Do i have Neuralgia [Archive] - BrainTalk Communities

Immo

07-11-2009, 09:27 AM

Dear knotsberry,

I haven't looked in this forum before, I mostly live :) in the Trigeminal Neuralgia forum instead.

What you have described does describe some of the pain you can get from TN. There are loads of great informative sites on TN (Trigeminal neuralgia) - though unfortunately it is known as the most painful affliction known.

It is a disorder of the 5th Cranial nerve (obviously the trigeminal nerve). There are three branches on either side of the face that fork off into different areas.

V1 - forehead, eye, top of nose to the midline of the face, upper cheekbone, temple etc.

V2 - middle cheekbone, rest of nose, cheek, upper jawline.

V3 - lower jawline, lips.

The most commonly afflicted areas are the ones labelled V2 & V3 - with about 5 - 10 % of TN patients possibly including the V1 branch.

It mostly occurs just on one side of your face - the pain always stopping at a center point like a line drawn down the middle of your face.

Another 5% like me, have been affected by this bilaterally, meaning I'll have TN attacks on both sides, it's supposed to just be alternately, but mine have been simultaneous as well.

The pain can be shooting, stabbing, electric, dull aches, burning, crawling, pins and needles (sharp pins) - pretty much any pain sensation possible as the Trigeminal nerve is unfortunately a sensory nerve.

There are different classifications depending on the suspected cause of the condition - and your symptoms.

Trigeminal Neuralgia - Classical / type 1
Trigeminal Neuralgia - atypical / type 2
Trigeminal Neuropathy
Traumatic Trigeminal Neuralgia
Secondary Trigeminal Neuralgia (tumour or MS related)
Failed Trigeminal Neuralgia

So you can see, there are differences. A neurologist that specializes in TN is best to speak to, but here are some websites for you:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/trigeminal_neuralgia_facial_nerve_pain/article_em.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2301931

http://www.umanitoba.ca/cranial_nerves/trigeminal_neuralgia/manuscript/index.html (this is a very detailed site)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/trigeminalneuralgia/htm/_yes_50_no_0.htm This one is a video tutorial about the condition, medications and or surgical options to try and treat the illness itself.

This next one is a diagnostic questionnaire to determine if you have TN or one of it's varieties. It's not conclusive, but it is a good start prior to seeing a TN Neurologist and you can print your results out if applicable to take to see the Neuro: https://neurosurgery.ohsu.edu/tgn.php

This one is the link to the TN forum here on Braintalk: http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=271

That's about all I can think of for now. Best of luck to you Knotsberry!

Cheers ~ Kerry