I am posting this on behalf of a family member who has had tm for the past 6+ years. Initially alternative therapies such as regular touch chiropratic treatments assisted in dealing with the pain. Homeopathy also worked for a while. Acupuncture and keinesiology also helped at times. Over the last year it has been necessary to start using lyrica and now tegretol. The side effects of the tegretol are becoming too severe and the dose is high so we are looking at alternative therapies to try to reduce the dosage. Has anyone tried supplementing with glyconutrients in effort to decrease the medication dosage that is needed.
I have also read that some people have tried neurofeedback therapy to assist in dealing with pain. Has anyone had experience with this therapy.
Thank you

I too had problems with Tegretol, I broke out like I had measles and it stayed for a week. I have to take neurontin (Gabaptentin).
I have been dealing with this for about 8yrs. Right now I am taking 1200mg.
three times daily and a host of different meds that add up to be 20 pills a day. I travel to Kansas city each month to see Dr. Lemons who has taught me to be so relaxed listening to his tapes. It can some what feel like self hypnosis. It works, the tapes are excellent to listen to.
Bless, Doodle bug7

Well,,,this is a tough one..it's hard enough to treat this disorder with what we have when you get into alternative treatments it's completely anecdotal...Have you read "striking back"?? although it covers most of the usual stuff it does cover some alternative methods.

Also, there is a SGL in Florida somewhere who wrote a book that covered more alternative methods than most, his name is Rorhn Harmer I think his email is bubbaman@aol.com,,,you can see if he has any copies of his book left..it's an option.

Let's see,,there are some people that use a very specific form of cervical chiropractic that some people swear by...there is some info that you can probably find on the internet about that...or in striking back.

I think that supplements are hugely important,,does the patient take a good quality B complex vitamin?? Selenium and magnesium are important as well,,as is vitamin D and calcium (along with the magnesium).
Water is crucial.. but again it has to be (especially if you are trying to stay holistic) good water. It needs to be ionized or a natural spring water and even then you should be checking the PH and adjusting it accordingly to be as close to 7.0 as possible. Here's an easy way to do it,,take a pitcher of tap water once you are sure it's not the water sitting in the pipes,,let it run for a few minutes..put it in a glass pitcher and leave it over night. Get an inexpensive water testing kit,,like for a fish tank and test the water,,adjust it by using baking soda or organic vinegar to get as balanced as possible..water is huge...I had a friend get rid of her GERD (stomach problem) by using this...

As for neurofeedback...not sure. I did Biofeed back years ago and found it viable. For me helping to control my breathing and heart rate helps when the pain is severe. I have also found that meditation is crucial in my managing my TN. Relaxation and stress relief which meditation can provide are essential to helping control pain, especially over long periods of time.

However if the pain is becoming uncontrollable have you taken the patient to Pain Management?? I advise people to seek out a major medical center that has pain mgmt MD's that are qualified to administer a variety of medications and procedures. If there is a problem with Tegretol there are still any number o medications that might work and not cause severe side effects. A qualified pain MD (because a Neuro can not RX these drugs nor do they completely understand the doseages TN patients require) can RX methadone,,which sounds terrible. However for nerve pain it is the most effective and cleanest medication you can take....again something that you don't learn except in Pain Mgmt.

Besides that, I'll have to do a bit more research. You said that it's been a problem for 6+ yrs how did it start?? Have their been any procedures?? I ask because I like some other people have an experimental unit called a PNS ( you can read more on the thread that says PNS) however they will rarely do it unless you have had TN for some time and have been through all the meds and tried at least some of the procedures..

Good Luck,,remember there is no magic pill,,there is not one thing that works with tthis,,it becomes a series of tools that you use to control it..come back and let us know how things work out...Beth