There really is no "normal" for TN - it's rare. You may be having a "flare-up". Go to a neurologist. The gabapentin may help you but you're at the starting dose (usual adult dose for TN is between 600 and 2400 mg/day - http://health.utah.gov/medicaid/phar...ate%202005.pdf) so if it's not controlling the pain, your doctor should have increased it by now. Don't increase without a doctor's guidance - it's an antiseizure med and you need to titrate up slowly or it can cause seizures and you need time to acclimate to the side effects. Once you hit the right dosage, you should feel the relief right away. And once a neuro gets you on the right med and the right dose, he/she can then advise your primary care doc how to carry on with it. Call your doctor and ask about increasing the gabapentin or seeing a neuro ASAP. You don't need to suffer.

TN can have remissions and flare-ups. Read the websites - especially TNA and U. Manitoba - they're good places to start. Start a "pain diary" as described in the Newcomers thread and take that with you to the neuro when you go - it will help a lot. TN is diagnosed mainly on patient history and description of pain.

Jean