Since returning to this Forum after a 2-year hiatus, I have to ask, " Just what does "break-through"
mean? It's a new term to me, but here's what I personally perceive it to mean:
I, like most of you, have severe facial TN pain that comes and goes. When pain comes, I often say "my pain cycle has just started again..." --Simply stated," I was relatively pain-free, but knew that more pain was soon to come, I didn't know when--
Now pain is here. It's the worst facial pain that I've ever had. How do you, my brothers and sisters, deal with such agony? Why is this cycle 10X more intense than my previous cycles?
Please send along your thoughts and ideas--We need to depend on each other....Love You All, Rick
break through pain (when referring to meds) is when ur dosage doesn't control the pain until the next dose is due and u have another type of medication or have option of taking extra dosages when needed. In reference to a pain breakthrough, then i would think maybe that there is a larger amt of pain that is not being controlled or is not the normal pain pattern ur used to experiencing. I don't have pain that goes away or goes in remission as i suffer from 24/7 migraines since '98 but w/ no traumatic stress then my meds and RF control my pain and have an excellent quality of life but know when i have to take extra meds - increased exertion mowing, household chores, errands, etc
Kris, Hi its Elaine, what is your RF, is it Radio Frequency? Rick, breakthrough is what Kris says, its when the pain breaks through the medication you are taking. People here do say if you stop taking your medication because your in remission then the pain often comes back much greater and harder to control, but i dont know why that is.
hey elaine , how ru you doing?? Ya my pain doc does the RF -radio Frequency in back neck on left side (not sure where nerve located exactly on spine) and it helps block the pain signals. We didn't know if it would help the 1st x and it was unbelievable pain relief and w/ each subsequent RF procedure the migraines /head aches come back w/ less pain. It takes about a yr for the nerve to regenerate !! I have never had any type of remission but i have heard the pain receptors get more sensitive to pain so the the pain is more intensified. I haven't had to research that aspect cuz never experienced it and i am lucky i don't build tolerance to meds so only time i have to adjust them is when my mom/system induced increased stress on me. I have high pain tolerance but i can't imagine having the pain relief and then it comes back worse. I feel bad for you , Rick, cuz if go into remission then that could ause a lot of anxiety if u feel anything that makes u feel like the pain is coming back!! best of luck w/ getting the pain back to remission. xoxo kris
elstep said:
Kris, Hi its Elaine, what is your RF, is it Radio Frequency? Rick, breakthrough is what Kris says, its when the pain breaks through the medication you are taking. People here do say if you stop taking your medication because your in remission then the pain often comes back much greater and harder to control, but i dont know why that is.
I'm sorry you are having this. I had breakthru pain while lowering my trileptal, I was tired of being a zombie, not working, and ready for an MVD in the first year.
This TN is progressive, it only gets worse over time.
I dealt with it by gaining as much knowledge from here and the book Striking Back --- I also used Lidocaine patches and Reiki treatments.
Get/Keep a good doctor and post here as much as you need!
Thanks for defining the term for me. That makes perfect sense. It's pain that breaks through a meds regimen that was effective in the past.
Things are settling down quite a bit for me these last three days, but I don't want to say that too loudly... ;-) Rick
kris765 said:
hey elaine , how ru you doing?? Ya my pain doc does the RF -radio Frequency in back neck on left side (not sure where nerve located exactly on spine) and it helps block the pain signals. We didn't know if it would help the 1st x and it was unbelievable pain relief and w/ each subsequent RF procedure the migraines /head aches come back w/ less pain. It takes about a yr for the nerve to regenerate !! I have never had any type of remission but i have heard the pain receptors get more sensitive to pain so the the pain is more intensified. I haven't had to research that aspect cuz never experienced it and i am lucky i don't build tolerance to meds so only time i have to adjust them is when my mom/system induced increased stress on me. I have high pain tolerance but i can't imagine having the pain relief and then it comes back worse. I feel bad for you , Rick, cuz if go into remission then that could ause a lot of anxiety if u feel anything that makes u feel like the pain is coming back!! best of luck w/ getting the pain back to remission. xoxo kris
elstep said:
Kris, Hi its Elaine, what is your RF, is it Radio Frequency? Rick, breakthrough is what Kris says, its when the pain breaks through the medication you are taking. People here do say if you stop taking your medication because your in remission then the pain often comes back much greater and harder to control, but i dont know why that is.