I so wish I could take it.After this trileptal trial i am going to ask my family doctor to go through all the tricyclics.They helped so quickly for me,within an hour.However,as I titrated up I had problems.Glad you have found something that works.
Hi Ellen
Sorry it’s been so long. I was hoping for a definitive answer. Things have changed but I still can’t rule out ATN. My crown was replace but there is still a problem with the tooth and I need to see an endontist and am putting that off for financial reasons. I still don’t have my night guard for the TMJ but am getting it this week. I am not having any shooting pain and not taking any meds at this time. Some days it just feels like the tooth and some days it feels like more.
I have been doing a lot of research on ATN and found that the term atypical trigeminal neuralgia is a “waste basket” term. I found this on NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders).
"Certain imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to assess for or rule out underlying causes of TN including tumors or multiple sclerosis. An MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce cross-sectional images of particular organs and bodily tissues. However, it is difficult to see a blood vessel pressing against the trigeminal nerve root through a “routine” MRI."
I hope this helps as my routine MRI did not show anything either and I was labeled with “atypical trigeminal neurolgia” due to the pain on both sides of my face and it does not go into remission. I did have a fall which created trauma to my jaw and the surgery in hindsight was done by a plastic surgeon who was giving me cortizone shots for three years for pain and swelling. He operated on me and it was his resident surgeon that ripped out the stitch on other side of my face causing three months of infections. I did go through all of the anti seizure therapies to no avail. I hope that this helps you out. With blessings, barbiedollstars:open_mouth:
Facial pain experts may order a “targeted” MRI, which usually means using a high resolution MR(3T), with special attention paid to the trigeminal nerve. This test may be performed with or without gadolinium, a contrast agent that is used to enhance the scanning results and supply a more detailed picture of tissues such as the brain or blood vessels. On some MR machines this is called FIESTA sequences. This means that 1 millimeter thin sections are taken, in a coronal plane, without any skips in between images, through the entire course of the trigeminal nerve. This results in a high likelihood of finding the offending vessel. This targeted method often yields an identified cause even in individuals who have been told that they have a normal MRI (routine study).