Trigeminal pain
 

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk when I felt a lightning rod pain by my left ear. I was certain that something is very wrong. I have PN,but I have never had such a high frequency pain. I was sore for a half an hour afterwards.

Then this morning on my way to work I felt it again. I was afraid to switch lanes as I was fearful of moving my neck. I can feel it much more on the left,though there is also tingling on the right. I can feel it very agrivated and ready to burst into a lightning rod again.

I have PN, and it has been in my face and head, but never like this before. I can only assume this is TN?

Is this common with PN, why did it just come on now? Anyone else with this level 10 shooting face pain?

I have never had anything like this, but I have had other wierd things. I am sorry. It is very frustrating to have things like this happen that we cannot readily explain. It is hard to talk to doctors about them also. I hope this just goes away and never bothers you aggain.

Thanks Susan
 

I am hoping that it will go away too. If this continues this will probably be the straw that broke the camels back, and gets me put on pain meds. I cannot even imagine this happening all the time. I can feel that it is very irritated for some reason.

I am so sorry to hear this Aussie99! This PN thing sounds like it is constantly advancing and changing - not a nice prospect.

Is it trigeminal neuralgia?
 

Dear Aussie:

Lightning like pains could be trigeminal neuralgia. See neurologist. If Tegretol stops such pains, this is TN but I don't know if this will be tried with you at this time. I have TN but had a Balloon Compression surgery for it. Took away the terrible pains but left me with "dysesthesia" which is 24 hour a day burning, itching, tickling, etc. Had this for 6 years now. Very distracting to say the least. All day, all night on right side of face and scalp.

I read the PN forum because have been wondering if I have that, but don't think so now after reading for a long time. No burning in feet, legs, etc. Doesn't sound like the PN you all describe.

I hope you don't have TN. It is probably worse than PN. Keep us posted.

Shirley H.

I have gone to GP to advise on this new problem I have
 

Apparently through a series of questions and ofcourse feeling around my face, the GP beleives I have TMJ,and not TN.

I don't know alot about TMJ still researching now, but it's a problem that seems to be associated with the myriad of other problems I seem to present with MCS,Fibro, etc..

This is yet another painful condition,and worst of all it's in my Face! Does anyone else have TMJ that I can communicate with?

Thank you:)

Hi Hon:

Meet your new best friend. I've had TMJ for years. Started with my grinding my teeth since I'm a baby. My aunt once said "Oh my god, the noise that comes out of your mouth, when you sleep at night". Of course I had no idea what the heck she was talking about.

I can't open my mouth too wide. I never know when it's going to "hit me".

I can completely forget it, I can do a big yawn, (oh, my jaw doesn't lock or remain open, it just has these clicking sounds). A dentist even told me the exact name of this noise when the clicking occurs, but darn, if I can remember it.

The hinge under my ear, well it gets sore, once in a great while. As long as I don't open my mouth too wide, (I don't ever do this).

I get a TMJ (that's what I call it), once in a great while when I bite down on something and I haven't been paying attention to how I bite down on something, well, believe me, it gets your attention. It's like a lightening bolt of pain near your ears.

I just rub it, and apply warm compresses whenever this happens.

You can also get one of those night guards that you place into your mouth (either by prescription), or get a cheap one that you place in hot water, place it in your mouth and you mold it to your teeth, and it hardens and you sleep with it at night.

If I could remember to do that, I'd do it, but I know me, if I don't use my sleep apnea machine, I'm not going to be putting any night-time mouth guards in.

So just use warm compresses, and don't open your mouth too wide.

Also, when you next see your dentist, tell him what happened. He'll advise you better than me.

Take care,
Melody

Sounds real nasty, i would push for more investigation like a MRI or CT scan of your Cervical spine and whatever else is appropriate to sort this out.
good luck, i hope it goes away too.

Brian :)

Yes I will push for a CT scan.
 

I am long overdue for another scan.i have big problems with my C-spine, I already know I do.

The TMJ started along time ago with teeth grinding,and clenching my jaw. But it was still in the begnine stage.

Then as I said I was driving to the doctor that morning in heavy traffic,and I got a jolt near my ear.I was afraid to turn my head. It then was giving me shooting pains down the bottom of teeth. My scalp was also hurting. Now it's in both ears, and the entie joint area is affected,and my jaw hurts to open.
I have been sleeping with a hot water bottel on my jaw.

