Sorry I am so chatty lately...I have just been having a horrible week and want answers to the 5 billion questions I have...
I have been diagnosed by 2 ER doctors and a neurologist. I present with 100% to the t symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 of the V3 region. But for some reason I keep finding myself in denial? I guess in part because I was diagnosed so quickly without anything else really being ruled out because my symptoms fit so well. I have had a ct scan (in ER) that showed nothing, blood work (in ER) that showed slightly elevated white blood cell count but everything else looked great and an MRI a week ago (ordered by neurologist) that I haven't heard back about yet.
Is there any chance that this could be something else non neurological? A really bad sinus and ear infection? An abscess somewhere in the area? Cancer of anything in the area?
I've been suffering severe chronic ear and sinus infections for a few years now and this pain is much worse but somewhat comparable? A little bit? I also get abscesses often. I don't know why I am doing this, I just keep telling myself it isn't TN, it's something else...
Questions are good! Ask alot of them..Doctors are known to be wrong..When I was told it wasnt my tooth , but unknown face pain, I didnt want to believe I'd have this pain forever either. I wanted it to be my tooth..But I've been reading alot about this type of pain and realize that Lyme Disease shares alot of the symptoms of facial pain...I was diagnosed with Lyme disease several years ago before I suffered my facial pain..It mainifest itsself in the teeth , jaw and gums also...and a ton of other symptoms, not just neurological...So not sure what to think..I suffer from chronic sinus infections also...Maybe when you get your MRI back it will tell you more....
I hope the MRI has something to tell me...no one really told me what exactly the mri was for other than that it was of my brain, no contrast. I know in the ER they told me they were looking for tumors and MS. And my neurologist had the results from that, so what is the difference? Like what else could my neurologist be looking for that wouldn't have been seen on the CT scan? This is all so frustrating and confusing...
I think MRI's show more thsan a cat scan..More vessels and veins??? I'm sure there alot of people here who know the difference between the two. I had an MRI when I was suffering Migraines.All they told me that the ends of my vessels looked different? I asked what that meant and they said it was inconclusive..I had a cat scan when I was diagnosed with chronic sinusitus..It is all confusing and frustrating..I'd really like to know why my face feels the way it does..Maybe one day someone will figure it all out...Hope you are feeling better...
Yeah the MRI is to rule out other causes such as a tumor or MS. It can also show a compression---sometimes! That is the frustrating part. Everything about TN is frustrating. Waiting for Drs, appoints, tests, medication to work. etc. It is more a process of weeding out other possible causes than it is about finding a definitive diagnosis most of the time.
There are other possible causes and that is what those tests are for. Ask questions and lots of them. If you don't feel like you are being heard then keep going until you do. Learn as much as you can and be your own best advocate. We have all been there or are there so we understand. Ask anything on here! And listen I am two years in with this and I am constantly doubting my diagnosis, looking for correlations with anything else possible and thinking and overthinking about what else it could be. I think that is pretty normal with an invisible illness. It breeds anxiety and doubt. You are on the right track though. And do consider yourself lucky that you were diagnosed so quickly. You are being treated seriously and seeing the right specialists.
Tiffers, your quick diagnosis could be a blessing. I bounced around to 10 different specialists before TN was even brought up. I went to 2 different ENT’s, TMJ specialists, oral surgeon, specialized chiropractors, balance center specialists, 3 years of physical therapy and had 6 MRI’s, high resolution CT scan and a brain lab CT which all found nothing wrong. It turned out my glossopharyngeal nerve was damaged and my neurologist preformed crainal surgery 4 weeks ago and cut my glossopharyngeal nerve and now I am pain free!