4+ years Post MVD Surgery

Here I am four plus years later, (three years since I last blogged)

I still take gabapentin. I take one 300mg pill daily.

I still get attacks. Sometimes my husband has to take his FMLA leave at work to come home and be with me. Sometimes they are quick, minor, and passing. Sometimes it feels like mouth is burning for hours at a time, a slow burn.

Something new - the last four months or so I have been getting pain under my right eye. It happens like an electric shock and is fleeting. It's usually co-occurring with the burning pain in my jaw.

I have applied for Social Security disability. I tried to work last summer and I only lasted about 12 weeks. Even though I am no longer in pain every day almost the entire day (thanks to MVD surgery), I still had to miss days at work due to spontaneous attacks. It's frustrating because you never know what will trigger it. I feel my biggest trigger is stress.

I am going to have to schedule a doctor appointment with my neuro to discuss the frequency of the pain and the new pain going on in under my eye.

January 2011

It's been about seven months since my last post. A lot of new changes since . I haven't had any more visits to the hospital, but I have had one major episode that made me want to. In October, we anxiously awaited to find out if Baby #3 was on the way and on our son's 4th birthday, we got the big news. We are extremely excited for the arrival of our third child in June. This means I have cut back my medication. I actually went off of it completely in August because we anticipated a third pregnancy and I did pretty well, not having to take any TN meds. I did notice more burning sensations or the feeling of being socked in the jaw. In the end, I've been taking one dose of each med each morning. I've learned that going off of the meds entirely is just not an option - especially after the last major episode.

I hope these updates are helping those who are looking for Trigeminal Neuralgia information. I'll do my best to post them consistently.

June

I've been dealing with some depression the last couple months. All of my life I have gone through a cycle of ups and downs. Bipolar maybe? I have long thought that the women in my family suffer from bipolar disorder, but none of us have had the courage to seek a diagnosis. I am prone to major episodes of depression and it is the darndest to try and recover from those. However, I think I have found a godsend.

As you've read, I have had some minor pain episodes. When those happen I just pop an Oxcarb (aka Trileptal) and a Gabapentin (aka Neurontin). Sometimes I have to do this a couple times a day for a few days, just to keep the pain in line. I started noticing, whenever I take my doses, I feel better emotionally. The depression symptoms subside and I no longer feel a big gaping hole in my heart. I decided to test this out. The last two months I have been battling the depression and the manic episodes. (I am pretty sure they're manic but god forbid, I am not an expert, lest someone call me out on it). Anyway, when I feel a mood coming on, I pop a pair of pills. Within an hour or two I feel much better. I feel normal and I feel like I can enjoy life.

I was baffled by this and started researching the medications side effects. I came across some very interesting information.

"Anticonvulsants are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder as mood stabilizers. Although they were originally developed for the treatment of epilepsy, they have been shown to relieve the symptoms of mania and reduce mood swings."  - http://helpguide.org


There are alot more sites out there touting the same info. I am wondering if this mood stabilizing is further proof of bipolar disorder. I did take one of those screenings during a depressive episode and ended up with the result of "moderate to severe signs of bipolar disorder." It seems that all my life I have had these cycles and they just seem to be getting closer together and harder to deal. 


I am still thankful everyday that I do not have constant pain like I did last year. I can't believe it's already been 9 months (to the day!) since I've had my MVD surgery. I recovered well and I am handling the smaller attacks okay too. 


Will keep the blog updated as much as possible, at least once a month. 

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me at misobrien at yahoo dot com and I would be happy to offer any advice or support. 

May

It's back. Full force. I spent the last 10 hours in bed trying to get relief. It's less about burning and more about someone stabbing me in the face, jaw, and ear. Hopefully it will go away with the increased amount of Oxcarb. I always wait 3 days before going to the hospital. Here's hoping it will subside.

I am noticing a pattern. Every 3 months I get a severe attack. I should be researching this timeline. Maybe something in my life is triggering it, or maybe it just takes 3 months for the mylein sheath to break down.

Be back soon with an update. For now just increasing meds.

