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Trigeminal Neuralgia ? UPDATE.
EhlerDave
Member Posts: 5,158 ✭✭
Anyone know about this?
I have done the google thing and have read all I can find, not sure yet if this is what Rita is dealing with but it is hurting her tremendously.
That and she has no insurance.
Got Rita to the Dr's, she does have this crap. She is hurting so bad with just the fan on in the house it is tearing my heart out. Doc gave her a RX to try and hope it works. The no insurance is killing us. Dr did say as a last resort they can go in and burn the nerve, but it may or may not stop the pain. Now that is one hell of a deal. He said it can be like ghost pain for an amputee. Just great.
The big problem is the preferred med to even try is just under $800 a month, she may need it from now on. So even if we came up with money to try it and it worked we are screwed next month.
This is from the info we got from the Nuero Dr.
A chronic pain condition affecting the trigeminal nerve in the face.
Rare
Fewer than 200,000 US cases per year
Can't be cured, but treatment may help
Requires a medical diagnosis
Lab tests or imaging rarely required
Chronic: can last for years or be lifelong
The trigeminal nerve carries sensation from the face to the brain. It's most common in women over age 50.
Symptoms range from mild to severe * pain, often triggered by chewing, speaking, or brushing the teeth.
Treatment includes medications, injections, and surgery.
I have done the google thing and have read all I can find, not sure yet if this is what Rita is dealing with but it is hurting her tremendously.
That and she has no insurance.
Got Rita to the Dr's, she does have this crap. She is hurting so bad with just the fan on in the house it is tearing my heart out. Doc gave her a RX to try and hope it works. The no insurance is killing us. Dr did say as a last resort they can go in and burn the nerve, but it may or may not stop the pain. Now that is one hell of a deal. He said it can be like ghost pain for an amputee. Just great.
The big problem is the preferred med to even try is just under $800 a month, she may need it from now on. So even if we came up with money to try it and it worked we are screwed next month.
This is from the info we got from the Nuero Dr.
A chronic pain condition affecting the trigeminal nerve in the face.
Rare
Fewer than 200,000 US cases per year
Can't be cured, but treatment may help
Requires a medical diagnosis
Lab tests or imaging rarely required
Chronic: can last for years or be lifelong
The trigeminal nerve carries sensation from the face to the brain. It's most common in women over age 50.
Symptoms range from mild to severe * pain, often triggered by chewing, speaking, or brushing the teeth.
Treatment includes medications, injections, and surgery.
Just smile and say nothing, let them guess how much you know.
Comments
I thought everyone had insurance under Obama care?
You also have the option to be under attack from the IRS and still not have insurance.
She really needs to be seen by a cardiologist, as this is usually treatable. If lack of insurance is keeping her from getting it checked out, email me, I may be able to help.
Neal
Anyone know about this?
I have done the google thing and have read all I can find, not sure yet if this is what Rita is dealing with but it is hurting her tremendously.
That and she has no insurance.
Wife's best friend and our middle daughter have it. Sometimes called the Suicide disease because of the pain. But as we have found it is more often than not the pain is treated with wrong pain killers by Dr's unfamiliar with it. They treat morphine or such which works on body pain, but neurologists prescribe a pain killer that is different, wife still asleep so I can't tell you the drug name right now.
The friend had a blood vessel actually grow around and rubbed the sheath of the big face nerve and she had surgery and a patch installed to protect the nerve. Has been a year and half since surgery and she is back 90/95%. and back to training horses and competition barrel racing, break away and team roping. Before surgery a summer breeze would have her wearing a face mask.
The daughter had surgery in May, she had a blood vessel enlarge, like a aneurism that didn't burst and it also rubbed the sheath of the nerve exposing it. They went in and removed the bulged portion of blood vessel and also installed a protective patch around the nerve. She has not done well, but that is because she hasn't taken any initiative to get better, but would rather try to garner sympathy because she had brain surgery.
