Hi, I am 16 days post 2nd MVD. No compression was found (surgeon re-padded the nerve that was done during my 1st MVD (2007). Knowing that a compression may not be causing my TN, the surgeon also did a rhitzotomy. He gave me a 50% success rate on the MVD - it was not successful.
Prior to this surgery I was taking 800mg of tegretol which controlled the pain really well for 1 1.5 years then I went to 1400mg to mostly control it. The amout of medicine was too much for me so I decided to give a 2nd MVD a try.
Currently, the trigger point of my pain (upper lip) is no longer an issue however, over the last few days I have severe ice pick stabbing pain in my right ear, upper and lower right molars. I also have pain in my both temples but I’m assuming that’s related to healing.
Hi there! I'm a month and a half post MVD (my first) and I have begun to have the ice pick stabbing pain in my ear. It started shortly after the surgery, which is rather disappointing as now it seems my only other option is Tegretol and pain meds. I'm worried that I'm having this pain while I still am on the post-op pain meds. I also have pain in my right temple, but I've assumed that is due to migraines. My neurosurgeon did not find any compression either. I'm curious, did you have compression when you had your first MVD done? I hope you feel better and things improve.
Hi Momtotwo, sorry to hear this, but I would suggest that any pain around the teeth area maybe first deserves a visit to the dentist to try and rule out any actual tooth related cause, especially where the pain feels different to your 'usual' type of TN pain. Severe tooth pain or tooth abscess sometimes mimics TN pain, (or vice versa) and can be confusing, hence the reason why so many dentists still do not pick up TN as a diagnosis in the early stages. Also might be a common ear infection? Failing that, I would return to the surgeon and ask more questions about the actual surgery, maybe ask him why he only gave the surgery a 50% success rating, it might help you in the future to know the reason why. It seems you are faced with the choice of trying to 'ride out the pain' without resorting to your med in the hopes it will go away, or starting immediately on your med again to try and 'arrest' it - and I think that's a personal choice. Personally I don't like starting the med again unless and until the pain has reached the unbearable stage, (just hate the side effects, hate drugs in general), but many on here would disagree with me and choose to start the med immediately to avoid as much of the pain as possible. I think there's something to be said for both choices - but it's personal and up to you and your circumstances. TIP: I think it's really important to remember if possible to quiz your surgeon both before and AFTER the surgery, because any info you get will help you in any possible future decisions you have to make about possible ongoing care and treatment. You need to know exactly what they did and how and why. In the trauma or upset over surgery we often forget to find out these things, but they will be extremely relevant in the future. Best of luck.
I am ten days post op and also have temple pain. My incision looks great, no sign of infection amd staples out since yesterday, but the area above the incision is swollen and sore. Perhaps the temple pain comes from thay? All guess work for me at this point. So far I have only been able to get rid of one med.Hope you heal well and completely.