Hello to All,
I just joined this group as I was recently diagnosed with TN. As with many of you, I thought I was having problems with my teeth on the lower part of the right side of my jaw. The dentist kept telling to "tap" on each tooth on the lower right side, but I could not pin point a specific tooth. I was telling the dentist the pain "keeps moving." At first, I was managing the jaw pain with numbing gel. One of the worst days was when I was on college visits with my daughter. I kept digging into my pocket for the gel and rubbing it on my gums. The other folks on the college campus tours must have thought I was crazy. The pain continued to increase in frequency and intensity. The pain seemed to move into my ear. When I called the dentist again about it and mentioned the ear pain, they thought I might have an ear infection and suggested I see my primary care doctor. I called for an appointment and was told it would be 2 days to get an appointment. By this time the attacks were about 8-10 per hour. I was going through numbing gel like crazy. I ended up in Urgent Care at 6 p.m. on a Monday night. I actually was holding the right side of my face / jaw when the doctor walked in. I told him I thought I had an ear infection. He examined my ears, nose & throat and said I was CLEAR. He requested I hop off the examine table and sit in the chair next to the desk in the room. On a small piece of paper (which I still have) he wrote Trigeminal Neuralgia. I said what is that. He explained it was the facial nerve that comes from the cranial nerve and it was "misfiring." He said he was not sure why - virus - and that it is treated with anti-seizure medications and pain medications. I asked him how he know this and he said - it's only one side of the face - correct? My response was yes; It moves - correct? My response was yes; you thought at first it was your teeth - correct? My response was yes; and the attacks come and go - correct? My response was yes; and you were holding your face when I came in - My response was yes because I was having an attack. He said if I go home and look this up on the internet I would agree with him that is what I have.
So, of course I looked it up on the internet and was shocked to learn it was called the suicide disease - although after experiencing the pain I know why. I filled the prescriptions for the pain med (only took before bed) and the anti-seizure meds - which made me feel nauseated - I called the doctor for anti-nausea medication. All of this made me feel so loopy and I had a hard time functioning. I still knew the attacks were happening - they were just numbed.
I continued to do more research on the internet and the more scary it became. I did see a video of a lady that had relief with a Chiropractor. After 3 days on the medications - which I could not stand - I made an appointment at the Chiropractor I had been to many years for a lower back issue. Generally, I am a very healthy person. I actually walked into the Chiropractors office in tears requesting help. She was extremely caring and said she thought she could help. In her 18 years of practice she has treated 4 others with TN. At the time of the appointment I was up to about 10 attacks per hour. She took x-rays through my mouth to get the back of the head where it meets the spine. She did and upper neck / head adjustment. The appointment was mid-afternoon and for the rest of day - NO ATTACKS! Of course, that would be too good to be true. The next day while brushing my teeth (Wow! Is that painful with TN) I had an attack. The rest of that day I had about 10 attacks - but that's a far cry from 10 per hour the day before. The attacks per day decreased - 7 to 5 to 4 to none. I had about 4 adjustments until the attacks went to none. The Chiropractor also did LASER LIGHT treatments on the right side of my face to promote healing. The first 2 weeks I was getting adjustments 3 times per week; followed by the next 2 weeks of 2 times per and now I am down to 1 time per week. I do need to say it not completely gone - I still have "achiness" - but nothing compared to the intense attacks. I consider this a true SUCESS story. I of course suggest trying a Chiropractor. I never would have thought of one for a facial issue, but they deal with the nerves. When the Chiropractor showed be my x-ray, it showed "narrowing" on the right side between what I think is C2 & C3 - this where the nerve is coming out of. The Chiropractor was able to open up the pathways. The healing appears to continue!