I was just diagnosed about four weeks ago, and my TN was triggered by dental work. I have to go back to get my crowns and stuff, but I"m absolutely terrified. Even if they work on the other side, I'm so scared that they'll trigger TN on the left side too. And then I'll be in hell.
I'm no stranger to pain. I have fibromyalgia, small fiber neuropathy (a degenerative nerve disease that attracts the sensory nerves in my skin), some arthritis, and Myofascial Pain Syndrome...and now TN. I know from pain, but the trigeminal pain is something else! I've never hurt that much in that way before. I'm not sure what type of TN I have, my doctor didn't go that far. I think it's Type 2, because my attacks last for two or three hours, they're not just shocks. I as diagnosed by my pain doctor's PA.
Two weeks ago, I got a nerve block in my trigeminal nerve. I've had numerous nerve blocks before, and I stupidly assumed that this would be just as mildly uncomfortable. I was completely wrong. It was the most painful experience of my life. It only lasted a moment, but it's left me with occasional nightmares about it. Thankfully, it's worked pretty well! I still have some achey pain, but the attacks have stopped!! I hope that I"ll only need the one nerve block, I don't know if I can do it again now that I know how bad it can be.
So I'm just beginning my TN journey, and I'm so very thankful to have found this site! Now I know I'm not alone, though I wish none of you had to deal with it either. At least we have a place we can congregate and commiserate and know that we aren't alone and we aren't freaks. I'm very happy to be here!
Hi Cleo! Mine is mostly at my right lower jaw, though it does radiate all the way back to my ear sometimes. The nerve block is helping, but I still have some pain after I brush my teeth. I have to get two crowns and some other fillings, so it's not something I can do without the anesthesia, I'm not that tough. Wish I was!
My pain doctor here in Wyoming, Dr. Harlan Ribnik. I see him for my other pain and he just kinda took me under his wing for the TN. I had a trigeminal nerve block and it was the most painful minute and a half of my life. But it's helping quite a bit. No attacks since them, though my jaw aches after I brush my teeth.
I was just getting a couple fillings wen the TN was triggered. I think it was the anesthetic shots that did it. Something stupidly routine. But I did have a great idea yesterday. I"m not happy with my current dentist. She mocks me for needing the nitrous and she burned the shit out of my lip when she was doing my root canal. So I'm going to call around to other dentistis here in town to see if anyone has experience with TN patients. I'm actually terrified to go back.
It was a nerve lock with anesthetic and steroid shot, right into the trigeminal nerve. I hven't had any attacks since (YES!) but I do have some achiness. Yeah, I'm in the middle of quite a bit of work. I'm not confident in my dentist. She's jut out of school, mocks me for needing the nitrous oxide to keep me calm, burned the crap out of my lip during my root canal, and doesn't know shit about TN.
Tomorrow, I see my new dentist! She's got experience with TN patients and is very focused on inflicting as little pain as possible on her patients. So I'm actually really quite excited about seeing her. They use gas and even sedation to help their patients not panic. I'm feeling really positive about this. And my current/old dentist knows they caused me TN.
I think the dentist I was seeing was fresh out of school. She was working on my root canal, doing this thing where they melt these little pieces of rubber (like toothpick sized) into the canals/roots of the tooth and heat tool (basically a soldering iron, but not quite as hot, because it's for rubber/plastic and not metal. She caught it on my bottom lip and gave me a burn about a half inch in diameter. I actually have a scar now. It took about three weeks to heal.
So yesterday I saw my new dentist (who treats people with TN! One of the main reasons I left the ol practice), but I had to stop by the old dentist to sign the releases so they could send over my records and it was suuuuuper awkward. They told e that I could go back to seeing my other dentist (the one I had been seeing was a new associate that joined the practice. I like the other dentist, he does amazing work, but never speaks to me and treats me like I'm just a mouth to be worked on) and kept trying to convince me not to leave. It was like running into a recent ex after a nasty break up.
I loooove my new dentist (the bad thing is that they don't take Medicaid >.<), she's probably about 32-ish and her office is staffed completely by women. Not only does she encourage using gas (you can have it even for a cleaning!), she also wrote me a script for Valium for when I go back on the 18th. We're working on the right side, which is where my TN is, so I'm understandably terrified. I asked about not using anesthetic with epinephrin in it (it's a vasoconstrictor [I think, or it's a dialator, I can't remember] and also neurotoxic) and she was totally okay with that as well. She said we might have to use more anesthetic because it doesn't take as well without the epi, but that if it would help me she would be happy to do it that way. ONe of her practice's mottoes is "No pain, no pain." And I am all for that! I was comfortable enough to tell her about my bad teeth, and why they're the way they are. I have pretty severe chronic depression (on top of my pain conditions), bad genetics for teeth, drink a lot of lemonade for my kidneys, and am on a fuckton of medications. I never felt comfortable enough to tell Dr. Hawk about that stuff. She was so judgy and kept telling me to cut out soda (I am kinda fat) because since I'm fat that's obviously why my teeth are so cruddy. That made me feel awful, and Dr Cassidy (the new dentist) never once brought it up like that, it was really nice.
So I go back the 18th for to start on fillings and a crown (I need one on each side, the right side needs it more though), and I left the office feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I think this will be a good fit and I'm not as terrified to get this work done as I had been before. I'm still a little nervous, but I think I'm in capable, careful hands^.^ Thanks so much for your support Cleo, you have been incredibly awesome to me as I navigate things related to TN. You're fantastic^.^
Mine started right after a Root Canal. I will never have major dental work again. I’ve told my dentist if it needs a root canal it’s coming out or cap it.