April 23rd

It's been a little over 3 weeks since I've been Oxcarbazepine. I have noticed a vast improvement in the amount of pain. The last time I had blood work done, doctors noticed elevated liver enzymes and attributed it to the Carbamazepine I had been taking. The Ox has had noticeably fewer side effects (actually, I can't seem to think of any I've experienced), and I've been able to control the neuralgia with a low dose. Currently, I take 400-600mg of Ox and 1200-1800mg of Gabapentin. The higher dose of Gabapentin makes me sleepy but a low dose makes me hyper. I haven't found the happy medium yet.

April 1st

Still having pain. Had about 3 days without really bad pain - just the kind that's easily ignorable.

Dr B. prescribed me oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) instead of carbamazepine (Tegretol). If you recall, the carb. was elevating my liver enzymes. The ox. definitely has less noticeable side effects and is good for the pain, but I am taking 200mg up to 4x a day right now and am still taking 300mg gabapentin (Neurontin) up to 4x a day too.

Right now I am having burning pain (about a 7 on a scale to 10) on both the upper and lower teeth and deep inside my ear. I have noticed a new shocking pain in my lower jaw, about where my cuspid is. It's triggered by chewing or yawning, any kind of action that makes me open my mouth too widely. Sometimes just turning my head in the opposite direction sparks it too.

I am going to take another pill and try to head to bed. Just wanted to give an update.

March

I am back on Neurontin. I am taking 600mg 3 or 4 times a day.

Last Sunday I went to the hospital for IV Dilaudid, Toradol, and Decadron to stop the pain. It had really started getting bad on Friday afternoon and remained constant beginning Saturday. Friday night I had ice packed my face for several hours and ended up with a sunburn look the next day on my right cheek. Finally on Sunday I couldn't take it anymore. I always give it about 3 days before I decide to head to the hossy.

I went to the hospital where they have my records easily accessible. When we got there, I asked a staff member for a makeshift ice pack for my face. He returned with a bag of crushed ice wrapped in a pillowcase. I handed him back the pillow case to which he said, "That's going to be really cold on your face," and I replied, "I know. I won't be able to feel the ice if it's wrapped up in fabric. I need to feel it to distract from the pain." I think he was a little shocked watching me in the lobby for 45 minutes with the ice pack. By the time I was called back to the room, the ice was  melted and I was really feeling the pain. Doctor came in, very knowledgeable for an ER doc, and let me know what he was going to put in the IV. TN is something a lot of doctors and dentists don't know much about but somehow I always get the doctors who are a little versed in what's going on. I even had an RN who told me about another RN in the hospital who has TN and just got out of the hospital because it took awhile to get her pain under control.

Then the phlebotomist popped over to slip in the IV. I have uncooperative veins so it always takes them awhile to find a way to get the needle in. I told him they always go for the left arm in the "elbow space" - I have no idea what that area is called but it's my best description. Instead he tried a vein halfway between my wrist and elbow space. Unfortunately it hurt really bad when he put the IV in. When he flushed the saline I about died from the burning. So he took it out and tried the elbow space on my right arm. The first poke he did apparently didn't work out, so he tried another spot right next to it. Finally the IV is in and I am ready to go. (The next day, I woke up with a bruise in the shape of a cross where he had his first attempt on my left arm.)

Nurse came back and gave me the goods. Almost instantly the pain drifted away. Even though my face was hurting and hindering my ability to eat much that weekend, I scarfed down a large amount of food before arriving at the hospital because Dilaudid is notorious for making me vomit if taken on too empty of a stomach. I had no stomach pain this time around so I am glad for having eaten first.

Hubs took me home and we relieved his parents of our little ones. I was feeling good and was grateful to be rid of the excruciating pain. The next morning, I awoke with pain again. Not as bad as the weekend pain but still quite annoying. The ER doctor told me to go back on my Neurontin for at least 3 days and to take the full dose (600mg) each time. Wednesday will be day 3 but the way this is going, I don't think I will be stopping the meds. I am still having some pain, more than tolerable but less than intolerable.The zombie feeling side effect is rearing it's ugly head and that makes me nervous. Sometimes I think I'd rather be in pain than deal with the medicinal side effects. I am no longer supposed to take Tegretol because blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes.

I need things to get back in line, whether or not I have to take some medicine for awhile for that to happen. We are going on a spring vacation soon and I do not want to be worried about being in pain.

More updates to come. I notice I blog more often when I am having pain from TN so these posts might start appearing more than once a month.

Be back soon I bet!

