I was diagnosed with TN in Feb 2012 and was treated with Gabapentin which provided some relief (pain not totally gone). Symptoms went away in April 2012 and I was pain free for several months. Manageable pain started up again in mid-November 2012 and is constant even with taking Motrin or Advil. I don't like being on the gabapentin but am considering going back to neurologist for additional prescription. Has anyone had a case similar to this where the pain goes away for a while? The more I read, the more it appears that I will have a life long problem with this condition which really scares me.
Hi Butterfly,
Sorry to hear you’re struggling to get pain relief.
The first thing you should do is definitely contact your Neuro and explain where you’re at, it might be he/she will advise you to increase your med, sometimes one dose higher is all it takes to regulate the pain. Or you can discuss other meds that may help.
TN is a quirky thing, from my own experiences and much research I’ve found that although each one of us with TN share similarities, our journey with TN is unique to us.
My neurologist has always advised me, that if I am pain free for more than a month, I should start tapering down from the med ( with his instruction) to see if my pain is gone.
Back in 2002 I was diagnosed with TN in the spring, by approximately August I finally had the right dose. By October I started weaning of the med, by November I was med and pain free.
I had an 8 year remission.
This time around when it came back (2010), the Tegretol again worked great for me, but every time we tried to taper off, I knew within 24hrs I couldn’t as the pain returned.
All this to say that the most important thing is good communication with your doctor/neurologist to help you reduce the pain as well as be able to function.
I know it’s hard, but try not to worry about how this will affect the rest of your life…you too could experience a long term remission or never have TN again. It happens…
We have many members who live busy “normal” lives with the right med (s) or treatments.
Hope you find relief soon, I truly understand how hard it is to have constant pain.
(( hugs )) Mimi
I have 24/7 pain in my teeth, and the only med to really help me has been amitriptyline, which has been most effective at 100mg/day. If you haven't tried it, it's worth discussing with your doctor. I hope you find some relief soon!