Has anybody tried acupuncture?
 

Mainly for atypical face/teeth/gum pain. I have no trigger points. Sorry for all the threads. I'm just in a bad place right now and trying to find answers. Peace to all.

Experience with acupuncture
 

After successful MVD in 2009 to clear original Type 2 TN pain the MVD created deafferentiation pain (aka, Anesthesia Dolorosa) in a totally new spot. My new pain is constant aching, burning of my left cheekbone, left corner of mouth, all left side upper and lower teeth and left side of tongue. I started Fentanyl patches and hydrocodone for this new pain in summer 2010. These opiates often prevent increase in this deafferentiation pain but don't reduce the constant pain. To the point, I tried acupuncture by two different practitioners and stopped because the acupuncture always boosts me into higher pain levels within an hour after the treatment with the needles. And, the deafferentiation pain was not reduced during the treatment even though I could tell the pain was beginning to modulate within minutes of needle insertion.
On the other hand, I tried accupuncture again because it was successful in reducing my TN Type 2 pain before the MVD surgery. It always comes down to the condition of the individual's nerves. Wish I had better news. Maybe, acupuncture will work for you. Out here in CA there are many acupuncturists advertising treatment for TN with both classic and electro-acupuncture and the cost is usually under $100 for a treatment to find out without a doctor referral. I found many on the internet using "trigeminal neuralgia + acupuncture". Hope it works for you if you decide to try it!

accupuncture
 

Hello, I have TN since 2001. I was taking tegretol and neurontin up to 2005. I have tried accupuncture with 3 different accupuncturist but none improved my condition. some time in 2005, I saw my neighbor, who was inflicted with some nerve problem and couldn't walk, back to his kickboxing exercise. He told me he went to an accupuncturist who happens to be just 2 blocks from our place. So i decided to give it another try. After only two sessions the electric shocks were gone and after about 5 more sessions the excruciating pain improved to just irritating at worse. And then the pain was gone. But when the weather changed the mild pain came back. I tried more accupuncture sessions with her again, but there was no improvement anymore.
As of now i am totally painfree about 9 months each year. I still have pain for like 6 weeks everytime the weather changes from hot to cold and cold to hot.
I have a lady friend who has TN and tried Gamma. It worked for about 7 months but went back with worse pain than before. I told her to try my accupuncturist, she did but didn't work for her.
I guess I am lucky it worked for me, safe to say 80%. I am contented with my condition right now considering I am not taking any medication. God bless

I am setting up an appointment because of your post, thank you.