Did my Teflon move? I was in a car accident

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
1

My MVD was on Feb 17, 2014. On Sept 2, 2015 my TN pain greatly increased. A car cut off and stopped in front of the car I was behind. Even though I was at a safe distance from the car in front of me and I was already slowing down because something didn't seem right, I rear-ended the car in front of me. My head flung forward and hit the steering wheel. My jaw slammed shut very hard, causing my lower teeth to hit my upper front tooth. My upper front tooth is a strong TN trigger. I have had a dramatic increase in TN pain since the car accident.

While my TN pain was reduced by MVD it did not go away. Nearly all shocks and stabbing were eliminated but not much help for the atypical pain. I never stopped taking Cymbalta. At about 12 months post-op I resumed taking Trileptal. That helped a bit but I was definitely not pain free. Now I am almost back to where I was pre-MVD.

I haven't yet seen my neurologist or neurosurgeon. Does anyone think it is possible that the force of the accident could have moved my Teflon? Or is it more likely that my nerve or an artery moved and are now irritating my nerve? I guess tomorrow I will break down and make an appt to see one of the docs.

Any comments or even questions you think I should ask the doc will be appreciated. I am feeling pretty deflated right now. The car accident happened about 20 minutes after I had left physical therapy for a broken shoulder and torn rotator cuff. I now have ten beautiful screws in my shoulder. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I do feel blessed but I admit I am getting a bit down. Thanks for listening, Marlaine

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Marlaine, It doesn't particularly matter whether the artery or the teflon moved. A sudden blunt force trauma to your face could have caused either one or both, by stretching your brain stem during a whiplash movement. You will want to describe how your face was impacted, and the neurologist might want you to have high resolution MRI done to assess whether there are any apparent compressions in the vicinity of the MVD teflon placement. You might also need to be tried on a different medication such as Tegretol or Neurontin, or an increased dose of Trileptal. And your neurologist may want you to wait for a few weeks to make decisions on any changes or referral to a neurosurgeon, to give the nerve a chance to settle down on its own.

Do let us know what you learn in your next appointment.

Go in Peace and Power

Red Lawhern, Ph.D.

REsident Research Analyst, LWTN

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Thank you Red. I think you are right. I have been thinking I should increase the Trileptal. Pre-surgery I was taking 1200mg twice a day. Now I am only taking 300mg twice a day. I'll asking the doc about increasing the dose while waiting to get into see him. I was diagnosed in 1999. I sometimes think I have tried a million different meds. and combinations