Hello everyone, I've spent some time reading threads here. So sad to see so many going through this. I'm still holding out hope I have something else going on...I have not seen a Dr. about this but plan to soon.

I have however spent a fortune at the dentist, root canals, filings etc. No relief. I would say symptoms began about a year and a half ago, I am 26. It started in a phase for about a 2 week period and disappeared for months with maybe a very occasional attack, nothing life disrupting. After my most recent root canal I was pain free for a few months and thought maybe it was solved.. well in the last few days its back! I'm getting 10 to 20 of these electric shock episodes per day. Sometimes they last seconds other times they leave burning that last hours at times. No determinable trigger, I'm doing absolutely nothing most of the time it begins. The pain is always in the jaw/gums...but both sides.

I'm terrified it is TN, and have delayed a real medical opinion in hopes of finding a dental cause...I'm also afraid of sounding like some hypochondriac stooge who diagnosed themselves from the internet and looking like a drug seeker. Will a doctor who's never seen me before take me seriously? This is the worst pain I've ever felt and I feel so defeated after this latest bout...can't work, can't go out, can barely function. I feel very desperate yet still don't have the strength to know for sure or be blown off like by my dentist. Every moment without the pain is blissful relief!

Well, hope for some courage for me and I admire all your strength. Any advice pis very welcome.

Hugs to all,
Melissa

Hi Melissa! I can understand your fear, but really a diagnosis is helpful because then you know what you are dealing with and can get treatment.

Your dentist obviously doesn't understand whatever you have and that is probably why he blows you off. (He's also probably done work you didn't need and doesn't want to face that.) It's a shame more dentists are not educated about TN so that they know when to refer someone and where.

Any good doctor will take you seriously. If you go to one who does not, keep looking. The Internet is helpful for educating ourselves, and no one should make you feel bad for seeking information online, but you need a doctor (Internist or Neurologist) to make a diagnosis.

As for looking like a drug seeker, the drugs used for treatment (and diagnosis) of TN are anti-seizure medications. Those are not drugs that people use for fun or to satisfy an addiction. Yes, narcotics can be used for breakthrough pain if the anti-seizure meds aren't enough, but they are not the primary treatment for TN.

You are suffering and you need to get help! In fact, the sooner the better. My doctor always said we needed to stay ahead of the pain. Once the pain takes hold it is harder to get under control and takes a higher dose of medication.

The pain of TN (and probably other similar things) can escalate FAST. In the few days between my Internist telling me what he thought I had and my having an MRI to rule out other causes of my problem, my pain went from a few bad jabs a day to constant pain so severe that all I could do was to lie in bed and breathe deeply. I had to go to the emergency room to even get to sleep.

Take this seriously and get help now. It's better to know what's going on and get some treatment than to wonder and suffer! Let us know how it goes.

Melissa, Jean has given you great advice. I hope you'll schedule an appointment ASAP with a neurologist. I was undiagnosed for years and I've undergone a lot of dental work and wasted a lot of money in the process, when I'm now sure that most of it was due to this condition as opposed to real dental problems. Take care and post when you find out for sure what is going on.