I'm wondering....I have been diagnosed with the "atypical" kind of facial pain, and have been put on a muscle relaxer and a drug called trileptal (which is kin to tegretol.) My pain seems to be better. Do people just stay on a drug that helps from now on--or at some point, is the drug usually stopped to see if the pain is still there -- or what? What has been your experiences? Thanks!

Most usually you just stay on the medication . which may mean you may have to switch meds if one stops helping. That can happen after a long time of being on same med So one may need switch to something different that will help as well.
I am glad to hear your pain is doing better May the pain keep heading towards the "back seat" and hope you keep feeling better too .
PEACE
BMW

BMW is right that most people stay on their meds. I have heard from a few people that seem to have intermittent pain that stay on their meds for a while and if they stay pain free, their Dr may let them decrease their dose and even stop their meds and see how they do. I have also read of a few patients that are rarely bothered by pain and they are able to use their meds only when they have bouts of pain. For most though, with atypical, they seem to stay on meds and may need to change or add drugs according to how they are doing and the side effects they may be having from the drugs.

hope your day is relatively pain free and I am glad the drugs are helping control your pain.

easygoing

Thanks, Easygoing! I appreciate your response. I hope your days are going to be pain free, too!

Some of the medication that I take now, I have taken for 20 yrs. As different situations occur, my medicine dosages have been adjusted and re adjusted to try to keep up with the severity of the pain.Just a week ago I was started on a new pain med, Tramadol. I have had more than one pain management Doctor and five or six Neurologists. At different times I was put on Oxycontin, methadone, morphine suckers, (yes, that one is strange) morphine pumps, a patch to wear right on my cheek, two balloon compression procedures, on and on. I am not on any narcotics now and it was not easy getting off of them.
It's been a long journey. Some of the pain meds that you will use can be so different from someone else. I'm sorry that you have to go through any of this. Bless, Doodle bug.

I realize that this thread is over a month old, but I'm going to answer anyway.

I've had Trigeminal Neuralgia for 12 years now. Initially I was on my meds for 1 year and slowly weened off. I was good for a couple years, then it came back. I was on my meds for about another 6 months and weened off again. Then again and again.

This is a pattern that has been going on for the past 12 years. I just recently had a relapse and saw my family practice doctor, and it sounds like this time I might be put on a maintenance dose for the rest of my life. I guess we'll see what happens.