Hello there… I am new to this forum and have MVD surgery set for May 13th, coming up quickly.
Back in July of 2010, I fell off a ladder at the house and as I hit the deck, I twisted my neck to the left at impact. As I hit, I cut the right side of my tongue, hit my sternum on one of the rungs and further tore my right rotator cuff on the rail.
In November of the same year during Thanksgiving dinner, I had a TMJ issue arise while finishing a turkey leg.
Two days later, I saw a TMJ doctor who I had been referred to me by my primary care Doctor.
He gave me some excerises to do and sure enough the TMJ issues was resolved after a two week period.
Over the next several weeks I had a new pain occur out of the blue while I was in the shower one day. It started in my upper right gum line and subsequent to the eventual Diagnosis of TN,
I had a root canal done in the upper region where the pain had hit.
The dentist I saw thought it might be an infection from where a crown had been done a year earlier. Sure enough he found a very small infection which he took care of. The Crown was popped back on and two weeks later a new pain emerged again while showering.
The root canal had not been the source, as I found out later. Over the next several weeks the pain would only occur when I wetted my face. It would not occur any other time.
Out of desperation and wanting to figure out what in the heck was going on, I saw a facial pain Doctor at the Uof W, Seattle.
He listened to my story and it all started to indicate the possibility of TN. He had me schedule an MRI with contrast which shown that there was a vessel pressing on the nerve. Shortly after the MRI was done, the pain episodes disappeared. 9 months later it again returned and this time effecting my right upper nasal zone along with the upper palate and upper gum line. I made it over to my primary Doc again and I was sent to a Neurologist who put me on Tegretol. After a month on this, my palms starting pimpling and skin started peeling off. I ended up switching to Gabapentine. Over the next several months, the pain disappeared again. I had noticed more issues with my neck and was noticing I was having a harder time rotating it, especially to the right. I saw a neck specialist and they gave me a cortisone shot which helped a bit for a short time. I Was told I had a lot of arthritis going on with the neck and was told it’s pretty normal at my age. Fast forward from then to now, the pain has returned over the last year and it is now chronic in nature with constant spiderweb feelings in my right temple region, my upper right palate, gum line with constant pain which moves sometimes to my upper lip. The pain also tends to spasm out my right jaw muscle and right eye waters from time to time. The pain is this side of wanting to explode. I have noticed excessive twisting of the neck over the weekend with yard work etc, tends to aggrevate the TN symptoms.
All the neurosurgeons I have spoken too all say the same thing; that the Trigeminal issue is not trauma induced and they do not share a remote suggestion that falling off a ladder had anything to do with my diagnosis of TN. They go on to say that my current neck issues are also not causing the facial pain symptoms I have had since day one.
I am wondering if any of you have ever had a similar situation to mine.
After writing this long winded story, I am wondering whether it could be something else that I have not yet looked at.
The surgery is a big commitment and it would be nice to know that it’s the best option I have going, as I wouldn’t want to find out later, that I could have had neck surgery and alleviated nerve issues that had mimicked TN… Ha! Just my luck. “Thank you all.” BB
To answer your question yes trama can…but in your case you said YOU DO have a compression of the nerve…so I would say its probably from the compression…but this condition is all to confusing for all of us and we all have THE WHAT IFS . I know for sure I question things all the time but the drs just don’t know much which makes it even more difficult. Good luck to you please let us know how your MVD goes
ABSOLUTELY mine was caused by a car wreck ( it tore my left rotator cuff) when i was 16 where I was in someone's blind spot they hit my car it flipped over and i had to undo my seat belt and fell like 7inches on my neck. The wreck caused a tic in the left side of my face immediately. Then at age 24 my pain had progressed so much and i got the diagnosed TN1 and TN2. Now i'm 31TN2 was the first, but when I heard it was also called Tic Delaroux I knew my car wreck had caused it.I literally feel your pain and i'm so sorry. I think by your symptoms, YOU HAVE TEXTBOOK TN. My Neck, shoulders, jaw, teeth( worst pain ), gums, inner ear, cheek bones, temples( worst combined with eye pain) If you want to talk to someone leave me a message and get my number. And your age whatever it is doesn't really factor into TN it doesn't discriminate
Oh and TN can go into remission I have never experienced it personally but some people do, and I do think your fall from the ladder caused it that's my opinion and probably going to be 9/10 people's opinion on this site. The other 10% will tell you the dentist caused it which is very possible.
Certainly,
There are plenty of people who suffer with TN, whose symptoms are caused by neck issues, some are talked out of it by their neuro/ surgeon, plain ignorance. You have probably realised folk have vascular compression at the TN root and have no symptoms of TN. Just because you have vascular interaction at the TN root doesn't confirm a vascular cause for your TN. Anyone who proposes your vascular components crashed into your TN root during the fall is definitely taking a leap in the unknown, same goes for whiplash patients, there is plenty of cerebral spinal fluid in this space to limit such injury.
The following link may be of benefit;