February

It's been going well since my last post, except for the last 4 days. I have been in pain. It hasn't been as bad as the Thanksgiving debacle but it's been pretty consistent. On top of that, today I am feeling extremely exhausted, very weak, and overall yucky. I have not been taking the Neurontin on a regime, only as needed. I had scheduled visits to both my neurologist (Dr. B) and neurosurgeon (Dr.C) this month, as well as repeat blood work to recheck my elevated liver enzymes. Dr B told me to stop taking the Tegretol for attacks and rely on just the Neurontin since the Tegretol was the suspected culprit. Dr C and I talked about other options for treating the TN if the attacks get much worse and the medication proves to be too hard on my system and too much for me to handle. We both agreed that I should save any procedures (Gamma Knife, etc) as a last resort. TN sufferers know that the more procedures you have the less effective they are and there are only so many that can be done. In my case, a repeat MVD will unlikely help since my problem was due to a large vein and the position of part of the vein in an inoperable area.

Anyway, I am just trying to get past this attack. It's not bad enough to take Dilaudid...yet. 

January

This month has been great as far as TN pain goes. I haven't had a tough time and just a few moments of pain (a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10).

I have been getting back into the swing of things this month. It feels good to be back to my old self. There were so many days I felt like a zombie last year, a horrible side effect of the medication I was taking.

It probably seemed I was bedridden most days and just incapacitated but that isn't how it went most of the time. Dan and I had a conversation about last year and my health problems. Granted, there were times I just couldn't take care of myself and the kids but the times I did - even if I didn't feel able to - greatly outweigh the former. Dan has been a great source of validation for this and in going through his paystubs for tax purposes, those check definitely reflected him being at work more than he was home. In fact AFTER my surgery, he was home more overall than he was the entire time I was dealing with this neuralgia and some of that can be contributed to him going back to school full time. I'm not being ungrateful to him as a supportive husband, in fact he is the one who told me I needed to give myself more credit for having accomplished all that I was able to. He reminds me that although he did come home early from work sometimes, or missed days, that there were more days that I toughed through it to put dinner on the table for the kids. It was nice to hear him recount those times since I've been getting the gist from people that Dan just did everything around the house and still continues to do so. I don't quite understand how some people have gotten the impression that I didn't contribute to the household or parenting the kids when I was "sick" because I sure remember doing it while feeling like hell. I hope that clears up any misconception that I did more than just lay in bed all day.

I have NOT been taking meds regularly and I've still been avoiding caffeine and other such triggers. I was getting ready to go to the dentist after Christmas but I chickened out. I am still terrified it will trigger an attack, especially after I now know the attacks are still a possibility. I will keep working on it. I would rather go during the neuralgia but I would rather never have neuralgia again!

I hope that those dealing with TN have found this blog useful. I promise to keep giving updates.

December

I have received some emails and comments from people who are benefiting from this blog. I am so glad for you all. I know it helps to read the experiences of others and I am really happy to be able to share mine with you.

I met with my neurosurgeon, Dr C, after my ER Visit. Sadly, he said my surgery is considered a failure. I did go 2 months pain free, which was the longest amount of time ever in the past year. After the ER visit, I continued to have pain for about 3 more days and then it tapered off. Since then, the TN has flared up a few times, most being about a 5 on a 10 scale. Dr C said I could go back on my meds at the dosage prior to the surgery but I opted not to. I suffered through the pain a bit, taking about 300mg of Neurontin and 200mg of Tegretol two times a day and then stepped it down when the pain was gone.

The past two weeks I have taken doses of both when I've had a bit of burning but I am not taking the meds on a regular schedule. Those medications, albeit they did their job with taking the edge off, made me a zombie. I was taking such high doses, along with the added Topamax, that I was in a fog everyday. The side effects were horrendous. Since I've been off these meds (I first stopped taking them about 2 months ago - and then added them back here and there) my family has noticed a huge change in my personality and behavior. My mom was in tears saying she finally had her daughter back. I do feel like I am back to my old self. It's liberating. I feel like I missed my son's entire first year of life. Even after having this surgery I still have occasional attacks of TN, I still consider the surgery a success. Without it, I don't believe I could have continued to function. My liver enzymes were elevated from the meds and again, the side effects were no longer tolerable. The pain of TN was like being in a torture chamber. The combination probably would have rendered me crazy. MVD was a success to me.

