Hi Ella,

I was just reading through your post and thought maybe you could help me figure out what's going on. First of all, I'm so happy that you have made it 5 years doing as well as you have. I had my mvd June 16, 2009 and also gamma knife done May 2009. I did really well the first year. I wasn't able to go completely off the tegretol. I take 600mg a day now since my surgery. I also notice I will start having some shocks around the week before my period. Last month and this month it's been a little more consistent. This is day 9 of experiencing the shocks. Sometimes 4-5 a day, and the last few days only about 1 a day. I went up to 700mg when this started happening. Usually they're mild shocks, but occasionally a sharper one. I'm starting to wonder if the tn is going to come back full force. I'm afraid to eat and to brush my teeth again. I'm just wondering if you could share any thoughts as to what you think may be going on with me. My original problem was veins that were growing and compressing my nerve. I'm worried that maybe they're growing back already. My neurologist, (not my neurosurgeon) doesn't really have any idea what the problem could be. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Laureen