MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 35

I just arrived home from Glen Trool. The weather was miserable, in fact so bad I didn't manage to take a single photo (taking photos is the reason I go walking). As I ascended Ben Yellary, the mist and low cloud became heavier to the point where visibility was down to about 10 to 20 yards. It then started raining so I decided to call it a day. On the up side, this was my first proper hill walk for some time and my fitness was considerably better than I expected. I met some people as they came down from the Merrick, which is where I would have headed if the weather had not been so bad. They said the approach to the summit of the Merrick was dangerous with ice so they called it a day and headed back down. The pictures below are of the Merrick and Ben Yellary from some time ago (on a good day).
TN not an issue during my outing and I feel really great.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 34

I experienced a couple of sharp stabs of pain on the left side of my scalp while showering and drying myself today. The sharp edge returned to the pain, not enough to make me cry out, but enough to start me thinking that I am heading down the road to severe pain again. Due to the nature of my TN over the years, I have never been sure if it was the medication that settled the pain or whether it just settled down of its own accord i.e. a type of remission? One thing is for certain, at the moment TN is not restricting my life in any way and weather permitting, I hope to get out for a good long walk tomorrow.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 33

Other than a small hint of pain (dull at edges) when drying my hair the other day, nothing worth talking about. I'm fully organised for Christmas, rather my wife is fully organised for Christmas despite having surgery on her knee last Friday. I managed a trip to Loch Doon for some photographs, talk about a winter wonderland. It was absolutely beautiful and, -11 at 2:30pm. Seven miles along an uncleared single track road in a rear wheel drive car was not so good though. So, seasons best to anyone who reads this and a sincere hope that next year is better than this one, even if you had a really good one this year.

My Pummelvision

Thought this was a bit of fun

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 32

I had another flash of pain in my eye last night while eating. It wasn't enough to cause me any distress, but enough to frighten me in to thinking the longer boughts of pain would return. It was same as last time, there, but with a dull rather than sharp edge to it. So maybe the drugs are working to keep the bigger attacks supressed. The  photo below is something I had been wanting to do for a long while, but lacked the necessary skill.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 31

My wife underwent an operation yesterday at Crosshouse Hospital to tidy up a torn cartilage which had been causing her considerable discomfort for some time. I dropped her of at the day surgery unit at 8:00am and picked her up again at midday. She was told to rest for two days, but not being the most patient person in the whole world, she was trying to get back to normal after a couple of hours. On wakening this morning, she was not in the best of moods, probably due to the pain, and the realisation that she would indeed need to rest for a couple of days. So its largely over to me to do the running for her mother and step father for the next couple of days and tidy up the loose ends for Christmas.
On the TN front, still no pain and no apparent side effects from the medication other than sleeping the sleep of the dead at night.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 30

I visited my GP yesterday to pick up my prescription. He let me know that my bloods are still not right and asked me to book another appointment with him in January and get my bloods rechecked about the same time. He doesn't seem too exercised by my bloods being off. 

This morning, I received a letter from consultant neurologist, Dr Victoria Marshall, informing me that I had an appointment with her on 14 January 2011. I was aware that the neurologist who previously examined me would discuss my case with with the consultant, but I did not expect to get a referral so quickly. 

On the pain front, things are still going way better than I could hope and the only side effect of the medication that I am aware of is that I get a great night's sleep, not that I had trouble slepping in the past.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 29

Today, I made the mistake of informing my wife that I had been pain free since my discharge from hospital and was shortly thereafter rewarded with a stab of pain in my left eye. I should have known better. In the greater scheme of things, it was a very minor episode which, if nothing else, reminded me that I am not cured and that my old enemy is still lurking nearby. I read someone else's blog today and have to admit it caused me some distress. Its difficult to leave comment of support when you think your TN  the worst in the world and you discover its not even close. I left a comment anyway!!
My father in law was released from hospital today so that should relieve some of the pressure from my wife.  Not all of it, but some of it. Two weeks in the hospital and no reason why he has continual sickness and diarrhea; and no cure!!! He is 80 and they were kind of hinting that it might just be part of the aging process.
I have a visit to my doctor tomorrow to sort out my prescription. Onward and upward!!!

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURAGIA 28

Things have been going pretty well; still no pain. Only thing worth mentioning is the mess I made of my medication. Since being diagnosed with TN, the carbemazepine tablets I had been prescribed were 200mgs, so my normal daily dose has been 4 x 200mgs twice a day. On being discharged from hospital I failed to notice that they had prescribed me 400mg tablets. So for three days I took 4 x 400mgs twice a day i.e. 3200mgs per day. The side effects were pretty bad. My vision was badly effected, it was blurred and could not keep up with what I was looking at and I was seeing double. My motor functions were also badly effected e.g. I couldn't walk in a straight line or hold anything without dropping it. Fortunately, my wife worked out what the problem was and I'm now back on the proper dose and should be getting back to normal soon (I hope). I have now developed a spasm which causes me to hit keyboard keys twice or even three times, drop stuff and my limbs appear to jump a lot while I'm trying to sleep.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 27

My visit to the pain clinic went as expected. My medication was reviewed by Doc Martin who appeared happy with what I was on. As with my last visit, I was sitting there, the very picture of a healthy adult human being, if slightly overweight. Looking at me, no one would have known the trials and tribulations of the last two weeks. Fortunately, he had visited me on the ward and had read my notes. Nonetheless, looking at the other people in the waiting area, I still felt a bit of a fraud. I still have no pain or even the hint of a pain.

MY TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA 26

Some of the blood tests at the hospital showed that my white blood cell count was not what it should have been. I was informed this was a known side effect of Gabapentin, so I was told to get my bloods tested about a week after being discharged. I visited the practise health care assistant yesterday and the required amount of blood was duly extracted. The result should be available in a couple of days. Interestingly, she told me that her husband had suffered from TN for a number of years, but that it had just stopped on its own and, so  far, fingers crossed, it had never afflicted him again.

I visited my GP today to discuss my medication. Given the fact that I was due to attend the pain clinic tomorrow, he was of the view that it would be better to discuss the meds with Dr Martin and take it from there.

Still no pain. Its funny, metephorically speaking, how I expect the pain to return, the thought never leaves me just now. The memory of the last two weeks is still very raw.