Hey BMW,

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm having my MCS surgery in Ohio, though I was originally supposed to have it this past January at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Both my parents and boyfriend will be at my surgery and will stay in Ohio throughout my trial until (hopefully) my permanent implant surgery a week later.

I first found out that I might be eligible for MCS when I got treatment at Mayo last summer. Because I don't have TN and therefore am not eligible for any of the TN surgeries, one neurosurgeon referred me to another NS who thought I might be eligible. I had to get psychological testing (for both the PNS and MCS) and my case had to be approved by the head of pain/neurology and the entire surgery committee. I also had to exhaust all other options, which included enrolling in Mayo's Pain Rehabilitation Clinic, a 3+ week long comprehensive program designed to teach those who suffer from chronic pain how to best manage it.

In addition to attending the PRC, I've tried all of the different classes and kinds of meds: anti-convulsants, muscle relaxers, headache meds, NSAIDs, steroids, narcotic and non-narcotic painkillers, etc. I've also tried a bunch of alternative therapies including certain food and vitamin regimens, hypnosis, yoga, biofeedback, meditation, etc. Because I don't have classic TN, I'm not eligible for most of the surgeries discussed on this board, but I have had injections, two sphenopalatine ganglion surgeries, and the PNS.

All of this started three years ago when I was having such intense pain that I was going to the ER almost daily. None of the doctors could figure out what was wrong. I went to just about every specialist there is. I lost 15 pounds, and I was thin to begin with. Finally I went to an allergist who looked up my nose and saw massive polyps filling the entire nasal cavity. I immediately was sent to an ENT surgeon, and my CT showed that I had sinus tumors filling up my sinus cavity as well. They were so big and fast growing that they actually broke my nose. So I was booked for a bilateral endoscopic sinus surgery with septoplasty (to straighten my nose), which was a horrible surgery. I was lucky though, and to my ENT's surprise, the tumors were not malignant. He got them all out and that was supposed to be the end of it. No such luck. Within four months they had all grown back and I had to go through the surgery again. After that one they didn't come back, but I was still in tons of pain. My ENT was flabberghasted and finally sent me to a pain management anesthesiologist, who determined that the tumors were so large that they had pressed and damaged the trigeminal nerve. That combined with the trauma from the extensive surgeries left me with atypical neuropathic facial pain...some call it ATN. And here I am. That was three years ago when I was 22. Sorry for the novel!