I am supposed to have a follow up appt tomorrow with Dr C but I think I am going to have to reschedule it because I have been dealing with bronchitis (as is my whole family). I will decide for sure tomorrow.

I will also try to keep updating this blog more regularly. I know it's much easier to blog about TN when it's bad and then forget to keep going when things are good. Most of us are looking for the good when we google search so I will do my best to keep you updated.

I hope those of you who are struggling with TN continue to find comfort in this blog. Please also consider visiting the site, Living With TN - the folks over there are a blessing. I joined as the 68th member and now there are over 200. It's sort of like a facebook for people with Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Thanks for reading,

Misty

ER Visit

My MVD surgery was Sept 17th. I was pain free until Thanksgiving. That morning, I woke up, ate a bowl of cereal (nothing crunchy, it was Lucky Charms - yep still love the kiddie stuff), and 10 minutes later I had the exploding pain in my lower jaw. It felt like my teeth were going to pop out of my gums. It lasted about 5 minutes. Throughout the day I started getting the burning, stinging feeling in my gums, cheek, jaw, teeth, and it felt like it was even in the muscles of my mouth. This went on for two days and then the third day, Saturday, the fireworks started. The pain was popping around all over the place and it was getting stronger. By Saturday night I couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't the worst pain I'd felt from TN but it was exactly like the pain I felt in Oct 2008 when this TN started. I broke down and called the on call doc from my surgeon's office. I told her how I had been weaned down to 200mg of Neurontin a day (for the last 3 weeks) and had stopped taking Tegretol and Topamax several weeks ago - but in the last 3 days I had upped my Neurontin and started taking the Tegretol again in hopes it might help the pain. She sent me to the emergency room.

I just got back from the ER - they gave me a round of IV Dilaudid and Toradol and then gave me the option of being admitted and staying overnight. In the end I decided to go home and he gave me a prescription for Toradol and Zofran (for nausea) and new directions for the Dilaudid I already have at home.

I hope this works and that it's the end of the pain. I am to call my surgeon or neuro on Monday.

I am really sad this is happening again. I don't understand how or why. I can't go through this again, especially since I just had the surgery. I hope to get more answers on Monday.

MVD Surgery Completed

So on Sept 17th I had a surgery called Microvascular Decompression (MVD). It was to relieve pressure on a nerve on my face that has been causing me extreme pain on and off for over a year.

Doctor Carlson, amazing surgeon, found a large vein wrapped around my trigeminal nerve. Usually they are able to cauterize veins but not this one. This one was so tightly wrapped it was touching the nerve in several places. If he cauterized there would have been too much blood loss and risk of stroke. Instead, he placed teflon padding between the nerve and the vein.

I spent 2 days in the ICU. I had the surgery on Thursday about noon and it took me until about Friday at 11pm to pull out of the anesthesia completely. Saturday they moved me up to the neuro floor and I stayed until Wednesday morning.

The side effects of the surgery have been headaches, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. I spent the first 2 days vomiting. Thank god I don't really remember it all. Whew. I did have super migraines for about a week. Now, about three weeks post surgery, the headaches are mild and here and there. I am pulling out of it. I am overdoing it a bit though. I forget that the neck muscle still needs to heal. Two days ago I felt like cleaning, and as I was sweeping my kitchen, I pinched a nerve in my neck. The next morning it was even worse. Today, though, it's been better. Still sore but better. I am just anxious to get back into the swing of things, I guess.

At my check up appointment last Friday, Dr Carlson told me I need to take things slowly and not rush my recovery. He explained it could take up to three months for me to feel "normal" again. However, our key focus is the trigeminal nerve pain. I have not had any pain! I DO have some mild burning pain still, but it is tolerable (a 2 on a scale of 10) and treatable with Neurontin - and it's only here and there. I am only concerned with the debilitating sharp stabbing ice pick pains I had almost every day for months. I have not had them since the surgery. I am so happy that when I think about being pain free, I cry. It's that freeing. I feel like I am getting my life back. Maybe that's why I am so anxious to get back to "normal" (Don't rush recovery!). Now my doctors have me stepping down my meds (Neurontin, Tegretol, and Topamax) so I can eventually quit taking them.

Thank you to everyone who has given support to our family during these times. We are so thankful. Truly thankful.

Here are 2 pics of my wound, 3 weeks post op (healing!)

MVD

Coming down to the wire. My MVD surgery is on Thursday...

