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New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Tri-geminal Neuralgia
(Message started by: CJNine on Dec 7th, 2003, 5:04pm)

Title: Tri-geminal Neuralgia
Post by CJNine on Dec 7th, 2003, 5:04pm
Anyone else been told that their CH is a form of Tri-gem Neuralgia?  Both neuros I've seen came up with similar comments; one saying that the tri-gem nerve, or one of its branches (sub orbital, supra orbital, and maxillary I believe it is - but could be wrong on that) is constantly kept excited (for reasons unknown) but just below pain threshold -- thus the CH trigger can be anything that excites the nerve over its pain threshold.  Does explain why many of us have such difficulty identifying a specific trigger - mine were all in the olfactory category but none were 100% triggers: nasal irritants, including dry weather (I live in Florida so dryness is unusual) for example.

Just curious,
CJ

Title: Re: Tri-geminal Neuralgia
Post by ave on Dec 7th, 2003, 7:38pm
Nine, there's Trigemenal Neuralgia, that shows the pattern your neuro's told you about. It usually responds well to a.o. Tegretol.

Cluster headaches involve the same nerve to be sure,
but are different from Trig Neuralgia. For one they do not at all respond to TN-medication.

If a neuro tells you clusterheadache is a form of Trig N, hthey are wrong. If two neuro's tell you that they could be doubly wrong.

Same nerve, two different things.

The pain in your big toe may be caused by blisters, by corns or by breaking some of those little bones.
Way different treatments.


Title: Re: Tri-geminal Neuralgia
Post by andy on Dec 8th, 2003, 1:38am
CJ, Trigeminal Neuralgia is totally different than CH. I have had both. TN is like a painful electric shock that shoots up your face causing pain worse than CH.

I havent had TN in 8 years.
Tegritol was the greatest med in the world back then. I havent needed it for a long time.
But i still have CH, im in remission now since June 2003

Here is a good description of TN  http://gilberdyke.com/mytn/

I hope you dont have TN cuz that really sucks!!!!

Here is another good site  http://facial-neuralgia.org/default.htm


Im from the other coast of fl
Welcome aboard
.............andy

Title: Re: Tri-geminal Neuralgia
Post by floridian on Dec 8th, 2003, 2:22pm
In the broadest sense, CH is a form of trigeminal nerve pain -   the term neuralgia is just medspeak for nerve pain.  Some use the term neuralgia to refer to spasms, but this is not universal.  But CH is a specific type of trigeminal pain, which has different causes and treatments than generic trigeminal neuralgia.  

Title: Re: Tri-geminal Neuralgia
Post by CJNine on Dec 14th, 2003, 9:54am
Thanks all.  Some good comments.  Helps me put what the neuros are saying into perspective.

Just to add, at the end of a pain even (you know, the ones where jumping off a bridge sounds like a good idea) I do indeed get the "electric shock" type pain, very faint, along my teeth on the side of my face affected by the CH.  Some sort of aftereffect maybe.

Regards, CJ



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