Hi all,
Firstly a little background. I am 37 years old and have had facial pain (atypical/somatic) for about 15 years. Unfortunately both my twin brother and I got this almost at the same time when living in South Florida. We saw some highly rated neurologists at the cleveland clinic in Florida and privately and all could not find a solution, eventually we both settled on Klonopin and have been on it for about 10 years as well as an SSRI - I guess to fix the depression related with the illness.
Since that time I have also had botox injections in the forehead and in the eyelids as I have also developed a twitch. I work hard and its so hard to balance your life when dealing with this.
The Klonopin might keep the facial pain away but it is still there, what causes it for both of us is a lack of sleep, stress and caffeine (in large doses).
Recently I began seeing a psychiatrist in Sydney who prescribed Ritalin and dexamphetamine for my lack of motivation. He previously had me on Modafinil which was good but caused anxiety. They make me sharper and more focused. He has also weaned me off of Lexapro and started me on Lamictal and I am up to 100mg, I feel much better on it and my sexual sides have subsided for the most part.
Now to the Ritalin, first I tried dexamphetamine which is similar to Adderal without the isotomer for physical symptoms therefore it is the cleaner version of the drug and less problematic. I had great benefits from this, felt sharp and sociable and well. Unfortunately within a week my facial pain came on and it was so bad I had to stop it. My facial pain is like a stabbing and pins and needles sensation in the forehead, just in the middle.
I then tried Ritalin and had great results, the downsides were irritability that went away when I lowered the dose. Unfortunately the facial pain came back. I think this has to do with sleep and that it stimulates the central nervous system.
I am now trying it again with the Lamictal and wondered what other experiences were or if you took something to help with sleep or the ‘crash’ of the instant release so that it mitigated at least some of the onset of pain.
Many thanks for your responses.
Thanks
Jonathan