I don't envy anyone dealing with it. The pain seems pretty severe and phantom and pretty much intolerable if not treated with correct medications and even then pain is debilitating.
Hope Rita has a better go with it than these two.
Mule
I thought everyone had insurance under Obama care?
Not folks like Rita, she works to much, yet not enough. She can get insurance and the Feds will pay the bulk of it (subsidies). But the deductible is more than she makes per year. The "cheap" policy will not pay one penny until the deductible is met, not even to help with seeing the Dr or meds. Not worth the paper it would be billed on. We have been selling items just to get her in to see a Dr and pay for her meds.
As it is we have an outbreak of Mumps in the area and that is what it was thought to be when it first started. The county we are in and the one next to us have over 300 diagnosed cases of mumps, more than half the people had the shot for them but yeehaw it is a "bit different strain" and people are getting it again.
She decided since the only people that would get help would be the insurance co, to the tune of $380 per month from the Feds, she just skipped the crap. As to the IRS tax, we do not make enough to have the tax apply.
It's one of the side effects from my chemotherapy
Presents like shards of broken florescent light bulb glass being jammed into the skin of my face...
Cold makes it worse...
At best it's a numbing tingling face is asleep kinda of nerve damage pain...
If I am describing it right and it's a similar differential diagnosis
I have tried hot compress and icy hot cream and arnicare and small cut up pieces of lidocaine patches...
Hope I was of some help
Mike
I spent about 9 hours reading all I can find about this and I am hoping we can find a way to stop the pain. She is dropping weight because she just cant eat. Brushing her teeth will cause her to cry.
At this point it is ripping my heart out. We are just about out of ways to get her to see a Dr, even though my Dr will see her for free he cant help with the testing she may need so it may be a ...... try this med and see if it helps..... just because we might be able to afford some of the meds they use to treat this mess.
quote:Originally posted by EhlerDave
quote:Originally posted by mrmike08075
It's one of the side effects from my chemotherapy
Presents like shards of broken florescent light bulb glass being jammed into the skin of my face...
Cold makes it worse...
At best it's a numbing tingling face is asleep kinda of nerve damage pain...
If I am describing it right and it's a similar differential diagnosis
I have tried hot compress and icy hot cream and arnicare and small cut up pieces of lidocaine patches...
Hope I was of some help
Mike
I spent about 9 hours reading all I can find about this and I am hoping we can find a way to stop the pain. She is dropping weight because she just cant eat. Brushing her teeth will cause her to cry.
At this point it is ripping my heart out. We are just about out of ways to get her to see a Dr, even though my Dr will see her for free he cant help with the testing she may need so it may be a ...... try this med and see if it helps..... just because we might be able to afford some of the meds they use to treat this mess.
My wife experienced much the same, turned out to be TMJ and she required surgery.
90% + fix.
Heat helped sometimes.
At this point TMJ would be a blessing. My right hinge is trash, let over from my wild years. Sadly my Dr has checked on that and it seems good, we are working on getting my Ortho Dr to take a better look to be sure.
She - sensory - (I) - olfactory
Said - sensory - (II) - optic
Marry - motor - (III) - oculomotor
Money - motor - (IV) - trochlear
But - both - (V) - trigeminal
The trigeminal is the most complex of the cranial nerves - having three division - as mentioned above - "tri = 3".
They supply the forehead - upper jaw - and lower jaw.
Trigeminal neuralgia is also known as "tic doularueux".
It is most common in females. There are several causes - the most common is a blood vessel or tumor pressing on a part of the nerve. The slightest stimulation - even a breeze on the face - will cause very - very intense pain. It can put you on your knees or curled up into a ball. If you have ever had an earache - multiply it many times and you will begin to have an idea about the level of pain.
If the cause is a blood vessel or a tumor - them surgery is in the picture. If something else - then medications may be helpful. If none of these work - then part of the nerve may have to be destroyed by radiation or injection of ethyl alcohol.
Hopefully the docs can give some help to reduce the pain.
Best Regards - AQH