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Old 03-29-2009, 10:05 AM
tyler tyler is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 7
15 yr Member
tyler tyler is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 7
15 yr Member
Default Is it TN and related questions

Hi, a few days ago (after having a cold and sinus infection) my wife was in excrutiating pain, so much so that I took her to the hospital. After a few shots of pain killers the pain did not subside. A CT scan revealed some mild inflamation in the sinus right above the jaw on the left side (where she was experiencing a constant pain that elevated to unbearable levels at random intervals, and lasted for a few minutes before settling down to the constant pain). She also has wisdom teeth coming in, but no dentist has been overly concered with this at this point. An xray of her teeth revealed some strange things going on, with the roots of her teeth actually being partially in the sinus. After another trip to the hospital the following day to see an ENT, the ENT looked at the CT scan results and felt that could not be the source of such terrible pain and put her on carbenzaprine (spelling?). Approximately 5 hours after taking the first tablet her pain subsided to a dull pressure in the sinus and the major pain has not returned since. The curious portion is that she was also starting antibiotics about a day before the carbenzaprine. I don't know what the doctor actually diagnosed...I wasn't able to be in the room for the consultation with the doctors (an incredibly stupid trial the hospital was doing backfired and caused confusion) and my wife was too drugged up and unrested that she isn't overly sure what he said as well.

Another curious thing is that during the intense pain chewing on ice chips helped a little. Just a little.

She is 25 years old.

I guess my questions are these:
Can carbenzaprine work that quickly?
If it is the Trigeminal nerve causing the pain, does that mean she will now have TN, or if the source of the irritation is removed (i.e. sinus inflammation) is it possible the nerve will return to normal?
Does this even sound like TN? I hate the fact that it seems carbenzaprine worked as it does point to the nerve, but maybe I am missing something...does carbenzaprine work on other types of pain, or a temporary irritation of the trigeminal? I'm terrified for her and can't find answers. I pray someone here has enough knowledge to assist! Does anyone have experience in the Toronto area with doctors familiar with this? We are located in Barrie.
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