Hello to all,

My name is Mary. I have been diagnosed with Meralgia Paresthetica since January 2009. Not getting better at all. I am on Neurontin, Effexor and weaning off of Oxcarbazepine due to side effects. I wont ramble much, but i just want to say this is a very very painful condition, and when people go to the internet and look it up, they make it sound like its just this simple little pain that will go away if you change your clothes! I am 50, I was never overweight in my life until Neurontin put 25#'s on me in a matter of 4 weeks! I DO NOT wear tight clothes - and never will. So none of this makes sense to me. I have nerve shocks terrible, tingling, numbness itching and my muscle seems lumpy and irritated. Some nights, this can be somewhat debilitating actually! Some people have this for years and years. I hate the way nobody understands this painful condition. The drugs make you stupid, fat, and just plain out of it, but I cannot do without them! Anyone else that can relate?

Also, This IS MY IMPORTANT QUESTION, LOOKING FOR MULTIPLE ANSWERS please!! I HAD Trigeminal Neuralgia 3 years ago. It lasts for 3 weeks. Took a medication at the time (the name of the med escapes me at this moment - probably due to short term memory loss from my current meds - omg ) It went away. I had horrible electrical shocks in my right TEMPLE and my right ear was painful as well as numbness to the right side of my face. What I NEED TO KNOW IS: Does TN ALWAYS RETURN!! I read alot about how it goes into remission for months or years, but it has been 3 years now. Have I escaped this? I only get a kind of shooting pain in my temple maybe once a month or so now. Never thought much about it until the Neurologist brought it up when diagnosing my MP.

If anyone can shed light on this, I would so greatly appreciate it. I WILL get the book Striking Back, but would love to hear from fellow sufferers!

Regards
Mary