Before a correct diagnosis for Tigemintal Neuralgia, I was put on a NO gluten, NO fruit, NO dairy, NO sugar diet. I’m small and slender. I lost 10 pounds in a few weeks (not good for me). It’s taken me almost a year to put the weight back on. I have found that sugar will trigger an attack (not that I eat that much sugar, but once in a while a sweet treat is nice.) Has anyone else noticed a trigger for pain with sugar?
Hi NonnaJoann,
I absolutely believe any of the things you couldn’t eat on your restricted diet can be a trigger. As i understand it from my PT, all of those things can inflame our tissues, which in turn affect the fascia that contain our nerves.
However, I think each person can be triggered by different things on that list and have to figure out which things they need to avoid. For one example, I try to avoid most gluten; any regular pasta, heavy (and/or sugary) breads, or beer will all trigger pain for me- either right away or the next day, but I can get away with a white hamburger bun for some reason. I try to avoid all of the things that you mentioned but I also am learning more about what I can and cannot get away with.
I lost/lose weight as a result sometimes too. The scariest was getting down to 103- that’s when I got serious about finding higher calorie foods that my body can handle without triggering more pain. When I lose weight, I go on a “new foods that I can eat hunt.” It can be fun sometimes or it can be a pain in the face- ha! Luckily butter, half n’ half, and small amounts of some cheeses are fine for me (but if I eat more than one spoonful of ice cream, watch out! I’ll be in agony the next day) so I eat more baked potatoes and burgers when my weight gets dangerously low. It is hard for me to keep weight on and stay completely away from triggers so I am trying to find a good balance. Just one more thing to deal with while having this condition, I guess. I suppose the good news is that I’ll never be overweight again; I’d rather be skinny, a little hungry, and painfree (or in less pain anyway) than 10lbs overweight and in agony!
So I’d say, avoid sugar (especially processed sugar items), but when you do eat it, pay attention to how you feel afterwards and keep that in mind for the future. Some sugar might be fine, while other sugary items might affect you a lot.
Good luck! Enjoy the “treasure hunt.” 
In solidarity,
Christy
Thanks Christy for your input. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one with a sugar trigger. Yes, I’m the same. The day after ingesting sugar, it’s hell to pay. 
Hi Nonna! Absolutely sugar is a trigger. In fact, it was my first trigger. The very first two attacks I had were form eating mango off the skin when peeling the fruit, then in McDonalds with ketchup on a burger! (I remember them vividly.) I also remember that at first when I didn’t know I had TN, thinking it was sugar sensitivity and going to see my dentist and telling her that it reacted to sugar but not hot or cold. After I was diagnosed I was still unsure and I actually signed up to this forum to ask people if anyone had sugar as a trigger - the post will be still be buried on here somewhere! And yes, several other people did.
I’m in remission currently but I always know when I’ve eaten too much sweet stuff because my TN teeth get all antsy and give me little sensitive zings. Needless to say I am now on a sugar-free diet!
I find when I eat/drink sugar my pain breaks through … when I mentioned this to my neurologist he said sugar has no effect with my TN … It made me feel stupid … all I know for certain is my pain breaks through when I have sugar … I see neurologist again on the 20th … I am going to tell him others who have TN notice it as a trigger for them as well
I don’t know if the sugar impacts my pain because of where the damaged
nerve is in my face. I had a deviated septum with a bone spur located on
the side and middle of my nose. I had surgery to correct this a year ago.
Sugar is an inflammatory and I think it may inflame my nasal passages, so
that it irritates the damaged nerve. Anyway, that’s my theory.
Anything really sweet would trigger… cake, icecream, cookies, etc. but also fried food, certain cheeses. I noticed once I treated TN like a high cholesterol diet my pain was low to almost no pain.
Hi again,
Yes, because it inflames your tissues and your nerves are contained in the tissues (or fascia), it puts more pressure on the nerves. At least that’s how I understand it.
Someone else mentioned their doctor on this thread. My doc thought I was crazy too. Not many docs see the body as a whole anymore, unfortunately. Not much we can do.
It is for me. But fruit and coconut sugar does not.
i saw my doctor this week (neurologist) … once again i brought up the topic of sugar being a trigger … he said that it was my teeth and i should see my dentist … i told him, i don’t think so … he saw i had a bag sitting beside my purse and ask me what i had … i said they were candy canes for some children … i asked him if he would like one and he said no, he didn’t want to trigger his TN … he doesn’t have TN