How do you handle the pain?

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
1

I have just been diagnosed with TN. Strangely enough I had a few episodes but I thought it was a bad tooth. However, there was no swelling like an abcess would have. I also started thinking that it would not numb my face and cause pain the way it was. Finally I had an episode/flare last week where I told my mom I wanted to die rather than deal with it anymore. She took me to the ER where a Neurologist was consulting a different case. It took him 30 seconds to figure out what was going on. They started me on Tegretol and vicodin.

I am on only 300 mg's and increasing to 600 in the next week. Nothing is stopping this pain. Nothing is even duling it. As I type, I can feel the start of a new flare coming up. I get three zapping feelings -- it seems like it happens after I eat. Like 20 minutes after I eat.

How did you all get through the pain until the meds kicked in? How do you deal with breakthrough pain? I want to go into my followup appointment armed with a plan that I hope that the doctor will just rubber stamp. What worked in the early days? Any narcotics that you were on that at least dulled it?

I am also uninsured and unemployed. It is going to be hard to pay for additional appointments, so I am hoping to come with a good plan for now.

2

Dear Member: there are two articles on the site that may help you answer the question "how do you handle the pain". Click first on the Face Pain Info tab and do some reading there. Then take a look at "Coping With Crisis", in a sub-tab to the Face Pain Info tab, for a second article.

You'll get through this. It may take weeks for to find a med that works, and for medications to come up to effective levels in your blood stream. Narcotics don't work for every patient, though they do for some. There are also links in our articles to another page on "free and low cost on-line resources for medical care"

3

Thanks Red. Will do.