I knew it could only be a few things. Trigminal neuralgia,TMJ, or temporal arteritis. All 3 have some similar traits. But he did not even consider temporal arteritis. He said no to TN, since it's on both sides of jaw,very close to ears,and in scalp muscles,and also very sore jaw joints he said it has to be TMJ. Since I knew I had bruxism, I accepted the diagnoisis,but never thought bruxism could lead to such horror pains. My face really hurts and now I have to find activities that do not rquire the use of my mouth or jaw such as talking & eating,and the like until this settles down one day.

I understand that it's a very misunderstood condition too,as i read the TMJ forum, people are on that forum saying that it has ruined there lives and it's the most painful condition. When you get the shooting pain it feels like someone is trying to rip your jaw joint out so I totally understand. I apparently have at least a moderate case so far as I have pretty severe acute pain,and shooting pains. Who knows for sure but,it may even be TN to some extent. How perfect things can be.:mad:

Hey
 

My son uses one of those night guards,but i would check with a dentist.
Mel is right don't open mouth wide... Sue

Aussie, ? for you
 

Are you swollen on both sides? And if you are, where is it swollen.

Billye

Hi Aussie99,

I have had TMJ for several years now. My latest dentist - a couple of years ago made me a prosthetic occlusal splint to wear while asleep, made of a firm silicone substance. It was quite expensive but I got a lot back from Medibank Private Extras.

The splint made an incredible difference to the TMJ pain and even the clicking jaws. In fact the pain completely stopped after using the splint. It was only about three months ago that I got slack in using the splint and only yesterday I thought I must rehydrate the splint and start wearing it again as I'm feeling more discomfort each morning when I wake. So your post is a timely reminder!

However if you can get a prosthesis tailor made for you (is the best) I'm sure you will notice a huge improvement. :) At least that is probably better than TN for which there may be no effective treatment! :(

Just like there is no one on earth who could not understand neuropathy, unless they experience it for themselves, believe me, when TMJ hits you, there is no way to explain it.

It's like someone punches you in the side of your head by your ear. Your head hurts, your ear hurts, your jaw aches. Sure, it subsides, but when it hits you, boy it hits you.

Been there, done that. Don't want to do that any more.

The trouble is, you never know when it's going to hit you.

I watched a Discovery Channel show one day (years and years ago), like 15 years, so hopefully they have invented new techniques to battle this condition.

Well, this poor girl (she was 30 or so), she had this TMJ problem. They operated on her and it made her worse. It made it SO MUCH WORSE, that she couldn't even get out of bed or comb her hair. It practically destroyed her marriage. She was on so many pain killers, and I remember the narrator explaining that "there is nothing they can do for this woman, this condition is permanent". And the poor girl was trying to comb her hair and even the putting the comb through her hair was setting off the TMJ. I never forgot that program. I remember saying "Oh my god, this didn't have to happen, someone screwed up". It was so long ago.

I hope, that as technology and lasers, etc. that SOMEBODY did something for that person. She was in her bathrobe 24 hours a day.

Look into a night guard if you still have the bruxism.

Melody

I tried to post a couple links but my address bar has temporarily dissapeared.
 

It looks like the trigemenal nerve runs over the jaw joint. They actually sounds too silmilar to be totally different. I mean TN does not necessarily involve the jaw joint,but the jaw joint seems to be innervated by the Trigemenal nerve. At least that's what the 10 different photos look like. Most people with TN seem to also have pain that shoots in the cheek that stems from the ear and the pian can run th lenghth of the nerve, and so does TMJ.

I am not noticeably swollen per say,but my face does look a bit different,and I am sore all over even under my chin right now.

Thanks for the support guys.

That sounds exquisitely unpleasant, Aussie, and am sending you my very best wishes for a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself.

You know
 

Sj Sysdrom can aso hurt through that area mine hurts even behind
the ear,is it swollen ,mouth dry ect...Hate to add another thingy,eat
a lemon drop candy are drink a wee bit of lemon jucie....It may
help old just try it,if it doesn't cost a hundred dollars a drop over
there,but shoot your worth it...Hope it just goes away,like that
black spot ha. Feel better Sue

just a caution...
 

A dying back molar (a too deep filling) caused me horrible havoc many years ago.

It was similar to TN pain. It fooled an oral surgeon, and my dentist. And finally I had an episode of "lock jaw" where the muscles seized up. The dentist sent me to a TMJ specialist, and he said nope.

