My journal

Friday May 31, Have been taking Neurontin since Sunday. This morning I increased the dose yet again: 900mg TID. I was supposed to check in with my GP today, but have decided to look for another PCP, and have not settled on one yet. As for a neurologist, haven't seen one yet as this is the first time, chiropractics has has not helped with the pain. This is the worst episode of TN since I was diagnosed in 2010, but first episode was in Aug. 2009,: we didn't know what it was at the time and I insisted on a root canal.

This week has been exhausting, battling a pain that no one can see. I'm convinced my husband thinks I'm exaggerating the pain and or making it up, to get back at him, somehow. I was scheduled to teach 3 classes this week. The first one Tuesday, I cancelled and lost the contract. That got him pretty upset.(he could have taught it, but never indicated to me that he would, as that type of class was beneath his expertise). So when I asked the Company to reschedule they said that they could not, asked for their money, back and indicated they were seeking alternative services. The class on Wed. he ended up teaching rather than try and cancel. Yesterday, he taught my class and his, so it was a rather full day and week for someone who teaches an average of two classes a month. I usually teach several days a week.

I found a Pain Management physician with 50 miles of us, through this site. I asked my husband to call and schedule an appointment. That was two days ago. You see I can barely speak, and when I do, I sound like I have a mouthful of marbles, or someone who has just suffered a stroke.

My children, 15, 12, and 9, go on with their lives as though nothing has changed. There is some compassion, but I just know they don't get it.They see me the same, with no physical change, just mom can't talk real well. I don't even think they've noticed that I don't eat, either. I forced myself to suck up the pain enough to eat baked potatoes.and have lost 10+ pounds in the past two weeks or so.

We also have a 21 year old, who just finished up with her finals at college, so she has not been witness to most of this, and it's pretty hard to express ones self well in text messages.

Well I'll blog more later. Thanks for giving me a place to vent.

I really got my pain relief when I went to a neuro. My GP was on the right track but I was still in a lot of pain. When she referred me to a neuro, he started me on a dose of meds and had me call and check in with him every day including weekend to see if we needed to change the dose until we got to the right one. Within the first week I got to a pain free space. He has a lot of experience with TN so that helps too.

Print off medical information about TN and give it to each family member for them to read and see if they understand. If they have questions and you have trouble talking, break out the laptop! When I was having my bad attacks, I kept the laptop open and that's how I talked to my family. Good luck!