I'm 33 years old and have been dealing with trigeminal neuralgia for 6 years. I've been diagnosed with a wide variety of maladies by an even wider variety of doctors in that time. Due to the debilitating pain episodes I've been forced to quit graduate school and haven't been able to keep a full time job for more than 6 months at a time. The specialists in North Carolina have finally agreed that my excruciating facial pain is trigeminal neuralgia. Unfortunately, the medications only lessen the pain in high doses that leave me fuzzy and lethargic. I have a consult with a neurosurgeon on Monday to discuss MVD surgery. At this point I'm willing to try anything but I admit that I'm terrified. It does not help that the internet is heavily skewed towards the negative. Your post surgery diary is the most encouraging thing I've read. It gives me hope that I can get my life back. Thank you.