I have been dealing with off and on pain under my bottom right molars for almost 4 years. It started with stabbing, electric shocks. Now it is more constant and not quite as strong shock like pain. More throbbing, boring type pain under my molars back to my jaw. Do not have TMJ symptoms. Only the nerve pain. Multiple dental appointments have shown nothing. Finally saw a neurologist about a year ago. Tried Neurontin and then Tegretol. Pain tends to wax and wain. Therefore, I probably never give either med long enough to really take affect. I do not like the side effects of these drugs, especially Tegretol. I have two children at home and I cannot afford to be in a fog unable to remember things and take care of my family. For the most part, I have just put up with the pain over the years. It ranges from level 1 to 8 depending on the day. I have had a few remissions, but those seem to be a thing of the past lately. Recently, I have been able to keep pain at bay by taking an opiate medication at night. This worked for several weeks. I had Percocet and Vicodin left over from an earlier kidney stone so I tried them as there were no side effects the next day other than greatly reduced pain. Did not take this medication during the day. Followed up recently with neurologist due to this flare that I have been in. All he advise is the anti-seizure meds. I have an appt. soon with a pain dr. to get an opinion from his point of view. I would like to find a doctor willing to try to find/treat the cause and not just keep pumping me full of more and more seizure meds. Is this a reasonable desire? I am tired of the pain. Most days it is not as excruciating as some of you on this site describe, but it is strong enough to interfere greatly with my quaility of life. Also, the first episode of this pain began a few days after a deep dental cleaning. I have no idea if that triggered it, but I can't help but think there is some connection. Guess I am just rambling/venting. Hoping the pain dr might have some other options. Anyone else have a similar situation?
I understand how you feel... however, the best line of defense are those meds. Tegretol was awful for me. Gabapentin works wonders for my pain. I had a few side effects but after 2 weeks they were gone.
So, did you take the medication constantly... evenly spaced apart.
There are some members here that are on tricylic antidepressents that work on the pain.
ATN pain, as you describe, is a funky monster that is hard to tame. From everything I have read, there is a clear order of meds that they flow through.
Why is this? Because there are few types of meds that treat this condition. And very few treatments in the scheme of things....
I have ATN and it is horrible. I am on gabapentin and oxycodone.... I am a single mom and understand your worries. However, being in that kind of pain also effects our jobs as moms.
I have 24/7 teeth pain and I take 100mg amitriptyline/day. Pain is still there, but at much lower levels.
You and I are thinking along the same lines. Treating the cause and not taking all these meds. You will find differing opinions on this however.
Some advocate taking the meds for as long as you can stand the pain. I am fortunate enough to have doctors that think like I do and believe these meds, all of them are in the long run quite bad for my body. However, the surgical fixes come with many caveats. There are the dangers associated with any surgery such as surgical failure and/or complications. So much of this disease is maddening. From the strength of the pain which for me is at 100,000,000,000+ on the pain scale when I have no meds on board to just strange and annoying when I am on all my meds and they have been taken on time. I found out early on there is no quick fix. It takes a few weeks, at least in my case for the medications to do their jobs. It is very important to give the medications time before saying they don’t work or the side effects are intolerable. I was a mess, foggy, falling asleep, forgetful, etc. for a while but most of these side effects have greatly diminished. This disease is damned if you do and damned if you don’t kind of thing.Unfortunately the anti seizure meds are the best way to get a handle on things. You just have to give your body enough time to get used to them and then continue searching for the best options FOR YOU. Good luck.
I began with Classic TN eight months ago, took mids and so far no further attacks, but I now have on and off ache/throb/tingling in my trigger tooth, depending which day of the week it is. As long as it stays confined to the tooth i can handle it.
Thanks for input. I am giving Gabapentin another try. Will try to stay on it long enough to see if it's going to work. Visit with pain dr. coming up on Friday. Hoping he will have new insight as well. Last night could not even lay on right side as any pressure on that side of head produced burning pain under my bottom molars back to jaw. This whole thing is very frustrating. The 200 mg of gabapentin I took this morning has me feeling sleepy. So much I should be getting accomplished around the house, but no motivation between the pain and meds. Thanks for encouragement. It's nice to know I'm not the only one dealing with this although I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
To help me sleep i also took amitriptyline 20mgs an hour before bed each night, it helped me lots. Still feel pressure on the side of my face when resting on the pillow but not nearly as much.
I am not going to lie, you are going to feel icky for a few weeks depending on your body. I think it would be a good time to sit down with your family and explain to them it is time to pitch in a bit so that you can let the meds do their job. Now is not the time to be supermom or superwife!
No, I had no injections. They did use an instrument which reminds me of a sandblaster to remove the plaque. I would swear this is what aggravated the nerve. My neuro. has since told me he doesn't recommend these or electric toothbrushes for this reason. Who knows! My first episode lasted a few weeks and then vanished for almost a year. Now I have fewer and fewer relapses. Hurt under my bottom molars pretty much everyday.
Blder, I think laser treatment to my upper lip for a spider vein triggered my TN, this did not include an injection, but the laser is powerful as it blasts the vein. This i believe gave trauma to my nerve. Also I found later I had a autoimmune problem which may have made my nerve more sensitive. Most of my pain is now in my tooth.
I experience the same "tooth pain" you are describing. For years I thought it was my teeth.
Gabapentin and Tegretol were too much for me. I started with Gaba, then both, and then tried Tegretol alone.
I was a zombie. And I gained a considerable amount of weight in one month...an amount my doctor said was reasonable for a girl my size to be in her 5th or 6th month of pregnancy.
I am a teacher, so I couldn't afford to be on anything that took away my ability to form sentences, etc. After trying Cymbalta, Lyrica, Baclofen, etc. I am now taking long acting Oxy and Vicodin for break through pain. I just can't go back to the way I felt on the anti seizures and anti depressants.
I hope you find someone who understands your wishes. It took me 12 doctors. But I finally got there.