Hi everyone.
I have a question for anyone who might be going through what I am. I had MVD (2 times) about 5 years ago on the left side. I am now experiencing some pain about a 7 or 8 (out of a pain scale of 10) on some days again on my left side. It would be in the middle section (#2 on the trigiminal nerve area). I am wondering if I just have good ol' nerve damage and will have to live with this for life. I am on 500 mg of Tregretol with little or no relief. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Mary
Hi Mary —
I suffer from burning pain as well and was on Tegretol. Adding in Lyrica helped take that pain away for me. My burning pain down in my jaw and my face would swell up.
I'm sorry for you, I hope you find some relief soon!
Cheers
Jessica
I can't take Lyrica I swell up like an elephant but did you ever have an MRI done that showed anything?
I did have an MRI — my surgeon thought that he saw a vein intersecting my nerve where it split. I went in for surgery on January 25th and there wasn't anything to compress and there wasn't a vein in the way. He unwrapped my nerve bundle re-arranged it. I guess he's has a lot of success just manipulating the nerve in that maner. I've completely weaned off of Lyrica and Tegretol and am pretty much pain free — I'm very hopeful I stay this way.
mary irvin said:
I can't take Lyrica I swell up like an elephant but did you ever have an MRI done that showed anything?
That sounds wonderful. I am very happy for you. I just need an MRI I suppose and go from there (AGAIN).
Thanks for responding and have a wonderful weekend.
Hi Mary,
It's not uncommon for pain to return years after an MVD. They aren't guaranteed to cure TN. Many of our members here have had multiple MVDs and reoccurrence of the pain. There are some general statistics about MVDs in the FACE PAIN INFO on the top options bar.
It may be that your Tegretol dose isn't strong enough or you should be on a different medication. This situation needs to be discussed with your neurologist. You need pain relief.