Googling TN

Check out this video and then rate it and pass it on to help others who are searching for TN information find out about LivingWithTN.org.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJMQ4zlsrk&feature=player_embedded

MVD?

I went to see Dr B today. He is an empathetic man. He seems to know the trials and tribulations. We talked about my options since the Tegretol and Neurontin are no longer working. He actually said he didn't feel the Gamma Knife procedure to be the best move. He thinks the potential side effects and cons way outweighed the pros. We discussed medication. As of now, I am on the best medication to treat trigeminal neuralgia, however there are other meds that can be thrown in the ring on top of the two I am taking. There is also MVD. I am scared to death of invasive surgery. But as Dr B points out, I do want to have a life and TN is taking away my ability to function. I personally don't really want to play around with meds right now to try and find the best mix. My husband is missing work for me, other people are taking care of my kids, and I had to miss part of DH's cousin's wedding. I wouldn't be able to hold a job with this. Someday I do want another child and I don't want to be on several medications.

So here's the plan. I am going to have a consultation with a neurosurgeon, Dr C. We are going to discuss the benefits of microvascular decompression. I am not even sure what it's entirely all about so I am going to research a bit and go in with a positive attitude. In the meantime, Dr B has me on an added medication, Topamax. He hopes this will help with at least some of the attacks.

Side Effects or Pain?

I am sitting here trying to think of what to say. Where do I start now? I am completely screwed up. I seriously cannot function on these meds, AND they are only helping the pain for a little while. If I take a normal dose, the burning is still there and I get a few 4.0 shocks. If I take a double dose, the burning subsides for a bit, as well as the jabs, but I either become a zombie or a drunk Chatty Cathy. Either one is terrible. I think if I only double dose once a day and take the rest as perscribed, I am more zombie like. Double dosing all day long makes me the chatty one.

Now, the big deal for me. I am having 10.0 attacks about 4 times a day. Then I get the little 4.0-7.0 after shocks here and there. I am devoted to my ice packs to help distract from the pain. My husband's family had a reunion this weekend. On Friday morning, I spent it in bed with bad attacks. Then throughout the day I had the little ones; tolerable attacks. Nightime brought back the bad ones and we had to go home. Saturday his cousin got married. I spent some of the reception crying my eyes out in the car because of a huge attack. Sunday has been the same.

Side effects: Extreme ticks/jerks. They are getting worse although I have been taking the same extreme doses for the last 5 days. Double vision, extreme fatigue, drunk feeling. The thing that bothers me the most are the jerks in my hands and fingers. My hands, arms, legs, and feet will also go numb. It's mostly in my fingers, hands, and toes. Then next my lower legs, then my arms.

And guess what? The pain still comes back. I am scared that if I lower the dosage the pain will be worse than it already is now. I am going to my neuro on Tuesday. I have also contacted Gamma Knife of Spokane for a consultation.

Will provide more news when it comes.

It's Back Full Force

For the past week the attacks have been coming back. They are exactly like the ones I had last winter. Awhile back, Dr B said I could up my dosages depending on the pain. Well depending on the pain, I have upped them anywhere to one extra dose a day to three extra doses; mostly taking those extra doses during attacks. I'm not sure if it's helping much or if I need to give my body more time to adjust to them. The attacks take up at least half of my waking hours right now. And when I am not in pain, the side effects are horrendous. I feel drunk, dizzing, and extremely exhausted. I just got through a 30 min attack after lightly brushing my teeth. Eating is a trigger too.

I knew they were on their way back in when I took a drink of juice last week. I had tons of pain in my top row of teeth. It went away quickly but I knew the worst was on it's way. Here I am today, feeling drunk and disoriented. I can barely function. I have probably taken more meds than I should but the pain is intolerable. Right now I choose drunk over suicidal but I am sure there has to be a better way to handle this pain. Either the meds need changing or adjusted or the TN is just out of remission.

A call to Dr B will be taking place after their lunch hour ends in five minutes

Setback

This weekend feels like it set me back about 6 months.

I have been eagerly waiting for my appt with my new neurologist. It's tomorrow. I will remind that my diagnosing neuro retired without my knowledge in Jan. I didn't even know until I tried to make an appt.

I only had enough refills to make it to about one week before my next appt. My GP promised to get me refilled until then.

