Posted by Nancy on August 28, 1998 at 16:44:47:
Could anything like this help clusters if there is a link to the Trigeminal Nerve like some on here has suggested??
TODAY'S NEWS MINUTE FROM JOHNS HOPKINS
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Hopkins: Relieving the Pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia
August 28, 1998
BALTIMORE (Johns Hopkins) - Trigeminal neuralgia is universally
considered to be the most agonizing affliction known to adults.
Caused by pressure on the trigeminal nerve in the face, it comes
without warning and lasts only a few excruciating seconds.
But even that short trip to hell causes some people to eventually
commit suicide to escape the pain. Until this decade the
condition was not well understood and treatment options were few.
Today, however, there are a number of safe and effective
solutions, including one that uses a needle to deliver a pain-
killing chemical to the ganglia of the trigeminal nerve. The
method is fast and effective, but sometimes needs repeating every
few years, says Johns Hopkins neurologist Dr. Benjamin Carson.
"Once people have had it done once, usually they have no
reluctance or problem with getting it done again because it's not
painful at all," says Carson. "You come in, you go to sleep, you
wake up and say 'when are you guys gonna get started?' And we
say, 'you're done.'"
Trigeminal neuralgia can also be treated surgically. Carson says
the bottom line is: there's no reason for anyone to suffer its
untold agonies anymore.
Copyright The Johns Hopkins University, 1998. All rights
reserved.