I know what suicide pain feels like, because I get that in my neck sometimes. It's off the scale and will make you sit down, fall down, drop whatever you are holding. This started when I was a teenager and just gets worse with age. But it is not in my face.

My face pain started June 2017. I did have a root canal that persisted to hurt slightly but was resolved by 6 visits of leveling out my bite. I also had pain in my parotid ducts, and was diagnosed with salivary infections once a month like clockwork. Turns out they were only guessing that these were infections. I pointed out that before my pain had only been in the parotids, but that now I seemed to have involvement with the submandibular glands R>L. Natch the MRI supported my theory. I elected to repeat a sialendoscopy on the right parotid and they placed a stent that stayed 10 days. I kept complaining of pain after the procedure and they eventually told me that what I was describing could not be attributed to the procedure. A sonogram ruled out salivary cancer.

My symptoms were pretty bizarre, even to an oncologist. My tongue sometimes feels like it is furry. Sometimes the whole inside of my mouth burns. Sometimes I have a toothache in all teeth at once, but it goes away. I have a dull pain under my cheek all the time. I have a pain near the right ear that ranges from dull to sharp. At times my face hurts from the top of my cheekbone all the way down to the tip of my chin. Nobody better touch my nose or I will go through the roof. When I talk or smile it hurts under my lip and above my chin. The longer I talk the worse it gets. Eventually I can't talk because my tongue feels swollen and I start to lisp. It starts to feel like I bit my tongue. Then my chin starts quivering. I don't talk much anymore. Sometimes it tastes like I ate something bitter. If I vomit then the bitter taste buds get so excited they think bees are stinging my tongue.

I am a well nourished female, but I am gradually shedding those pounds. When I am having a bad day there is nothing I can eat that doesn't shock my taste buds beyond belief. I can't eat anything sour or salty, but when I look for something I can tolerate it usually makes me feel nauseated, sometimes to the point of throwing up. Spices are horrible to my tongue. Some days I can eat beans with spices but other days I am punished for eating the same food. Once I have a bad food experience my psyche wants to cross that food off the acceptable foods list, by feeling nauseated at the thought. For example cauliflower curry. Even without the curry I can't stomach cauliflower anymore, not even the thought.

Stress and caffeine produce exaggerated symptoms. I have been off caffeine for years but very occasionally would cheat and have chocolate. Not anymore.