I am newly diagnosed with TN. I just saw the neuralogist yesterday and will start on Tegretol 100 mg twice a day, but can’t get it till Monday. As far as brushing teeth, this sends me to the moon and back with electrical shocks. I have been using pro namel sensodyne. I think it is the sodium fluoride that makes tooth brushing worse.
Does anyone know of a tooth paste that might work better as far as the pain goes?
How has the tegretol worked for other? What side effects did you experience?
Thank you so much!
My experience when my TN is fired up has been just touching my upper right side teeth with anything can cause from a single shock to a full on crippling attack.I've gone weeks like that.I don't think another toothpaste will help.I did get the softest brush possible.I feel for you.Good luck.Don
I use the generic Tegratol Carbamazepine.I was up to 800 mg a day.I had several issues with it.Short term memory is the one that drove me and my wife nuts the most.Draggy and almost zombie like until you get used to it.There are other issues too,but it does help with the pain.Another plus is it does help you sleep.D
You will get much info …put tegretol in search box above.
At your appt. tell them you want prescriptions for
Lidocaine mouthwash and
Lidocaine face cream… And/or More strong…lidocaine face patches Is better
The more lidocaine you can use …
The better you may be able to keep that med side effects lower on tegretol and that is always best!
Thank you, Don
I will try a softer toothbrush and I bought some different toothpaste to see if this helps. I start my tegretol on Monday. I am hoping after a few days I won’t have too many side effects and it helps the pain!
Don said:
My experience when my TN is fired up has been just touching my upper right side teeth with anything can cause from a single shock to a full on crippling attack.I've gone weeks like that.I don't think another toothpaste will help.I did get the softest brush possible.I feel for you.Good luck.Don
I use the generic Tegratol Carbamazepine.I was up to 800 mg a day.I had several issues with it.Short term memory is the one that drove me and my wife nuts the most.Draggy and almost zombie like until you get used to it.There are other issues too,but it does help with the pain.Another plus is it does help you sleep.D
I too was unable to brush on the left side. Once I started tegratol I was blessed with constant relief. Thank you Jesus!! I take 200 mg 3x a day.
Thank you so much, Wanda. I start my tegretol tomorrow. I hope Jesus heals me quick. I am in so much pain right now.
Jean said:
Thank you, Don
I will try a softer toothbrush and I bought some different toothpaste to see if this helps. I start my tegretol on Monday. I am hoping after a few days I won’t have too many side effects and it helps the pain!
Don said:My experience when my TN is fired up has been just touching my upper right side teeth with anything can cause from a single shock to a full on crippling attack.I’ve gone weeks like that.I don’t think another toothpaste will help.I did get the softest brush possible.I feel for you.Good luck.Don
I use the generic Tegratol Carbamazepine.I was up to 800 mg a day.I had several issues with it.Short term memory is the one that drove me and my wife nuts the most.Draggy and almost zombie like until you get used to it.There are other issues too,but it does help with the pain.Another plus is it does help you sleep.D
I went through an 8 day period where brushing was difficult. Lessons Learned: 1) I used a baby toothbrush 2) brush where you can and avoid the triggers. 3) floss where you can and avoid the triggers 4) I used baby toothpaste which you can swallow due to swishing caused pain 5) brush your tongue- this gave me a refreshed feeling 6) use toothpaste on a q-tip on the painful teeth. 7) Used mouthwash which I sipped through a straw and then let back through the straw when finished 8) drink water after food and try to swish as much as possible 8) used non sugar breath strips 9) rub your painful teeth with your finger that has toothpaste10) use your tongue as much as possible as that saliva helps prevent tooth decay.
Hope some of these ideas can help! Not being able to brush my teeth was worse than not be able to talk or eat solid food!!
