Hi everyone, i think I'm having a Pollyanna moment, but I'm newly 'diagnosed' (no MRI yet) and after initial sharp pains (nothing over 5-6ish I'd say - all relative at this stage though), I'm left with a pain like I have a huge mouth ulcer, upper jaw tenderness, throbbing and sharp at times (only around 3-4ish) - all of which come and go. Is this it? Is there anyone out there who has stayed at this sort of level and never escalated?
I ask this because when you watch the youtube videos of people having severe TN attacks (terrifying to me), are they the exception? Are there varying degrees of TN where some people only ever experience mild attacks? If I start all the natural therapies and chiropractics etc now, is there a chance that this could prevent it from escalating?
I feel like I'm in limbo right now, not knowing if what i have is real or not...trying not to sound like a hypochondriac to my husband, but aware that in all honesty, at times it does hurt when I talk, yawn and eat, or lie on that side. I just want it to stay like this and I'll be happy!
I am the same. My pain at times is only in left bottom jaw area but only if I open mouth a certain way. I sometimes have an ache in my jaw and tongue but level at 3 or 4. I have been told I have a high pain threshold but I don't want to sound like I am bragging or not believing others on this forum. My pain is usually in jaw, lip, numbness and sharp pain in tongue and ear feels clogged. Now that nice weather is here it is as if I have nothing just a reminder from time to time. When there is a change in weAther I feel a change in pain but I can put up with it. I am on no meds at this time and hope and pray it stays at this level.
From everything I've read, TN is generally a progressive condition. I can only speak to my experience, though:
Like others, I initially thought my problem was dental related simply because that's where the pain was. Interestingly I would have a day or two or three of pain and then feel relatively normal. I didn't keep track of "attacks" because I really thought I simply had a filling that needed to be replaced. My dentist evaluated me at more than one six-month routine exam and told me he couldn't see anything wrong with my teeth in the area where I had intermittent pain. I finally understood that something else was behind my pain when the "attacks" became not only more intense but also more frequent. If I had to guess, I'd say I was at the lower level of intermittent pain for a couple of years before things got substantially worse. I still wasn't in pain 24/7 (and I haven't reached that state yet; hopefully I never will), but I would have several episodes of intense pain that lasted several minutes every day. I feel fortunate that when I finally saw a medical doctor (not a dentist) about this, I was immediately diagnosed as having TN and put on medication that started working within less than one week.
I would like to add that my pain threshold is high at this time. I don't know what I will do if and when the pain progresses to the extent of other members. I can not imagine what most are going through.
I got my first signs of tn in 2002 at first it wasnt as painful. As years went on it got so severe the pain was non stop. I had a mvd in 2011 and the pain never went away. When i say that it went from a 10 to a 2. Now im back to it being progressively worse again. Its scary to think nothing has stopped it. Im on meds but during severe stress the pain meds do nothing. So when the medical community says its progressive they mean it.