TN became apparent after some very long haul flights from UK to west coast USA in spring of 2013 , initially it disappered after a few weeks after the travelling . Dec 2013 I visited a Pain Consultant who was also a family friend - he recommended a brain scan . Apart from compression of the Trigeminal Nerve the scan showed a colloid cyst in the 3rd ventricle - 12mm in diameter - my GP was not too stressed and basically told me that I'd probably had it for years . In the meantime my TN was still there but just about tolerable.
I did my own homework and decided that I should see a Neurosurgeon - I was told that the cyst was likely to be benign and should be removed before if caused major problems ( memory problems ) - so I elected to do this - because of where the cyst was it would be a full craniotomy under general anaesthetic ( thank goodness ). My surgery was early May this year and apart from some seizures immediately after the operation my recovery has been great and I'm back to full time work .
Clearly there has been some linkage between my TN and the Cyst - I have my own theories on what has happened .
All I would say is that anyone with TN should pluck up the courage and have a scan - if only to rule out something more serious . Mike