Last year the most horrible thing happened to me. Yes, you guessed it - I developed TN. In my eye and my teeth. I went to the doctors in tears because the eye stabbing was so extreme. I started to explain my symptoms (stabbing pain in eye, teeth etc) but he cut me off and told me I have depression and fibromyalgia. He said he sees it all the time, people coming in crying like this and its depression. So I went home with the SSRI's and sleeping pills and unsurprisingly they didn't help.
Long story short, I was fortunate enough to get a referral (from someone else) to see a great neurologist who prescribed Gabapentin which was wonderful. He also ordered an MRI since TN is frequently associated with MS in young women like me. The MRI was normal. I really want to know the cause behind why the TN started so I recently went back to a doctor (a different one) and requested a blood test for diabetes because apparently that is sometimes a cause of TN. The doctor looked at my file and read 'depression' on it from last year when I came in crying about the TN, so straight away told me I have depression and said that pain is common in depressed people then challenged me about whether I even have TN and who told me I had that etc.
Firstly, I don't feel depressed. The sun is shining, my dog is sunbathing, my hens are dust bathing and I feel happy. Secondly, I can't find any research or information that suggests TN is caused or triggered by depression. There is a lot of info that states that depression is common after developing TN (its not called suicide disease for nothing right?).
Was anyone else misdiagnosed with depression when the TN started?
Oh yes, for sure. I have had years of oral surgeries, since 23, now I’m 32. It’s been such a long road. Started on SSRI’s, but have been off for 8 years. It’s constant, it’s right next to your brain. It can be maddening. I agree, besides the pain, I’m a super positive person. Very active. I only weight 108 lbs, so when it gets bad, I push to maintain a soft diet and protein shakes to prevent weight loss.
So yes, pain in general makes it hard to function, enjoy the daily things such as sunshine. I get it, but wouldn’t accept that as the only answer.
I just wrote a blog entry about this subject called In Response to TN is not the suicide disease. Not all depression is the type where you sleep all the time, or can not sleep. What has me angry though is your doctor is just blowing you off when you go in. I have not seen where TN is caused by depression, but depression can make the pain worse. Can you get a new doc?
Kolia - I'm also slim and I've always had a good interest in keeping fit and eating really well.
Saraiderin - I'm hoping I won't have to go back to the doctor for a long time because it just doesn't help at all. The neuro was great so hopefully he'll just keep prescribing the Gabapentin and I hope the TN doesn't get worse.
I filled out an online depression form and didn't get a 'depressed' score:
Do you still get joy out of your hobbies/passions - yes.
Bad about yourself, tired all the time, feel like a failure, trouble concentrating, feeling hopeless - no.
I really hope in the future there is some sort of blood test or other such test that can prove TN so I don't have to try to explain to doctors that I have TN and not depression. MRI imaging is getting better but it seems TN doesn't show up most of the time.
I was lucky and my TN was diagnosed right away but I didn’t have the MRI showing the compression on the trigeminal until 3 yrs later. I believe my TN was caused by a car accident. I was hit in the side of the head with the air bag and 2 months later the symptoms started.
Thanks KC Dancer - I have joined the Australia/New Zealand groups now.
Anna - what did your neuro say when you asked if your car accident was the cause of TN? 20 years before the TN started I was hit in my eye by a heavy piece of metal which caused it to swell closed. When I first developed the TN pain I wondered if it was related since it is the same eye, but that wouldn't explain why I also have it in my teeth since that is a different branch of the trigeminal nerve.
Both my neurologist and neuroseurgeon said it was possible but would not say for certain. The air bag did knock me out and I’m in a medical program now. I’ve found out the brain is made of loose connective tissue and that’s what supports our vascular system of course I’m no dr
I'm glad they were both open to the idea that injury can cause it. I knew someone who had a stroke in her early 20's - it happened about 4 months after she'd hit her head in a car accident. Her family asked the specialists if the car accident had contributed but they said no. I find it hard to believe that someone so young could have a stroke a few months after hitting her head, and that they're not related. Our brains didn't evolve to deal with such strong impacts so its not surprising that neurological damage can pop up months or years later.
It is hard to say. A friend had a baby that had a stroke in the womb. I am following the story of a 12 year old that had a stroke. I have a dear friend that got ATN after having 6 strokes over 2 months.
