Hi, my name is Andy, I came across this site after being diagnosed with trgeminal neuragia. A quick little background, I first started having headaches when I was 26 on the right side of my head around the temple area(just below the hairline to right above the jaw line, and it went back a little bit towards the ear). I also had pain just under my jaw on the right side; I guess right where the jaw meets the neck). It started pretty dull, but never went away. It lasted for over 2 weeks...Most of the time it was dull, achey and verry annoying. But whenever I yawned, sneezed, coughed or raised my voice...it would go from dull achey and annoying to Hoy ****!!! it felt like my brain wanted to shoot out of my temple like cheese wiz and like sombody cut the cord from my lamp and stuck the raged end of the cord to my temple and kept the other end plugged in. Well of course being a 26 year old guy...I was like its nothing.

After about 2 and a hlaf to 3 weeks later it kinda just stopped, the dull ache was gone...but a couple times a week I would get this jolt or shock right in my temple...and if i happend to be in mid sentence while it happend, or walking or to be more accurate no matter what i was doing it would cause me to stop dead in my tracks and alomost convulse I guess, like twinge. About 2 months later it came back, and begruginley I wen to the doctors(I was pretty much forced by my girlfriend and family). I was sent for an MRI and all that good stuff...everything was normal, and I was finally able to prove to everyone that I did have a brain. But the diagnosis, was most likely a tension headache.

Well to make an already long story a little shorter. It has been back about 5 times a year, so 15 episodes(thats what I call them), 3 years and 4 doctors later, the urgent care doctor found out about my past history and I told him everything (didnt leave anything out-I tend to do that sometimes), said you have Trigerminal Neuralgia, explained it to me briefly. Administered a shot of kenalog 60mg and prescribed carbamazepine 200mg to take 1 tab 3 times a day. It's been about 12 hours since I started the meds, and for the first time somthing I've been prescribed seems to be helping

Sorry for such the long post, as I know how annoying long winded posts could be. But I do have a question, I didnt ask any questions while I was there...I tend to believe in magic pills and immediate cures, so normally what ever they give me I take and thats the end of it. But anyway; he never brought up the fact that I should follow up with anyone unless it happens when the meds are gone...so should I follow up with someone, or just wait and see? Also should I take the meds till i exhaust my refills or stop, and continue the pills if and when it comes back? I guess the reason im asking is my job requires federally mandated drug tests, as i control train traffic and requires me to be on my toes and make crucial desicions throughout the day. I could potentially put my train crews in danger if I'm impaired in anyway. I did get the doctor to write me a note to take off the rest of the week, but with the railroad ill be back fri night, so 2 days off.