Hello. I have written about my issues but wanted to ask this question about swelling… I have had 2 MRI’s, 1 sinus CT, dental imaging and nothing but mild inflammation in my left sinus has shown up. I had a tooth extracted and it had minor contact with my sinus. Tooth 12 which is near nose. Anyway- I get throbbing pain next to my nose. I always see minor swelling in that area. No one can notice it but me but I see it. I have read people saying they get swelling. I just wonder if it’s something sinister over nerve pain. I had a skin biopsy of the swelling which just showed inflammation. I am going to get another mri done and probably more dental imaging.
I’m no doctor, but I know from a meeting here in Orlando that most people with Trigeminal neuralgia (TGN) go through all the procedures you discussed. Personally i had similar experience, and at the aforementioned meeting almost everyone had similar experiences. I went to a facial pain specialist, who happened to be a dentist, not an MD and he diagnosed TGN and prescribed Neurontin, and 20 years has gone by with minimal flare-ups and rare pain.
Arnold
I am trying to find a dentist who specializes in gums to have a look -because where the pain is the gum is slightly swollen-and I can touch the nerve.
But once pegged as atypical trigeminal neuralgia it almost seems like no one else wants to touch you.I do know that if I oput myrhh tincture on the area and swish around abit it feels better an if something sweet sticks to the gum part(my soft protein bars) the pain goes up-it is so hard to convince them that something else is going on.Glad you had luck with the gabapentin.
I sometimes have swelling in a certain area of the gums when my ATN flares up. I asked my dental hygienist (who is very knowledgeable) about it, and he said that is entirely normal. It does have something to do with the nervous system, but happens even with “normal” people and apparently nobody is sure why it happens. I can’t recall any of the terms he used to describe it. For me it is a signal to rest (quit talking!) and perhaps use a heat pad. Maybe there is a nerve node in the area by your nose?
Thank you for your responses! Mine is so minor no one can tell unless you really stare & see one side had more of a crease in skin than the other. I have told drs and oral surgeons & they say they can’t tell. Great just great right! It’s reassuring your dr has said that’s normal. That’s all I want is reassurance. I have read many blogs on this site about swelling & sinus pain & I just need to really make sure this tooth healed correctly, there’s no cellulitis infection or sinus infection. I have seen over 10 drs for my nose pain. Been scoped by John Hopkins, Mount Sinai, etc. no one sees infection in nose but I have pain inside and over bridge, side of nose. So it’s a mess because my nose pain started 6 weeks after extraction. So some drs think the dental is to blame & my current ENT doesn’t think so he thinks I might have a low grade cellulitis thing going on in my nose but have just been doing mupiricon which hasn’t been working. So I have different issues in my face all left side. It’s confusing. But yes the swelling next to my nose is so minor so no one takes seriously. Plus it doesn’t show on the MRI’s & sinus scan. I have read others have had swelling on side of nose on this site so that’s reassuring.
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Hi LALA, I have had the same problem. I had the MVD operation which did relieve a tremendous amount of pain in my skull, but I still had all kinds of facial pain. I had a swelling next to my nose which was actually very noticeable, but my doctors could not find anything wrong. Finally I had all my upper teeth removed . That seemed to help with the swelling of my nose and cheek,but the pain moved to my gums. I’m on a steady dose of gabapentin and carbamazaphine which helps alot but with this crazy disease who knows ? I wish you good luck, don’t give up. ( by the way, I was at that meeting and having heard so many peoples problems, it made mine more bareable.) terry
It sounds as if you should talk to a pain doc about having trigeminal neuralgia. The only way I know for it to be diagnosed is symptomatic.
What you describe is what I treat every day with VimPat and Lyrica. That combination staves off those symptoms for me for three or four hours. And by the way I also have the swelling you describe. Best wishes for help. I’ve had TGN for nearly 30 years and finding chemical help keeps me alive.
Thanks for the replies. Lately besides the pain & minor swelling I am noticing some shooting pains. I only had a deep ache there but lately I notice it’s like I get a more intense type of sensation. Not electric shock but like a shooting pain.
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I have swelling in my face, so much so I feel like my sinuses are being compressed. It makes my TN go bananas. I have not been able to pin point what brings it on, but when it does I feel like someone’s pushing my face in from within. Then comes the stabbing pain.
Can I ask how long you had the swelling on the side of your nose & how you came to the decision to remove your top teeth? It’s been a year 1/2 of the swelling for me. It’s not noticable except when I ask my mom or husband to see if they can tell they see one line on one side of my face crease of nose deeper than the other but otherwise can’t tell. I have mentioned it to ENT’s & oral surgeons. It’s comforting others say they get it to or have it continuously as well by nerve damage or whatever. My left sinus has a cyst inside & inflammation. The extraction was on that side & it occurred right after the extraction around day 10 when the pain started. It’s so annoying the sinus/dental which is it causing my issues or if it’s nerve related. Anyway thanks it causes anxiety.
Lala, I don’t remember exactly why I had my upper teeth removed, probably cause there were only 6 left ( bad dental hygiene as a child ) My facial swelling has gone now- who knows why, but I now constantly get pain in my upper gums. Neither one of my nerve pills seem to work so the only thing I’ve found to stop the pain is to numb the areas where the nerves seem to surface. I use Oragel ( toothache pain relief ) comes in a little tube,about 10 bucks,lasts 3-4 hours, just long enough to eat or get to sleep.A tube will last me several weeks. I still have awful stabbing pain which seems to come from the sinus area and sometimes a shot of antihistamine helps. Hope I’ve given you something that can be of help, if you need more info just let me know. Terry