I have been having symptoms of TN since January. My dentist could find nothing wrong so she sent me to a periodontist who could find nothing wrong so she sent me to a neurologist. The neurologist ordered an MRI which showed an arachnoid cyst near the Vth nerve root entry zone. My neurologist thinks this what is causing the TN and I am taking 200mg of Lyrica per day and it seems to really help for the first week or two and then I had to increase the dose to 200mg/day.

My symptoms have been primarily jaw pain that mimics a toothache sometimes in the lower jaw, sometimes in the upper jaw and sometimes further up the side of my face. I have never had the electric shock type of pain that many describe until yesterday. I was eating lunch and the pain struck so quickly and severely that I spit out the food in my mouth dropped the silverware and was stunned at the severity of the pain. It lasted about 20-30 seconds and included muscle twitching on my face. I had a couple of more episodes later in the day that were not as severe. What is odd is that today it almost seems like my jaw is sore when I bite down. Is it possible that it still could be a dental problem that has taken a 9 months to develop? I reluctantly scheduled an appointment with a neurosurgeon several weeks ago and see him on Tuesday of next week. Am I just grasping at straws hoping that its a dental problem? Has anyone else had similar soreness after a severe episode?

I will say this, I now understand the intensity of the electric shock pain that others have described. If this is TN and I face that kind of pain in the future, I am going to need some very strong drugs.