe the whole right side of my face hurts and my face sags.
Call your doctor in for some lidocaine face patches.....put on the pain parts- you can cut them up
there is also a lidocaine cream
You need to see a neurologist perhaps that TREATS TN patients---even if you have to travel!
This is a good site to see what your pain paths look like:
Google Images= Atypical Face Pain
Print it off and take it to a doctor. Also write down what your triggers are besides the jaw popping.
Many here have TMJ too --- some here have just been wasting money and it was JUST the ATN all along.
Perhaps an MRI should be a good thing to do - fiesta MRI if you can --- rule out MS and other things.
Life CAN get better---do you have any meds?
Here is a list of meds that help us:
http://www.livingwithtn.org/forum/topics/for-those-on-the-medicaion...
Get the book "Striking Back" by Dr. Ken Casey
We are rare!!!!
Hi there, your story sounds similar to mine. I have been suffering for a year and a half with pain. I found that my pain had a specific point on the right side but then the pain eventually moved into my TMJ on both sides. My left is the worst and I also find that if it pops, the pain becomes severe everywhere. I have been advised by my doctor to try a guard but I don’t want to waste money if it’s not going to help. Did you ever use a guard? And did it relieve the pain at all? My quality of life has also gone down, I try and put all the energy I do have - which is little- into raising my daughter but then I find my work suffers and social life is non existent.
There is a TMJ group on here…go to groups tab and pike around there!
I was worried I had atypical TN when they told me I had a small window of opportunity for MVD, because so many places say that MVD can result in atypical becoming worse. I had experienced only 11 minutes of remission in 6 years. My docs at Duke told me that did not mean it was atypical. I had the surgery new years eve, I'm 9 days out and I'm so glad it's over and glad I did it. I tried to figure out atypical from the internet and so many many places, I needed a docs help. You might too. good luck to you.
I did use a night guard for years. However, i got no relief from it. If you go to a dentist they are more than likely going to tell you that you are clinching and you need a night guard. Before paying for an expensive night guard, i would either have someone monitor when you sleep or even set up a voice recorder next to you when sleeping to see if you can hear yourself clinching. I also found that by wearing the night guard at night, it made my jaws weaker during the day are more prone to popping which was what i was trying to avoid.
Hope this helps!
Tatsy said:
Hi there, your story sounds similar to mine. I have been suffering for a year and a half with pain. I found that my pain had a specific point on the right side but then the pain eventually moved into my TMJ on both sides. My left is the worst and I also find that if it pops, the pain becomes severe everywhere. I have been advised by my doctor to try a guard but I don't want to waste money if it's not going to help. Did you ever use a guard? And did it relieve the pain at all? My quality of life has also gone down, I try and put all the energy I do have - which is little- into raising my daughter but then I find my work suffers and social life is non existent.
Deborah, so glad you commented! I am in NC (about 1.5 hours away from Durham). Would you mind messaging me the doctor you went to? I have found a guy at Duke who seems to specialize in facial pain/trigeminal neuralgia.
Did the docs do an MRI on you? If you don't mind sharing, what did it reveal?
Thanks!
Deborah said:
I was worried I had atypical TN when they told me I had a small window of opportunity for MVD, because so many places say that MVD can result in atypical becoming worse. I had experienced only 11 minutes of remission in 6 years. My docs at Duke told me that did not mean it was atypical. I had the surgery new years eve, I'm 9 days out and I'm so glad it's over and glad I did it. I tried to figure out atypical from the internet and so many many places, I needed a docs help. You might too. good luck to you.