hi im new to all this, im healthy male 25 years old and 3 months ago i got an electric shock type pain in the right side of my face out of nowhere while i was eating it wasnt really painful but was more like a shock and made me move my head quick because it felt like some one had thrown something at me only lasted a second then i was fine for 3 months...
until 2 days ago it happened again while i was eating but on left side of my face,
I was wondering if this is how anyone elses TN first started? or did you have normal pain in your face or anything before you got a shock like feeling? or it came on gradually etc?
About an hour. At first I could go days without a pain then have several in one day. It sort of flirted with me for a while and I felt convinced it must be dental Then a regular pattern appeared and has established over the years. I do however find good control through meds. Off to do a little paid work just now but will check back in a couple of hours and reply if needed.
Mine started with toothache. I went to my dentest and he couldn't find anything wrong and told it may be sinus to make appt. with GP. I was having little shocks with chewing and brushing teeth. I had a friend that was an RN and she said it sounded like TN. I told my GP but he treated me for sinusitus for a long tome. I changed Drs. Went to Allergy Dr., ENT Dr. and then Dec 2011 I had my 1st "episond". I was fortunate to see a Neurologist 4 days later. The pain didnt let up until the meds kicked in. Carbamazepine. All this happened on right side of face.
The meds calm the nerve down, which then hopefully stops he pain. Some people suffer breakthrough pain, which is pain getting through although your on medication, if this happens then your medication can be adjusted. Do you know yet when your seeing your doctor?
well i have a blood test to go to on monday anyway so im gonna ask the nurse while im there and if she cant help then ill book appointment while im there,
if i get put on meds how do i know if there working or not if i only get the pain maybe once every few months? so confuzed =[
Kimburlee do you get any pain now your meds have kicked in?
Yes , I am Type I and I am quite well controlled with medication. They are not pain killers as such and reading up about them here in the Face Pain Info tab will explain them so much better than I can.
gazuk said:
i didnt get next shock until 3 months later and on the other side =/ do the meds take away the shocks?
Mine started with a permanent headache on the right side. Then, about a month after the headache began and never went away I started getting a numb/tingling feeling from the right corner of my mouth to the middle...never from the left. I feel it everyday, all day now. It has progressively gotten worse. I am still learning a lot about TN, but it is important to note that if you are experiencing TN it will only occur on one side and only to the center of your face on that side. It is unlikely that you are experiencing damage to your Trigeminal Nerve on both sides of your head. I have gotten the electrical zaps before as well, it was during December of this past year. When mine did that it occurred several times a day and was accompanied by a sensation of rain drops hitting my cheek.
I have TN Type 2. The TN experience is very different for everyone, yet with commonalities for all. I wish you luck with yours.
It is definitely something to get checked out by a doctor, but in my layman's opinion I would suggest that it would not shift from one side to the other between events if it is TN. Can someone back me up on this?
Fred during my membership I have met many people with pain on both sides. A very eminent professor has looked at my MRI and warned me it could go bilateral. It has now started to be true. I am showing signs of Type I on the right and Type II on the left. My Type I manifests mainly in the second tooth inwards. My very good friend on here also has bilateral. TN is rare and bilateral is even rarer but sorry to report it does exist. Red? care to join in?
Fred (a_Cuppa_Coffee) said:
Gazuk,
Mine started with a permanent headache on the right side. Then, about a month after the headache began and never went away I started getting a numb/tingling feeling from the right corner of my mouth to the middle…never from the left. I feel it everyday, all day now. It has progressively gotten worse. I am still learning a lot about TN, but it is important to note that if you are experiencing TN it will only occur on one side and only to the center of your face on that side. It is unlikely that you are experiencing damage to your Trigeminal Nerve on both sides of your head. I have gotten the electrical zaps before as well, it was during December of this past year. When mine did that it occurred several times a day and was accompanied by a sensation of rain drops hitting my cheek.
I have TN Type 2. The TN experience is very different for everyone, yet with commonalities for all. I wish you luck with yours.
Gazuk, I have been pain free since about Dec. 20th. I have only had 1 breakthrough and that was wed night in my sleep. it barely woke me up and I went right back to sleep. I felt like it was coming on all day wed I think because my sinus seemed to be a little swollen. Zero pain ever since. Hope this is helpful.
I am definitely no expert at TN, I was basing my advice on things I had read online and questioning that my Neurologist had given me when I was diagnosed. He kept making sure that I was only experiencing things on one side of my face and only to the midline. He advised me that if it was occurring on both sides it was likely something else and not TN. Again, I am new to this though.
Fred
Jackie said:
Fred during my membership I have met many people with pain on both sides. A very eminent professor has looked at my MRI and warned me it could go bilateral. It has now started to be true. I am showing signs of Type I on the right and Type II on the left. My Type I manifests mainly in the second tooth inwards. My very good friend on here also has bilateral. TN is rare and bilateral is even rarer but sorry to report it does exist. Red? care to join in? Fred (a_Cuppa_Coffee) said:
Gazuk,
Mine started with a permanent headache on the right side. Then, about a month after the headache began and never went away I started getting a numb/tingling feeling from the right corner of my mouth to the middle...never from the left. I feel it everyday, all day now. It has progressively gotten worse. I am still learning a lot about TN, but it is important to note that if you are experiencing TN it will only occur on one side and only to the center of your face on that side. It is unlikely that you are experiencing damage to your Trigeminal Nerve on both sides of your head. I have gotten the electrical zaps before as well, it was during December of this past year. When mine did that it occurred several times a day and was accompanied by a sensation of rain drops hitting my cheek.
I have TN Type 2. The TN experience is very different for everyone, yet with commonalities for all. I wish you luck with yours.