Saw the neuro

The good news is, the neurologist didn’t do what I was sort of expecting - dismissing this as just TMJ and saying sorry. I was amazed at how long the visit was. First, the PA saw me, asked extensive questions (and I felt a bit apologetic, because my symptoms are a tad capricious, and I honestly am not sure when some of them started, etc.), did a few things (reflexes, etc) some of which the doctor later repeated.

He referred to it as atypical face pain, which I know is often thought as a “bad” dx, one often viewed by the medical world as a synonym for psychogenic origins, but I didn’t get the feeling from him he thought it is. He prescribed gabapentin, which I will start tonight, was going to call my doctor’s office to see if they had done a sed rate when I had my physical last month (if not he will send me for that - he didn’t say it, but based on my research before my visit, I recognized he is trying to rule out temporal arteritis) and tomorrow I go for a brain MRI. (I told my dh that I hope they don’t find I don’t have a brain! ;-))

But I admit, I’m relieved to be treated as legit, and am hoping the gabapentin helps.

Am I likely to notice improvement soon?

I think a few days… Its been 4 years since i was on it and don’t remember how long it took.

Have you asked for lidocaine patches for face ?

Let us know what results you get with your tests.

Thanks, Kc Dancer.

I didn’t ask about lidocaine patches. (I sometimes feel like I don’t belong, since I don’t have such extreme symptoms that I read about. Definitely never a 9 or 10 on the pain scales - which I hate, because I really have a hard time figuring where anything is on it. I think I need a “distraction” scale - how much can it tune it out, can I still focus on things that need extreme focus, that sort of thing.)