I have a friend suffering from fibromyalgia. She has for almost 20 years now. When she first had symptoms the doctors would tell her she is just depressed. “Its all in your head.” When the TN symptoms started showing up in my life, at first I thought it was dental. I had 2 teeth removed, 3 root canals and countless needless other things done. Next was sinus. After a sinus surgery, botox injections into my jaw, cortisone injections and drug therapies, finally I was sent to a neurologist. You know what he told me…“Your depressed.” LOL
I don’t tell doctors what my occupation is when I first start seeing them because it gives them a preconceived notion. But on this occasion, I was livid. I politely informed this …doctor…I am a doctor. His color changed just a tad. I also let him know, as a shrink, I am well aware of what depression is. I left and made an appointment with another Neuro.
Six years and 7 doctors. And what is my diagnosis? “Its all in my head!” LOL So true, so true.
OMG!!! That's priceless!!! I've often wished that the doctors we've all wasted our time on could experience this pain for a week with no relief...that would change their tune pretty darn fast.
Thank you, Bobbie, for making me laugh first thing in the morning.
Its all in my head too, literally! I’m no doctor but a expert on suffering in silence with this “I look good so I must be” illness 
Have a great day
LOL Thank you Gloria. I try. Laughter has been my best medicine.
Tracy, isn’t that the truth! So we look damn good but while we smile and go about our day we are being shocked constantly to the point of fear and exhaustion. But hey, we look good doing it! LOL Smile and think of certain words written across your teeth…it’s our little way of giving the naysayers the bird…
Excellent point, Tracy and Bobbie! That's one of the down-sides of having an "invisible" illness or disability. People look at you and don't get it. If they only could feel the pain for a while and knew how much energy we spend on looking fabulous in the face of The Suicide Disease they might "get it".
Bobbie - you should join our Laughter and Humor group. There's some good stuff in there and I know you could contribute a lot.
Boy this is a lot like my experience with doctors. It seems that once you go through menopause, doctors think you are a “depressed” person. I saw my former MD two years ago with horrible stomach pain and swollen and hurting lymph nodes. He looked at the results of my blood tests and colonscopy and actually said there was nothing wrong with me ( he never examined me), and wanted to put me on antidepressants. Well, after two uterine biopsies, and two endoscopies, guess what, I had ulcers, gastritis and a horribly inflamed GI tract. I went to him for guidance and was totally dismissed. Another great episode - I went to a neurologist and was told I couldn’t have just TN causing so much pain in my eyes. After 16 blood tests and a visit to a rheumatologist, and YES, it is just PHTN causing the pain. Why don’t doctors listen? We are not crazy! We are in pain!!!
Yes, once I had a General Practitioner tell me, "You are just a nervous little lady who is very worried about yourself"". His nurses were urging me to find another doctor as I was checking out of his office in approx. Lvl 7 pain, which was a good day for me, unmedicated properly, back then.
From the account I got, his Nurses talked him into referring me to a Pain Management Clinic. There, is was diagnosed in approx. 20 mins, after years of being told I had TMJ by other doctors. An MRI was done to rule out TMJ.
Needless to say, I did switch General Practitioners, the same time I switched Pain Clinics (the one I had become accustomed to visiting did not understand Atypical TN, except for one Nurse Practitioner, who quit). I found my nurse practitioner at another pain clinic, after asking to be discharged from the first, and the doctor there knew of my illness, and gave me REAL help.
Thank God some doctors understand what it is, and that it is not "All in Your Head". Well, you cannot get it out of your head. It's all over your face!
I hope you have better experiences in the future.
Wishing you informed and compassionate care.
Hugs,
Stef
LOL, I just saw a doctor who told me that all my problem was because I was fat and the pain could not be that bad.
So Lori, essentialy what he said was fat people don’t feel pain? Bring on the ice cream! What an uneducated idiot.