Hey guys,
In the last week or so, my wife has been having some issues with shooting pains stretching from her right ear, to the back of her head and headaches. She is 33 years old, and in overall good health.
About 9 or 10 days ago she started getting a headache that wouldn't go away and really wasn't relieved by OTC meds. Four days ago she started having the problems with "sharp pains" stretching from her right ear to the back of her head. The sharp pains happen about every 10-15 minutes and they last for 4 or 5 seconds.
She scheduled a doc appointment with our family doc yesterday. He told her it was TN, and he wanted to do a full blood panel to rule out lyme (sp?) disease and a couple other things, and he also wants a MRI to rule out MS or a tumor. He also prescribed her a seizure or anti-convulsant medication. She is going to wait and start the medication until after the blood work comes back and after the MRI.
Couple questions I have:
Is this similar to the way everyone else started with TN?
Is there anything similar to TN that this could possibly be?
How common is MS or a tumor with these symptoms?
I'm pretty scared for her right now. She's a very outgoing person, and over the last week she's been very depressed and scared over this all. She's been trying to go about her day at work and at home the best she can, I can just see it on her face that she is scared. She's done some research on TN as well, and I think she knows that if in fact it is TN that she has, she is going to have to possibly deal with this pain for the rest of her life.
Any and all responses would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
The pattern of pain that you describe fits fairly well with occipital neuralgia, but not trigeminal neuralgia. Same processes but a different nerve. About 2 to 4% of facial pain patients also have MS. However, it would be very rare for MS to present with symptoms only in the face or head.
MRI can help to eliminate several issues that can cause similar patterns of pain. These include benign tumor, arterio-veinous malformation, cysts, or MS. Be advised that not all MRI is created equal. The best resolutions are obtained with and without contrast agent, in a procedure called a "FIESTA" MRA. Special magnet weightings are used to get maximum clarity in the region of the brain stem.
Though I've read the medical literature of face pain for nearly 20 years, be aware that I am not a trained or licensed physician.
REgards
Red Lawhern, Ph.D.
Resident Research Assistant and Moderator, LWTN
Richard A. "Red" Lawhern said:
The pattern of pain that you describe fits fairly well with occipital neuralgia, but not trigeminal neuralgia. Same processes but a different nerve. About 2 to 4% of facial pain patients also have MS. However, it would be very rare for MS to present with symptoms only in the face or head.
MRI can help to eliminate several issues that can cause similar patterns of pain. These include benign tumor, arterio-veinous malformation, cysts, or MS. Be advised that not all MRI is created equal. The best resolutions are obtained with and without contrast agent, in a procedure called a "FIESTA" MRA. Special magnet weightings are used to get maximum clarity in the region of the brain stem.
Though I've read the medical literature of face pain for nearly 20 years, be aware that I am not a trained or licensed physician.
REgards
Red Lawhern, Ph.D.
Resident Research Assistant and Moderator, LWTN
Thanks, Red!
It is scary, but not impossible, what ever type of neuralgia it may be. I went out to my car and cried to my mother after I got my MRI results. I was sorta hoping for a small tumor that would be easier to "fix" than the ATN that I have. I have to grieve for the "pain free" life I had before, It has been 10 months since my pain started, and 6 months since my diagnosis, and I still get scared, angry, and sad about my future. I am 24, and my whole life plan seems to have changed.
My only advice is, do what you can to show support, and let her know it is ok to not do as much as she did before. I had to make the decision to quit my job. I have 3 weeks left and then I move back in with my parents. I would have just kept pushing until I killed myself (sadly, I mean that literally) if my parents had not urged me to back down from my responsibilities and really evaluate if I could still do my job and have any form of life outside it.
This is scary, but it is manageable with a strong support system and allowing your self to grieve, regroup, and push on.
I wish you and your wife luck and hope she can be pain free soon.
I was terrified when I had my first attack and diagnosis. You feel like your life is over...the pain is impossible to hide...I couldn't eat or sleep well and was depressed and anxious. The good news, for many, myself included, is that there are lots of meds that work very well to calm the nerve and the pain. After a few months without pain you can wean off the meds and see if you are in a remission. I was able to wean off two years ago and have been in remission since then. I know it may return, but I feel like there are lots of options for treatment and surgery. I guess my advice would be to try not to panic, don't read all the bad stuff online, get on tegretol ASAP ... hopefully things will settle down soon and this will just be a bad memory... prayers to your wife for quick relief!
I would very definitely suggest that you wait for the MRI results before you panic. I would also recommend a consult with a neurologist. Family doctor's are generally not trained in this area. This does not sound at all like TN to me though, more like occipital neuralgia like Red suggested.
I have a daughter with MS who had an optical problem that was never diagnosed [cause of first lesion] (it actually caused her hair to grow out in a patch of permanent gray) and then facial numbness [cause of second lesion] 12 years later. She did not have pain but it was what lead to her diagnosis. To be diagnosed with MS, you must have multiple brain lesions and also undergo a spinal tap and have multiple rings of a certain type. MS has so many characteristics. Has your wife had any other issues in the past to indicate the possibility of MS? Weakness, numbness in any part of her body, etc.?
I will keep your family in my thoughts. Please check back and let us know how she is doing.
Cathy In MD
Thanks for all the responses, I appreciate them all.
My Wife got her results back from her MRI last week, and they weren't good. She has "something" in there. She couldn't remember how the doctor worded it, but it was either a lesion or swollen tissue. At any rate, they are going to bring her in and do another scan to get a better look. The doctor said most cases they are benign tumors, but we obviously have to wait and see what the scan produces.
At least we know that the pain has a root, and she just wasn't going crazy! The more I read into TN, the more I highly doubted that's what she has.
I'll update everyone with the results of the scan once we get them.
Thanks again.
Another update:
She had a CT scan done yesterday, because the doctor couldn't tell if it was on the brain or on the bone. She got the results today, and all they said was that the CT scan showed a "cloudy" area, and they are referring her to a ENT doctor. Wish we could get some answers, she still has the headache and sharp pains behind the right ear. Maybe the ENT doc can give us some answers.