Wow, it's been an insane amount of time since I last posted. Things have been incredibly busy with my life and I finally found a pretty cool hobby that lets me express my nerdy-ness of Star Wars and help people while being that nerd!
Any way, I've had two MVD surgeries, both having failed within 10-15 weeks post op. The pain would disappear and then slowly return to being intense and unbearable. Both surgeries were performed at Cleveland Clinic. After the second surgery, I was desperate to know possibly why the pain was coming back full force. The Neurosurgeon (who I will keep unnamed for now), seemed to tire of my 'complaining' and performed a basic brain MRI just to appease me. It showed nothing. I thought this was strange since every other MRI I ever had was complex and took about 1hr-1 1/2hrs. He then passed me off to a Neurologist to try and control the pain with meds. My Neurologists exact words were, "We've done the medication route. Why on earth would he send you back to me?" Now, I was starting to question things.
The pain was becoming so severe that I couldn't handle my life anymore. I needed a new perspective on TN. I needed new eyes. That's when I went to the University of Miami. I showed up, explained everything and even got him my most recent MRI CD as well as the notes from the second MVD. The Neurosurgeon said that the MRI was inadequate and he would need something more detailed. I knew that MRI was wrong! I got the new MRI performed and on the follow-up, the Neurosurgeon sat me down and explained that there was a MASSIVE artery still sitting up against the nerve. Here's where it gets interesting - The Neurosurgeon that performed the 2nd MVD claimed he had fixed the problem by slinging the artery and stapling it to the skull. Well, according to the new Neurosurgeon, the only thing that was done during the surgery was that the old teflon was removed and a new piece put in. The artery is SO LARGE that is actually BROKE THROUGH THE TEFLON PAD. Now, I need to go in for a 3rd MVD to sling the artery and staple it to the skull. If this works, I may seek compensation for the money wasted on the 2nd MVD and all the drugs I had to go through.
Current Medications : Tramadol and Keppra 500mg 3x a day.
I also added (because I need to lose weight) Slim Quick Pure, which has numerous vitamins. It also has certain herbs in it that are helping with depression, stress and even inflammation. Ever since I started it, I've had to take less pain killers. I still get attacks, but I have been having WAY MORE good days than bad.