So I had a root canal in that tooth and a crown finally. It was several years
of misdiagnosis, and agony...all for a tooth. So make sure you don't have
some hidden slow dying tooth nerve!

My doctor told me to use sour candies too. As my saliva is drying up as well.
It was worse at work, I am not having the "mumps" cheeks at home as much.
She said if the glands under your ears get hard/sore you need to suck on
some sour things to stimulate saliva. Otherwise risk a stone in there, which is
much worse to deal with! So I agree with Sue.... I do Jolly Ranchers, because they don't cut up my mouth like other candies do. Some of my medications,
dry me out (antihistamines and Levsin).

Thanks for the tip.
 

I know I have to go to the dentist to get my mouth checked. I have just been afraid of the cost. Dentistry in Australia costs an absolute fortune. My husband is having 2 root canals done now,and each root canal is 4 appointments and we have spent a few thousand already on his mouth in the last month.

If you need oral surgery over here hope you won the lotto. I have called a dentist who said they can make a splint,and I am now really worried about the costs as they were very eager to get me in. Rats!

Oh well I guess i'll just have to suck it up.

Aussie:

What the heck do people do in Australia if they have teeth problems, TMJ, etc. etc. Makes me thankful I live in NYC. We may have a lot of crime, etc, but we have dentists galore...........lol

Melody

They say that Australians
 

have the dental hygene of a thrid world nation. They also say that the average family cannot afford the costs involved with having a basic check-up,let alone root canals or other procedures.

Most people I know have bad teeth and suffer because the dentist is too expensive.

Well
 

Ther are many family's going without,in that department in the good
old USA and i'm not fooling around..So many forget that we have very
long lines at the Heath Department..Also payment plans can make so many
have to decide to eat or have a toothacke...No one should have to hurt
but they do. So it's not always so easy here as well,there i'm done. My sore
fingers are having a hard time with this fancy computer,i miss my old one.
But there I go complaing,well we have sugar free Jolly Candies,but they cost
more because there sugar free,and have a little something in them ,that can
make us sicker,there i'm done ,well like lead in my Grandchild's toys..Feel
better,I know it's hard,but go to that Dentist anyway,if you do,I Sue will
finally go toooo!!! Hugs to all Sue or try the candy,it's old fashsion Med.
but it could milk a gland,and honest you do not want a stone. Just give it a try. Bye now.

Sorry to hear of this, Aussie. Sure seems like everyone is having an abundance of problems over and above the PN right now. Sounds like this is very painful.

My ear doc thinks I have TMJ, despite the fact I tried to tell him my EAR was hurting, when I saw him... My dentist says "NOT" and suggested doing a panoramic X-Ray, whatever that is... Whatever it is is probably expensive... He is lovely, but has an airplane to keep up... :) :) :)

Why is dentistry so expensive in Australia? It is not exactly cheap here though either, I guess... I think that mouth device is about $700 US.

Cathie

Just wanted to add--
 

--my sympathies.

I did notice that there are a number of people and articles that talk about the confusion of sources regarding jaw pain--TMJ, infection, atypical trigeminal neuralgia--it seems, unfortunately, another nerve situation for which one may have to go through a very long, costly, process-of-elimination diagnostic process, which may or may not be successful at identifying the culprit.

Hope you can find something that will at least reduce the pain.

Thank you guys
 

It does seem like everyone is getting a handfull. I was really worried I might of had temporal arteritis to be honest. That could be very nasty,and life threatening. But I thought i'd stop looking for zebras,and consider other likelier things such as the TN and TMJ.

I have this condition now, it's in my head and my face all the time since the 23rd of last month when it came on. It's lurking getting ready to strike. I know have to manage it. I did call dentist,and before I go it and offer myself up carte blanche, I requested to know how much things are going to cost. I have 2 dentists that can do the same work,and i like them both and I will go with the one who offers a small discount.

You see one of my other problems is that we (my family), we get overcharged because people know us in the community and think we have money. So I am constantly being taken advantage by merchants. The last dentist who saw my son as aked if I was intrested in a small tube of toothpaste that can be rubbed over teeth to strenghthen enamel. I said sure. When they swiped my card it was almost $30.00...I got so angry.

Moreover I am angry at myself for being an idiot,and letting some of these people rip me off! That is why before I have the work done, I will now require confirmation of cost.;)