Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal Neuralgia General Information

The trigeminal nerve assures the sensations on your face; when a blood vessel presses it, it causes neuralgia of the respective nerve. Trigeminal Neuralgia is believed to be the most intense type of pain known to humanity. Because this type of medical disorder is usually mistaken with other similar diseases, you should contact your health care provider in the moment you start experiencing pain in the areas of the face. All people should be aware of this disease because it is very difficult and annoying and may come and go consistently, disappearing for days, weeks or even moths. Knowing the main aspects of every medical condition may help the patients learn to deal with their health problem, no matter what that is.

Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN), also known as prosopalgia or tic douloureux, represents a neuropathic medical condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, causing severe pain in the jaw, scalp, forehead, eyes, nose and lips. You will usually feel a shock all over your face, tingling, extreme numbness and burning sensations; a simple vibration, even talking can set these manifestations off. This disease affects the people who are more than 55 years old, although the young adults are not totally excluded. Trigeminal Neuralgia is not very common because only one in 20.000 persons suffer from this condition. This type of disorder can be caused by multiple sclerosis or tumors and affects more women than men. Thanks to the new methods of treatment, patients are not doomed anymore to a life of severe pain.

Trigeminal Neuralgia Symptoms

Knowing the specific signs and symptoms of this type of medical disorder may help you and your doctor discover it in time, before it progresses to a more severe stage. Most patients experience the same signs and symptoms, but since our organism reacts in a different way to various threats, some of the people suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia may accuse unique and particular manifestations. This is why the list that we offer you may not be complete. For further information we advise you to contact your health care provider or any trained specialist.

The pain is usually felt in areas supplied by the branches of the trigeminal nerve, such as the jaw, teeth, cheek, lips, teeth, gums, forehead or eyes. You may complain of one or more of the following symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia: attacks of intense, jabbing or shooting pain that may be felt like electric shocks; episodes that become more frequent and more severe over time; occasional twinges of mild pain; pain felt in one part of your face at a specific time; pain spread in a wider pattern or focused in one site etc. The attacks of pain can be spontaneous, triggered by simply touching the face, speaking, brushing the teeth, chewing, or shaving. Some bouts of pain may last from a few seconds to several minutes, while others last for days, weeks or even months. Trigeminal Neuralgia it affects the patient’s quality of life because it can be triggered by common activities in every person’s life.

Trigeminal Neuralgia Treatment

Every medical condition can be harder to treat if it is not discovered in time, before it reaches to serious stages. If you experience prolonged or recurring facial pain that can not be relieved by over-the-counter medicines, then we strongly advise you to seek medical care. You can contact you health care provider or a trained specialist in this domain, called a neurologist. During the medical examination you will be asked about the signs and symptoms that you have experienced lately and about your family and personal medical history. Describe the pain exactly as you feel it: how intense it is, what seems to cause it, what part of your face is affected or how long the pain attacks last. A neurological exam is absolutely necessary for your doctor to determine where the pain is appearing and if it is caused by Trigeminal Neuralgia and more exactly, by which branch of the nerve. Sometimes, facial pain may have other various causes, so an accurate diagnosis is highly important for the patient’s future health. Other additional tests must be done to rule out other possible medical disorders, similar to Trigeminal Neuralgia. If multiple sclerosis is the cause of this medical condition, you will need to have a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of the head.

After the diagnosis is set, the health care provider can apply the appropriate treatment option for the patient’s health status. Usually, therapy with medications is the first choice when treating Trigeminal Neuralgia. Many people who receive this treatment are successfully treated and do not need surgical approach. In some cases, with time, patients stop responding to these medications or start complaining of unpleasant adverse effects. For these people doctors choose injections or surgery. Medications are very effective because they block or lessen the pain signals that are sent to your brain. The most commonly used drugs are the antispasticity agents and the anticonvulsants. Antispasticity agents, such as Baclofen are used to relax the muscles and can be administrated alone or in combination with anticonvulsants (especially Phenytoin or Carbamazepine); they can sometimes cause side effects: drowsiness, nausea, dizziness and confusion.

The most common anticonvulsant medicines to treat Trigeminal Neuralgia are: Carbamazepine (prescribed as Carbatrol or Tegretol), Oxacarbazepine (prescribed as Trileptal) and Phenytoin (prescribed as Phenytek or Dilantin). Other anticonvulsant drugs include: Neurontin (Gabapentin) and Lamictal (Lamotrigine). Ask your doctor to increase your dosage or the type of anticonvulsants if the ones used before begin to lose effectiveness. The side effects of this type of medications are similar to those provoked by antispasticity agents: double or blurred vision, confusion, nausea and vomiting etc. Anticonvulsants have proved to be risky because can cause suicidal behavior and thoughts so that the patient must be closely and carefully monitored. Alcohol injection is another method to treat Trigeminal Neuralgia that provides temporary relief of the pain by numbing the areas of your face that are affected. If the nerve is seriously damaged, surgical options are the main option: MVD, electric current, radiation and severing the nerve.