I will give you a link to my last book (Ok Post....) http://www.livingwithtn.org/forum/topics/is-this-or-isn-t-it
I have been symptom free since my last post the end of October 2013. I really had myself convinced that this was just an infected tooth, sinus pain, something, anything, but TN. I am feeling a little foolish because my husband and I decided to have another baby. This will be number 8 for us (Yes I know that's enough to give any normal person reason to pause but we LOVE our big family and wouldn't change it for the world.)
So now to the dilemma. I started having mild pain two days ago in the same region that I had problems with last year. I feel like ignoring it and hoping against hope it will go away. But I am realistic that if the pain gets to the level it was at last year life will be unbearable again.
I currently take no Prescription medication and take Benadryl for insomnia, Tylenol to control headaches (Not very successfully but it's bearable) and a prenatal vitamin. I am 5 months along and due in Jan.
The pain is not so bad that I can't handle it right now and I am still hoping that I can go back to ignoring TN. However, on the off chance it doesn't I need to get a medication plan in place. I haven't talked to my doctors about it because I was not diagnosed in the Kaiser system and have been trying to delude myself that this was not real. I will of course talk to them but had some questions that I am sure people on this forum could answer best.
1. I have heard that TN subsides or disappears in pregnancy. Last go round my dentist said I didn't need a root canal but wondering if I should again pursue that route. Has anyone ever experienced a flare up in the middle of pregnancy? Opinions?
2. Does anyone know of any over the counter non-NSAID medication that might help? I read a recent thread on peppermint oil and wasn't sure how this was applied/used etc. Any other herbal or non-medical remedies that people have had success with would be very helpful.
3. If I have to go prescription medication route does anyone have ideas on good drugs to start with that will have the least chance of interacting with the pregnancy? I read about a study on Neurontin which indicated no significant birth defects but a much higher rate of NICU admittance after birth (38% vs 2% in control group) They did indicate that there was a mixture of other narcotic drug use in most cases which might explain that high levels. The Neurontin really controlled this for me "pretty" well last time and I would not expect to mix it with any other medication.
Just to be clear, if this comes back with a vengeance and I have to live like this for 4 months I will do so because my babies health is first and foremost in my priorities. However, if there are low risk ideas that are out there I would like to entertain them.