Hi MaryLynn.

Nice to meet you, however not under the greatest of circumstances, of course.

Oh WOW you and I have lived parallel lives. My AN was removed 15 years ago. It was on the right hand side. The TN is on the left. I've had almost 4 years of dental surgical "interventions" until someone finally figured out the problem. Supposedly a severe case of atypical TN

We've managed to rule out a recurrence of the AN, and are now looking at some sort of vascular compression. My MRI has been sent to Radiology for further investigation, and I see the neurosurgeon again on the 14th of January.

They first tried Carbamazepine (Tegratol) but I had difficulty with the side effects. So now I'm on Lyrica. Not great as far as managing the pain goes.

More than anything I want this damn thing FIXED. It seemed so simple with the AN: just cut it out and let me get back to work. I lost my hearing and balance nerves on the RH side but other than that, everything went great.

I'm on my way to bed so will keep this short, but just wanted to give a fellow AN survivor a special hug and welcome you here. I'm new too.

Cat