I'm posting this because I've recently started on something that has really made a difference. It was recommended to me by an orofacial pain specialist (a dentist who specializes in non-dental causes of facial pain).
He recommended mixing some capsaicin into over the counter orajel, and putting it on the painful areas inside my mouth. The capsaicin helps to desensitize the nerve over time, and the orajel protects against the burning from the capsaicin as well as numbing the nerve short term. The capsaicin creams that we get in Canada aren't made for oral use, so I decided to purchase some Pure Cap extra online. I got in touch with the manufacturers and they said the extract is approximately 2% capsaicin. The concentration used clinically for pain is 0.025% capsaicin. I purchased some lidocaine 5% ointment instead of orajel because it's cheaper, and I mixed 0.15mL of Pure Cap into 15g of lidocaine ointment.
I've been putting this on my gums three times a day (clinical trials usually say to use it 4 times a day, but I have trouble fitting that into my schedule). At first, it caused a burning sensation, but it now just causes a warming sensation. It took a couple of weeks but I definitely notice a dramatic decrease in my baseline level of pain. I still feel constant tingling and pressure, but hardly any pain (maybe 0-2 on a 10 scale). I'm also taking Tegretol, which previously controlled my pain to about 2-4 on a 10 scale. The worst time was at night, so I had trouble falling asleep. With this new topical medication, I've been sleeping really well!
Talk to your doctor about this option. I hope it will help some of you like it helped me. It does take a couple of weeks of continued use to become effective.
Note: Im not affiliated with Orajel or Pure Cap. Feel free to purchase other brands. I believe compounding pharmacies usually use the 0.075% Capsaicin ointment (Zostrix HP) and mix it with something like Orajel, but I think the non-medical ingredients in Zostrix aren't meant to be orally ingested. Small quantities should be safe, but I'm just extra cautious like that.
Did you do this for pain from AD?
I was recently fitted with a dental stent. Told to use just orabase. But I started trying capsicum. I am still at the hot stage but I notice I am getting my balance back and I feel less like my head is on a spring. I have .075% but I would like to try stronger; this nerve in my gums has been throbbing nonstop for 3 years now and no medicine is helping. Not going for mcs!
I recently bought a tablet form of capsicum. He said to open the tablet and mix with orabase.
How do you get this in Canada? Amazon won’t ship it?
I bought it online over ebay, and it was quite pricey with shipping.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/PURE-CAP-HOT-SAUCE-/301549023276?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4635b8f02c
Carey Larsen said:
How do you get this in Canada? Amazon won't ship it?
I don't have AD because I've never had any procedures to deliberately destroy the trigeminal nerve. My pain started from a wisdom tooth extraction, and some doctors think that the surgeon injured some small fibres of V3. I have pain, pressure, and tingling without numbness. It wouldn't hurt to try it for AD but I don't know how well it'd work since AD is postulated to be more centralized rather than peripheral.
santafered said:
Did you do this for pain from AD?
Hi again. I found that the powder in the capsules mix well with the capsicum cream I have. The powder is guaranteed to be .25% and the cream to be .05%. I mixed the two and put it in my dental stent. I think it is reaching the nerve!! I am getting a very hot stinging inside my face, starting where I had the abcessed root canal irritate my nerve. I am going to stick with this strength until I can get the stronger and this may be enough! Like it is following the path of my V2.
And this is the path of my pain… Every waking minute…
Keep coming back to your posts. You are the first who has similar pain to mine. What do you mean by pressure? Is this in your gums? A pulling feeling? Just wondering if same as mine
Hi Carey,
I mean a literal feeling of pressure, like my teeth and the bone underneath are being squeezed. There's also a sensation of tingling. I hope you find some relief soon.
Carey Larsen said:
Keep coming back to your posts. You are the first who has similar pain to mine. What do you mean by pressure? Is this in your gums? A pulling feeling? Just wondering if same as mine
Wow this nerve doesn’t like the capsicum. But I notice I am getting a little bit of balance back. And I up past 5pm!!! Will continue to burn out the Pfactor, from my Intraorbital nerve, even if it hurts more right now!