It all started on a cold winter's day back in early March 2013. The day was finally here: the dreaded toothache. The front tooth that was giving me pain had a small cavity in it, which I had for a couple years, but due to an extreme fear of dentists, I put off a visit as long as I could while at the same time practicing good dental hygiene to prevent the cavity from getting any bigger. Even after the pain started and continued, my stubborn self still tried everything to help the pain without seeing a dentist; purchased every herbal remedy under the sun and nearly every product in the toothpaste aisle but nothing helped.
Finally after 2 months, I went to see a dentist who discovered another cavity on the neighboring tooth. She filled both cavities and said if I had waited any longer, I would've needed root canals. I was relieved so she sent me on my way. The dental assistant said to wait 24 hours and the pain should go away, but it didn't; not 24 hours later, not 24 days later, not even 24 weeks later.
During the first month of the pain after the fillings, I went back to my dentist who referred me to an endodontist. I made an appointment right away and after he saw me a few weeks later, he determined I did not need root canals but advised me that sometimes pain lingers on after fillings. This answer wasn't good enough but he did prescribe me some type of anti-inflammatory drug that I had to take for a week and afterwards, I noticed the throbbing did go away little by little. So for the first time in 4 months, I was finally free of the dull ache that haunted me day in and day out. This lasted 2 months but I noticed the teeth were still sensitive throughout that time.
Then on a random day in September, the throbbing and dull ache came back except this time it was full force. I thought the first toothache was rough but this time, I was living a nightmare. I went to my regular dentist who only suggested I see the endodontist again but I couldn't wait any longer so I begged her to do the root canal right there on the main tooth that started all of this, since that one was hurting the most after being tested on. Right after the root canal, I was stricken down with a stomach flu and immediately afterwards, I got a cold and during that time, I couldn't really tell if the tooth that was root canalled hurt anymore or not but I noticed the neighboring tooth was sensitive near the gumline which appears to be due to receding gums, which I'm trying to control by oil pulling but haven't seen any positive effects yet. After I was free of the virus, I noticed the root canalled tooth started to hurt again after all. By this time, I was fed up so I went back to my dentist who took another x-ray but couldn't see anything wrong with any of the teeth so I went back home in pain and still no answer. Several days later, the pain only got worse and worse so I set up another appointment with my dentist who put sealants on the front teeth and after reading online about how this helps sensitivity, I was hopeful. Then I got home, and noticed they were still hurting. I couldn't take it anymore so I went back in to the dentist and talked with her for an hour. I told myself I was not going to leave until I have an answer. She said if the root canalled tooth is still hurting, it could be something neurological. I was scared but if that was the next step to get rid of this pain, I was going to take it without hesitation. So after about a week, I was able to get in with the neurologist who asked me basic questions about my problem and said that although my symptoms aren't a classic case of Trigeminal Neuralgia, I could indeed have it so he prescribed me Tegretol. The first few days that I took it, it didn't help but after a week, I definitely noticed the throbbing and dull ache had subsided but as each week passed, I had to increase the dosage little by little because the medication wore off quickly. I called the neurologist and explained to him that the Tegretol seems to help but only in higher doses but after asking how long I'd have to be on this, he said some patients take it their whole lives. He could tell I didn't like that answer so he advised me to not exceed a certain dosage and that if I'm concerned about the long term effects of the medication, the next step is to get an MRI. I thought that was a little drastic; going from a toothache to an MRI but I still wanted to check my other options because I noticed that even when the dull ache is gone, the teeth are still sensitive to the touch as well as the cold so there has to be some underlying reason for that as well. I then called my dentist up, who I could tell was fed up with me but she was still patient and only suggested I see the endodontist again. I went there and he tested all of the teeth; when tapped on, all front teeth gave the same response and when cold pressed, all teeth except root canalled tooth gave same response. So basically, he said I do not need any additional root canals and that the one that was root canalled has no nerve left so he just suggested I use sensodyne but I advised him that I had been using that for months. He didn't really know what else to tell me other than it might be best to proceed with the MRI. Even if he said I needed another root canal, I would be hesitant to get another one since the first one didn't relieve me of my pain.
For now, my next plan is to get the MRI but I'm worried for two reasons: that nothing will show up and I won't be any closer to pain relief, and that something will show up and I will have to be on meds forever or have surgery which I've never had so obviously I'm scared to go under the knife. Ugh. Anyway, the meds have been working for the past few weeks but I noticed today that they aren't helping as much and the fact that Christmas is next week and I'll probably be in pain the whole time makes me so depressed.
Does anyone have any similiar experiences? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. This problem has taken control of my life and I just want it back. I have no social life anymore... everyone including the dentist and her staff, my family, and my friends all seem to be annoyed with me because they don't understand. Also, the financial toll this has taken on me since I don't have dental insurance and having to work throughout all of this is just too much. Please help. :'(