My Trigeminal Neuralgia 10

Pain still there, but now managable. Only downside at the moment is the drowsiness caused by the medication. Hope to start reducing meds further this weekend.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia 9

Pain scale 0. Meds reduced. Still tired, but feeling close to normal.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia 8

Pretty good today. Pain level definately heading in right direction. Just a slight reminder on wakening and nothing more. Fingers crossed.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia 7

Doctor happy with the way things are going. He advised me to start cutting down on medication and gave me a prescription for emergency supplies to take to Portugal. Visited my parents and even managed a haircut this morning which is a real positive. Sorry if this is a bit mundane, but it helps me.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia 6

The pain, although still there, can best be described as mild. I will start to reduce my medication today and see how I get on. I've a doctors appointment this morning to discuss meds and the fact that I'm going to Portugal at the end of this week for 7 days i.e. what will I do if this happens with such severity in Portugal? This blog is more for me than anyone else.

My Tregiminal Neuralgia 5

Pain still there on waking this morning although not of any great level on the pain scale. Medication reduced and back to bed for another 5 hours. Still feeling drowsy at 4:30pm and have mild bouts of pain which is almost nice compared to previous episodes.

My Trigeminal Nuralgia 4

Little or no pain so far today although the medication is still knocking me for six. I slept to mid-day again.

My Trigminal Neuralgia 3

I’ve had to revise the pain scale because it went way beyond 10 yesterday. After the previous post I took to bed due to the increase in pain which was all centred around my left eye. Any movement of the eyelid or eyeball was rewarded with 40,000 volts. Try not moving your eyeball or lid when you know if you do it will be result in severe pain.
My wife called my GP late afternoon on return from her work. He attended almost immediately and prescribed steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs. While my wife attended at the pharmacy, the pain disappeared on its own, prior to me taking any of the new drugs. There was no way I was going to shout “I’m cured” on the basis of now having no pain in my head. One of most depressing side effects is the absolute terror, and I mean terror, you feel when you have no pain, is that the pain will return.
Anyway, steroids, anti-inflammatories and Tegretol taken with food last night and a good night’s sleep. I awoke at 6am, no pain, which did not last long. It was not as bad as yesterday, but bad enough to get my attention. So, another round of drugs and back to bed. I slept for a further six hours and on wakening, the pain was still there and then, as if by magic, it disappeared; to be replaced with the terror of wondering when it will return.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia 2

I woke up this morning to crushing pain, the worst yet in the current episode. Funny thing is that it doesn’t prevent me from sleeping. I just start to dread waking up (can you do that?). Maximum dose of medication, not a jot of difference other than I now feel as if I'm watching the world through a net curtain. I couldn’t even manage to make my way down the stairs to open the door for my father. If I sound as if I'm feeling sorry for myself, it’s because I am. Come on man, pull yourself together.....if only I could. I am sitting in front of my PC trying not to blink or move my head because both are triggers. Walking or even standing is an adventure which can leave you stranded between two chairs for some considerable time. If only I could make it to the fridge, but then I remember that eating is impossible, not that I’m wasting away to a shadow. I try to remind myself that I have so much to be positive about, but the pain quickly dispels all positive notions. You have no idea how long it took me to type this. Pain level today is 10/10.

My Trigeminal Neuralgia 1 (Google it)

Having suffered from this most horrendous and debilitating of conditions for around six years (I am never completely free of pain), I was always pretty positive in that when it was at its worst, it only ever lasted a few days. However, on Friday 29 May, the pain and sensitivity increased significantly for the first time in many months. If truth be told, I knew the pain had been getting worse for some time, but the consequences of a phased increase in my medication (Tegretol) usually mean that I become some mutant form of zombiefied Muppet and not a very nice person to be around (just ask my wife). Add the fact that I was on a weekend break at Moffat with my caravan and did not have enough medication with me, meant' I had a full day of excruciating nerve pain in my face. On a scale of 1-10 it came in somewhere around 8-9. The following day I felt well enough to drive home and pick up the pills and return to Moffat. I then increased the dosage too quickly, I suppose overdose is the technical term, which meant' I couldn't even walk in a straight line, speak without slurring etc. and guess what, no pain relief!!! The pain has subsided somewhat over the weekend, now around 4-5, probably due to a more measured and sensible approach to my medication. Its still bloody sore.

I try to remind myself that when someone says 'I know what its like' they are only trying to comfort me and don't deserve to be verbally abused.

On the upside, no one died. Onward and upward dear friends.