Those are great.I also used warm diluted hydrogen peroxide.
msbluebells said:
I went through an 8 day period where brushing was difficult. Lessons Learned: 1) I used a baby toothbrush 2) brush where you can and avoid the triggers. 3) floss where you can and avoid the triggers 4) I used baby toothpaste which you can swallow due to swishing caused pain 5) brush your tongue- this gave me a refreshed feeling 6) use toothpaste on a q-tip on the painful teeth. 7) Used mouthwash which I sipped through a straw and then let back through the straw when finished 8) drink water after food and try to swish as much as possible 8) used non sugar breath strips 9) rub your painful teeth with your finger that has toothpaste10) use your tongue as much as possible as that saliva helps prevent tooth decay.
Hope some of these ideas can help! Not being able to brush my teeth was worse than not be able to talk or eat solid food!!
Thank you so much for all the hints. I start my tegretol for the first time tomorrow. I hope it helps all the pain I am in.
It WILL help you a lot.Maybe remove it completely.
I don't know if this would help you,but I also always brush with warm-ish water. If I have any kind of exposed nerve (I have sensitive teeth already) the cold will set off shocks.
Wow, I will try it tonite. Thank you
Don said:
It WILL help you a lot.Maybe remove it completely.
Thank you. Yes, I try to stay away from cold water
EasyBeef said:
I don't know if this would help you,but I also always brush with warm-ish water. If I have any kind of exposed nerve (I have sensitive teeth already) the cold will set off shocks.
Hi, thought I'd chime in. I have three different toothbrushes for the good and bad days. Honestly sometimes I can't brush my right side at all but heres what I do. I have a baby oral b cross toothbrush with a super small head and super soft bristles, this one is for moderate days. I have a sonicare for good days that can handle a good cleaning and i have a cheap adult soft one for the bad days. The bristles on this one are so flimsy that they barely do anything but better than nothing. First I run all of my brushes under really hot water to make them even softer then i use Toms of Maine Clean and Genlte. It is an SLS free toothpaste. I found that the sensodyne seemed to bother me more but i think it was the SLS. I always just move the brush really slow on that whole side, so the key for me is the hot water, the softer the bristles the better and that allowes me to use the sonicare about once a week to make up for the days i just couldnt clean properly. As far as a mouth rinse I use a peroxide rinse made by orajel and it feels gentle and has a mild flavor. Everyone on here has they're own tricks that work and it's all so helpful. I also have a lidocaine gel that I can apply with a qtip if needed but I always mess that up a bit but it does help when i get it right. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much. I did buy a softer brush and tooth paste from trader joes. Is the lidocaine gel OTC? And to think just two weeks ago, I was pain free! Wow how I feel like my life has changed since getting this. It came on soooo suddenly!
Hi Jean
Give Biotene products a try. Sensodyne cripples me too. There is a new Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste (pink labelling) that is not too bad. Good luck with the tegretol.
Bellalarke
It doesn't seem to matter what toothpaste or brush to use, they all cripple me! My advice is give Tegretol a try, it did wonders for me. Back in 2011 when my TN first started I tried Trileptal witch is a close cousin of Tegretol, and it did nothing. Then, my amazing pain management doctor suggested Tegretol, so we gave it a try. It worked like a miracle! I was able to do everything that I couldn't before and with such little pain! But about six weeks after we had raised Tegretol to its maximum dosage (for me it was 1800 mg), it stopped. Its affect on the TN had gone away and the pain was back. So we switched around a bunch of meds and nothing ever seemed to work. But here we are two years later (after six major brain surgeries), restarting the Tegretol and giving it another shot.
The lidocaine is a prescription but you can try otc benzocaine products such as anbesol or orajel. Those help a bit but don't last as long as the lidocaine. It is crazy how it comes into your life. It's good you got an early diagnosis so you can get the process of figuring this all out going. Mine started 3 years ago and I spent a large amount of time thinking i was losing my mind. I wasn't diagnosed until a few months ago. I'm so glad to finally know what I'm dealing with and to have found this place. Good luck with this, you'll find tons of advise here. So many things work differently for everyone but every step is a step closer.
Jean said:
Thank you so much. I did buy a softer brush and tooth paste from trader joes. Is the lidocaine gel OTC? And to think just two weeks ago, I was pain free! Wow how I feel like my life has changed since getting this. It came on soooo suddenly!