I'm a long-termer tn patient too. But there doesn't seem to have been any one particular cause, which leaves me in the category of having a sagging brain or sagging veins (why not, at my age everything is sagging -sob). I read this fascinating little tid bit the other day saying that the veins on the back of your hands are indicative. Now how about that? Well, yes, the veins are prominent and squiggly and have been since I was really young so maybe there's something to the theory. Unless I let things get out of hand, the Trileptal does a fairly good job of controlling my pain.

I've been really interested in how different pains affect us. I had a sudden onset of polymyalgia rheumatica, which I suffered with for 11 months before finally being put on prednisone. The comparison with the tn, how they both affected life and the enjoyment of life, and how I reacted to the pain has been a learning experience. It makes the pain scales, the whole 1-10 stuff, seem pointless in a way. The language of pain leaves a lot to be desired.

Nancy - a sunflower in the fog today.