Trigeminal Neuralgia

I live with trigeminal neuralgia which causes pain in my face and head. This is an extremely painful and debilitating condition.

There are several posts on my blog about the condition, including one about emergency treatments when pain is out of control.

What is Trigeminal Neuralgia?

The trigeminal nerve is one of twelve pairs of cranial nerves. We have one on both sides of the face. Each nerve enters the face just above the ear and splits into three branches.

• The top branch (V1 – the ophthalmic nerve) covers the eye, forehead area and goes from the bridge to the tip of the nose.
• The middle branch ( V2 – the maxillary nerve) covers the upper jaw, cheek, side of nose, top lip, palate, part of tongue, top teeth and gums.
• The bottom branch (V3 – the mandibular nerve) covers the chin and lower jaw area as well as part of the ear, the bottom lip, bottom teeth, gums and part of the tongue.

Sometimes, the trigeminal nerve sends pain signals to the brain. There may be a reason for the pain signals such as pressure on the nerve from a blood vessel, a tumour or trauma to the face or head. However, very often, the reason is unknown.

What Does Trigeminal Neuralgia Feel Like?

The condition normally affects just one side of the face but can happen on both. Either one, two or all three branches can be affected.

Typical (Type 1) trigeminal neuralgia can feel like an electric shock or a bolt of lightning. This type of pain can come and go. Some sufferers can have remission periods which can last for weeks, months or even years in a few cases.

Atypical (Type 2) trigeminal neuralgia can be constant. The pain can ache, burn, throb and stab. There is normally no remission period with this type of pain.

Many people have both types.

Trigeminal Neuralgia is Invisible – This is How it would Look if it Was Visible

Helpful Posts About Trigeminal Neuralgia on my Blog

• Emergency treatments – If your TN is out of control, A&E or ER can give meds by IV. This post contains details.
• Trigeminal Neuralgia Facts – A post containing some basic, but important facts about TN.
• Medication for Trigeminal Neuralgia – This post gives information about medication which can help.
• Trigeminal Neuralgia Triggers – In this post, I have listed several triggers which could worsen pain.
• Migraine and Trigeminal Neuralgia – I wondered if there was a link between migraines and TN. This post gives the answer.
• Chronic Migraine and Facial Pain – This is my story. I lived with chronic migraines, so my doctors presumed that my facial pain was caused by them. It was actually trigeminal neuralgia.
• Trigeminal Neuralgia – Invisible But So Painful – In this post, I share a video to try to show what my pain feels like.
  
  Helpful Suggestions
• How to Look After Painful Teeth – This posts has some ideas which might help pain in the teeth from TN. There are tips for cleaning teeth and visiting the dentist.
• Pain Diary – Using a pain diary can help you find triggers.
• Help doctors help you – This post has some tips which might help your doctor understand and help more. It includes diagrams to explain your pain.
• Medication help – Helpful suggestions about taking meds.
• Coping with medication side effects – Suggestion to help those side effects from meds.
• Tips for coping with dry mouth – Dry mouth can be a common side effect of medication.
• Eating and cooking tips – Eating can be difficult with TN. This post has some tips which might help.
• How to protect your face from cold weather – Cold weather is often one of the worst triggers for trigeminal neuralgia sufferers.

Awareness Posts

• Why Trigeminal Neuralgia Needs Awareness
• How to Explain the Pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Trigeminal Neuralgia Affects Young People Too
• It’s a Pain in the Face
• It’s a Living Nightmare
• TN – an Invisible Illness
• Working Together for Better TN Awareness
• Trigeminal Neuralgia – You’re Cruel and Evil – Get Out of My Face
• Trigeminal Neuralgia – Invisible But So Painful

Useful Links

• Facial Pain Association
• Young Patient’s Committee (A branch of the FPA specifically for TN sufferers under the age of 40)
• TNA UK
• End Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness and Information
• End TN Support Group

Pinterest Board

I have a board on Pinterest just for posts related to TN. Please click on the following link to visit it.