My pharmacist sent the auth to my GP last Wednesday. It is Monday night and I am still without meds. My meds ran out Friday night. I was hoping to pick them up Saturday morning. My doc office had 3 full days to sign and return before the weekend and they didn't. My pharmacy has sent 3 faxes on my urging. There is a medical assistant with whom I've been dealing that is rude beyond imagine anytime I've had to speak with her the last 3 months. She keeps denying any faxes coming through. I gave up calling after the 3rd fax. I have a really serious letter for that doctor and his office regarding little miss med assist. Oh, and my pharmacy refused to give loaner pills through the weekend.

I am beyond exhaustion and pain. I went off my meds abruptly, no stepping down and I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I have a friend who is a pharmacist in Seattle and she notes it is probably withdrawal symptoms. I am so very frustrated, confused, upset, and most of all, in pain. For the first time, I've been feeling it on one side of my tongue also.

The past month I've also had more weird symptoms besides the numbing epsiodes. Out of nowhere, I will get sharp burning pains in my feet. Sort of like stabbing. It makes me grab them and try pushing on them to get it to stop but it doesn't. The whole thing lasts maybe a minute and then they are gone. Always just one foot or the other, usually on one side.

Sometimes I think I make more of symptoms than it really is but at this point, anything could be a symptom.
I am really praying to get my meds tomorrow from the new neuro and I pray that the pain subsides soon. I just want this all to go away.

Less Frequent?

Since I haven't been posting on a regular schedule, that must mean my attacks are less frequent? Well, yes and no.

Since the removal of tooth #14, I have not had any TN like pain on the left side (so it was probably just tooth related pain, as I suspected). Good news. However, I have had several episodes of TN on the right side. Not so many zingers, mostly the achey background burning pain - bottom right side along the gums. I can just feel it inside but when I touch anywhere along the gum line I don't feel it from the pressure. I have been having these achy episodes almost constanly now for a week. The pain is a 4 or so on a scale of 1 to 10 so it's pretty tolerable. I have almost forgotten what a 10+ feels like.

This week I have been plagued with 2.5 migraines. I say .5 becasue one was teetering. haha. They both started in the back of my head and one radiated to right behind my left eye. Oh baby the pain. Numbness in my arm, hand, and fingers is still here. Have a new thing going on - the soles of my feet have been feeling tendinitis-y. Off and on of course. Mostly when the rest of me is going to pot, the feet just join in.

I am on a new medication too. I went to my GP about 5 weeks ago. He did a full thryoid panel and found that my free T4 was not quite up to par. I am taking 25mg of levothyroxine. I go back next week *the 15th* for a new blood draw to see how it's working (or not).

My next neuro appt with my new neuro is in 4 weeks. This doc is also a headache specialist in the headache clinic so maybe he can figure things out better than the last office I was at. I just want to feel like myself again.

I have been caffiene free 90% of the time the last 5 months or so. I really believed it's helped alot. My 12th acupuncture visit is the Thursday. Coleen has worked wonders, I really believe it. I feel so much better the days following my visits with her. I missed 2 weeks of apts starting 3 or 4 weeks ago and since then things have gone downhill symptomwise. I probably just reversed all of her hard work.

Symptom: Double vision, "vertigo in my eyes" feeling - can't focus sometimes and have to blink multiple times or squint to keep from feeling lightheaded and dizzy when I can't see. Even with my glasses I get this. It really makes me want to throw up.

I've also been getting feverish/elevated temps off and on. My normal temp is around 96.9 degrees and lately I've been hitting around 100 to 101. The heat has been off in my house all day. It's only 70 degrees in here and I feel like it's 100. I am sweating and want to jump in a bathtub of ice.

Unilateral, Bilateral

Thank you to all my lovely friends at livingwithtn.org

Your answers to my bilateral question were so very helpful. At this time I am pretty convinced that it's tooth #14 resposible for the zingers on that side. I have finally, FINALLY, got an appointment on Friday the 6th for extraction. If I'm still having pains and zingers after that, then I will mention it to the neurologist...whom I can't get in to see until MAY! There are only 3 neurologists that I am aware of in Spokane who treat TN. I am thinking of calling the other two to see if I can get in sooner.

On another note, the numbness is coming back. All that fun stuff I mentioned awhile ago... I will mention this to the acupuncturist tomorrow.

Til next time,