Is it the norm to be pain free, or to tolerate a little bit of pain on a lower dose??
do most people after say 12 months pain free, have a break from medication??
It is advised by most doctors to remain on your meds. Many of us go into remission, but teh remission periods often become few and far between as tiem passes and the condition progresses. Why wean off teh meds and then suffer through the excrutiating pain when remision ends, only t have to wait to not only go back on teh eds but to titrate up to the most necessary dose? If you go off the meds, you can enjoy being out of teh "brain fog," you leave yourself vulnerable. With a low dosage, many people do it, prefering to deal with the break through pain rather than the disorientation of higher doses of meds. It depends on a few things for you personally:
1) Are you working? Do your meds affect your work?
2) Do you have the flexability in your schedule to stay home on an "off day" if you experience break through pain, to take it easy?
3) Does your PCP hold good hours so that you can get in touch with him if yiou are in need of meds that you do not have on hand? He or she may need to write a script for something fresh, as any meds lose thier potency over time, so if you go into remission for 9 months and go backa nd use that 12 month old medication, it won't be as potent or strong.
4) Is this teh beginning of your journey with TN? Have you noticed lengthy remission periods getting shorter?
Just food for thought, from my own experiences. Good luck with your decsion; everyone has a different set of circumstances, and has the RIGHT to make thier own decisions re: meds and their lives.