I have to second that..you wont die from this . . . and too unless your like me and have had you lower jaw snapped in half ..you will most likely never know how you got this. not many do know how they got T.N. or bi lat or atypical.

I have heard of Pre T.N and know of others with that DX . meds seem to pretty much take all the pain away and it is controlled fairly well with Teg or neurotin .. or another type of anti seizure meds . so best idea is to stick with the med your on as it is helping you take the pain away.
T.N. can come from MANY things a sinus infection ..damage to the nerve ie auto accident like me or dental work where the nerve was aggravated or damaged, can get this from having a bout of shingle even , gosh the reason how we got t.n. is very hard to find . with few exceptions such as auot accident or something like that.
do not work yourself up into a huge depressive fog okay. just relax a bit. I think you are lucky in a few ways as you have gotten dx already and have found a med that is working great for you. you have no idea how MANY MANY others go year after year praying and hoping to get a correct diagnose... after having lots of mouth / teeth work done .. spending to much $$$ only to find out much later it was not teeth and they did not need any pulled out or root canals etc...
All the things EE03 mentioned about the Striking Back book and the stickies up top is the best advice. knowledge is power so keep getting info and keep posting and asking questions. we are here to help and support... things are gonna be okay really just take things one step at a time. and I have to ask .. even if you do figure out how you got pre t.n. ... is that going to make it go away???? nope.!! so dont fret okay it is more important that you found all of us here and that you are on a med that is helping you. try to look at it that way okay?? yup it is not so fun learning you have it but ya gotta find the good in it too. Hope you feel better in body , mind and in spirit and too that you have a low pain great weekend. let us know if you have questions or just wanna vent or talk. we are here and we understand what most other non
t.n-ers dont. plus we care tons .

PEACE
BMW