I was doing some light straightening up downstairs when suddenly my TN began to act up. I stopped what I was doing to calm it down, but while I’m resting here, I wonder if the best thing to do would be to trudge through it - try to whip the pain into submission. Anybody had any progress doing this? I feel like such a weakling resting, but the pain can be torture under the right circumstances. I hope never to face that again!
Call me a weenie, but when my pain was at its worst or even minor, I couldnt do anything. Its so hard to concentrate when it hits. If it was just bothersome I kept up whatever I was doing because it took the edge off , but when it was bad...nah, nothing...off to the couch I went.
Dont beat yourself up if you have to take a time out to deal with it.
I hope you are feeling better by now
Wendy
When the TN really hits me, I faint if I don't lay down. That being said, I also have dysautonomia- Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Neurocardiogenic Syncope, so any amount of pain can cause me to faint. If it is just the achy feeling in my cheek, jaw, or toothache feeling, then I just adapt to the situation. If I am cooking then I grab one of my table chairs and sit in it while I cook at the stove or chop veggies/meat on the counter. I only "trudge" through it if I feel like I can. I think it was the day before yesterday that I was making up some Christmas cards at my table and I had to call my husband to come pick me up and carry me to bed, because I started having pain. I thought I could continue with what I was doing, but wasn't able to. I always say, "listen to your body," because it will tell you what it needs. Don't feel like a weakling. I dealt with that for years, having been a Marine, and it was just a waste of energy that I should have used trying to recover instead of feeling guilt with.
Gentle hugs!
Thanks for your replies, your encouragement.
Just my two cents, but when pain hits I'm frequently doing something that doesn't allow me to stop and rest, so I trudge through it by necessity.
As far as I can tell it doesn't help a bit, and would be a lot more comfortable if I could take a few minutes to let it pass.
By experimenting, I've found that stopping and resting is usually better. The longer I keep going the worse the pain gets and the longer it lasts. I don't like having to stop and rest, and would prefer to keep going and pretend everything is fine, but I have learnt it's better for me to take a short break at an early point rather than let it build up and be incapacitated by the pain.
I have come across other people who think that if I kept going and did more and "ignored the pain" (not my words, and you can tell they haven't experienced this type of pain!) I would somehow get better or "get over it". One of them has since stopped saying that since seeing me when the pain got bad - I had to keep going with what I was doing and I went grey in the face, and sweaty and nauseous, and apparently looked as though I was going to pass out.
Notafraid, there is probably no one-size-fits-all answer for a question like yours. And there should be no "shoulds" from people in your life who are looking into your pain from the outside. You have sole decision power on how you will balance your life concerns and whose expectations you will meet or not meet.
An article concerning chronic disease has been discussed at some length in a thread here on the site, that I think may be constructive reading for you. You can find it by entering the term "spoons" in our search window, and selecting one of the hits that come up.
I wish you well,
Regards, Red
Thanks Red. I had to go to google to find the link. The link I went to didn’t have the story (something about the site being hacked?). Anyway, here is the link I found with the Spoon Theory story. It is helpful. http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the…
Richard A. “Red” Lawhern said:
Notafraid, there is probably no one-size-fits-all answer for a question like yours. And there should be no “shoulds” from people in your life who are looking into your pain from the outside. You have sole decision power on how you will balance your life concerns and whose expectations you will meet or not meet.
An article concerning chronic disease has been discussed at some length in a thread here on the site, that I think may be constructive reading for you. You can find it by entering the term “spoons” in our search window, and selecting one of the hits that come up.
I wish you well,
Regards, Red
I have found that when I'm having constant pain that never lets up my mind just shuts down. Thankfully, so far on the days when it's that bad my husband was able to come home and watch the kids so I could hide in the bedroom. The constant horrible pain just completely wears me out and I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. As for the electric shock type pains that ping pong around the left side of my face I trudge through those, but find I instinctively stop long enough to apply pressure to the spot until it goes away. My oldest daughter (bless her beautiful heart) will try to quiet my @ youngest when she sees me doing this. I'm pretty lucky to have a very supportive family...
Aack, no I have not had success trudging through the pain! I wish. I'd get so much more done. I HAVE had success taking a rest or short nap....or long one, depending what is needed. I find that the pain is lessened to some degree by rest. So sorry you are dealing with this. Truly. And you're not a weakling. I think we would all be surprised at the level of pain we have become used to if we could only measure it....though it is probably just as well we can not. It might be a bit discouraging.
It all depends on the individual......my days when I am feeling good I try and catch up with house work and make up for lost time, then I over do.....it would be nice if we could put this out of our minds and act like it's not there, but it's hard when you are cluching your head and face....when mine starts I am going to try and find a happy place in my mind and go there.....mind over matter? we will see.
Let's face it cleaning is full of stress bringing on the TN, I just shampooed my rugs bending over and pushing the clumsy cleaner can take a lot out of you.....I feel so lucky and do a large sigh of releif once my daily shower is out of the way much less cleaning the house.....and brushing teeth OMG that's another story.........take care.
I was unfortunately unable to maintain a job after trigeminal neuralgia hit me. Now, the constant pain on the left side of my face is usually not too bad - unless I do normal things, like, well, anything outside of the house, or in the house if it is fun! So, for me, life has been tipped upside down. I spend most of my time being sedate, with occasional wonderful releases when life is normal enough pain wise to clean parts of my house, go listen to my husband play music (wearing noise cancellation devices), or play with my grandchildren (not riotously rolling and laughinng like we used to do). Nah, But in truth, though I try very hard with my mind, I hate this condition so much, accepting it is very difficult. I’m sick of it. Sorry to complain to you all. Sometimes it helps to yell (even if it’s just on paper). I need a way to escape it, even if it’s by writing, or crafting, etc., but my motivation is so waning, I spend more time watching television than anything, because it’s an escape route (thanks Netflix). I study the Bible every morning for around two hours, so I am very blessed to have the knowledge and faith to carry on ( and I’m not mad at God. God is my highest hope Without God, I can’t imagine living with this condition). I’m still mad and angry about the condition itself! I live in my house with my two dogs and musical husband (he practices with headphones on). We keep our house very clean, but I rarely go out, except to the backyard with the dogs. Though I have many friends, I rarely see them, because I have to plan the visits in terms of time and place and figure time in for recouperating afterwards (recouperating can take days). Few understand the labrynith I live in. With acceptance comes peace. I try very hard to accept this condition, but acceptance is like giving in to …what…I don’t know what. Agh! Better days always surface. I 'm just letting off steam. This reply was a reader beware type. Thanks for “listening”. Laurel
Laurel, vent away. If you can't vent to us, then who can you vent to? I agree taht my faith is a huge part of my personal mental and physical health. I am human enough, though, to wish that this "thorn" was taken from me, just like anyone else. I don't know that acceptance is giving in. Or that we are being asked to give in. We can still seek out answers and cures and better forms of treatment, but acceptance simply means that we acknowledge that as proactive in our own treatment as we might be, does not mean that we will necessarily get to be pain free today....or maybe tomorrow. However, Hope says that it is a possibility. Hang in there. Some days sure are easier than others. I still cycle to episodes of anger and grief, though not as often.