July 22, 2012
7 year anniversary of my MVD

This year has been very typical for me. Very few shocks. Still had my usual small flair in April, but nothing that required meds.

This is the first year I am in peri-menopause and guess what girls, without that monthly rise and drop in hormones, the difference is extremely noticeable. Far fewer problems. Now all I have to be concerned with is the weather and atmospheric pressure.

For all of you that are going through MVD this year. Good luck. I know what a hard decision it is to make, but once you make it you are on to a new beginning to an old life.

I still know that I have TN. I always will. The memories and thoughts are never going to go away. You can't suffer so intensely and so long and just wake up and forget it existed.

Whether it be surgery, medication or another procedure, I only wish that everyone could be lucky enough to find the right solution to live pain free. It's a luxury most people never think about.

July 22, 2013
8 year anniversary of my MVD

I want to keep updating yearly, so you know the long term effects of MVD. I can tell you that as of my 8th year MVD anniversary, everything is still good.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it manageable. 100%!!

As usual, I seem to have my flare ups in the transitional months between Winter and Spring. This year it was late April. I took 1 Tegretol to get me over that day of shocks and it was gone the next day. I wish I had answers as to why this happens, but I don't.

So instead of fighting it, I make sure I still have some Tegretol around and I cope with that day or two.

Other than a couple of bad days, my year is wonderful! No meds, no pain, no TN.

The smaller twinges have tapered off completely since I get closer and closer to menopause. It's because my hormones are not fluctuating pre and post menstrual cycles. You men have it good!!

So I go about my life, still never forgetting that I have TN.

This year I had to have a fair size cavity filled exactly where my shocks used to be, in my upper left back molar. To say I was petrified would be mild. It went off without a hitch. No problems during the procedure or after the freezing wore off. That was a big thing for me.

So for all you people thinking about MVD. Remember, the unfortunate people who post about failed MVD's are not the norm. The success rate is in the high 90%'s. It's just that those people move on with their lives and you don't hear from them on these forums.

This is why I come back every year, to tell you there is hope for a normal life.

If you have Typical or Classic TN and you put yourself in the hands of an experienced neuro surgeon with a proven MVD success rate, you will have your life back. For ATN, the success rate is a bit lower and more individual.

I wish everyone a pain free year!! and I'm still around if you want to talk. ellacjn@hotmail.com

Thanks, Ella, for your diary and for continuing to post! I want to add to the encouragement. I had an MVD almost 4 years ago and have been pain and medication free since. I have had a couple of minor twinges in the general area of my TN that scared me, but were not strong and not even clearly in the same spot. And that area of my face is sensitive to breezes occasionally (I had two other procedures before the MVD). But that is all. It is encouraging to hear from Ella that even if I should get an occasional lightning bolt, that doesn't mean I will be right back where I was. In fact, before the MVD even when I had to go back on Tegritol, the pain was never as severe as in the begining (bad, but not quite as strong).

Thanks, Ella! And may you all find the help you need.

Hi all,
I was contacted twice this week about this diary and realized I have not updated anything recently and I missed my 2014 MVD anniversary! That's actually a good thing. It means I am able to forget about my TN a bit.

Just want to assure you, I am still around, still pain and med free, still hanging in. I spend more time on Facebook these days then any of the forums, but I am prepared to write anywhere that people read about TN. As a matter of fact I was interviewed for a story about TN that will be published next week. I will post the link to the story when it comes out.

Hang in there everyone. Wishing you all a pain free life!

I'm 33 years old and have been dealing with trigeminal neuralgia for 6 years. I've been diagnosed with a wide variety of maladies by an even wider variety of doctors in that time. Due to the debilitating pain episodes I've been forced to quit graduate school and haven't been able to keep a full time job for more than 6 months at a time. The specialists in North Carolina have finally agreed that my excruciating facial pain is trigeminal neuralgia. Unfortunately, the medications only lessen the pain in high doses that leave me fuzzy and lethargic. I have a consult with a neurosurgeon on Monday to discuss MVD surgery. At this point I'm willing to try anything but I admit that I'm terrified. It does not help that the internet is heavily skewed towards the negative. Your post surgery diary is the most encouraging thing I've read. It gives me hope that I can get my life back. Thank you.