HI,

Welcome to NT and sorry that you are here in pain.

Well my symptoms are somewaht similar to yours. Although I had a couple of things going on.

I agree with BMW you might want to have a neuro check you out.

I actually found a neuro/dentist at the pain center here is los angeles at cedars. He is excellent and got came up with several solutions.

NOw for me I had two distinct things going on following some extensive dental surgery.

First the dental surgery or shall we call it trauma (implants) reactivated an HSV-1 infection (herpes simplex-1 - yep the cold sore virus - even though I have never had a cold sore). The virus can live in your trigeminal nerve(s) in your jaw and when that nerve is traumatized the virus comes alive and bascially blisters up and travels along the nerve damaging it. This is what is causing some of my pain - nerve pain or what they call post herpetic neuralgia. For me is causes nerve ain which causes the muscles in my head, neck and jaw to cramp causing evenmore pain. I tried various meds and the thing that worked the best has been a muscle relaxer called zanaflex which relaxes the muscles but also works on the nerves. For me this pain is more behind my left ear and back of head (more occiptial neualgia pain)

The second comlication that I have that I urge you to ask your doc about is TMJ derangement. The dentist/doc was the one that figured it out. I had terrible burning for hours on the right side face and jaw. The pain has been excrutiating even though to everyone I look fime. It was more atypical TN pain caused by more of a biomechanical problem from teh dental surgery. I could also describe it as like that side of my face was plugged into a electrical socket for hours at a time. It would even make my right eye blurry and burn. Tegretol did not touch it for me. They also tried me on elavil and neurontin. The neuontin helped for a while but the zanaflex is a secondary TN med according to my dentist/doc that is quited in teh TN book striking back.

The other thing I am doing is volataren gel to help the inflammation in the TM joint.

The dentist/doc orderd a jaw MRI. Like any other joint there are discs in this joint and provide cushion between the bones and allow for your mouth to move and open.

Well according to the MRI I compelely torn (deranged is the proper word) the disc on the right side of my jaw. The dentist/doc thinks its from the implant surgery and my mouth being open and in a bad position for so long during the procedure. The disc is so blown out that I have bone on bone in my jaw and when the msucle spasms start it drives the jaw backwards and ontop of the TN nerve.

He dentist/doc contructed a special mouth piece for me to wear at night and I have special exercises I do throughout the day. He said it would take 8 weeks to heal. I can say the last few days it is better.

Hope that helps. Ask them to do a jaw MRI if they can.
Shelley