Posted 12/29/2009 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
((((Sarah))))
Are you feeling any better? This particular nerve pain can bring you to your knees. Your case is atypical too, if I remember right? During bad attacks, I can't even speak, I can even lose notice of my surroundings. I have tried some tricks for a little relief, or even distraction.
-peppermint oil rubbed on the area of pain
-I keep little take out packs of ketchup in the freezer, then place them right in front of the ear where the nerve branches out. This is a 50/50 split if it works or not. The other half of the time, it made the pain worse.
-my rice bag, very hot, on the side of the face that hurt at the time
-watch mindless TV for distraction, no way I could concentrate on much, but TV helped pass the time and not focus on the pain
-lamaze breathing and meditation
-drinking little sips of water. This is especially helpful for me when the pain is in the fleshy part of the cheek. The difference in temperature makes the pain ebb for a bit
-if I am at my wits ends, I bite my fingers. The pressure on the teeth with the pain somewhere else eases the face pain for a bit
I had another episode the week before Christmas, lasted a couple hours. Luckily the rest of the time it is behaving right now. Tonight my right cheek and chin is burning, I feel like needles are being shoved into my gums behind my top front teeth, and my left ear aches, into my cheekbone. But it's pretty low key. I can't even describe what this pain feels like when it gets going. Even at tolerable levels, it makes me sick to my stomach when it starts that 'hungry, tearing' pain in my gums and palate, and I am petrified that it is only the beginning. I have a doctor's appointment next week, and I am going to demand that he take this more seriously. I have had an earache off and on for about 2 months now!
Sarah, if you don't mind my asking, was yours pretty cut and dried when you were dx? Did you see a neurologist or orthodontist? Did they rule out any other causes? I just found out (yes, I am self dx'ing. My doctor isn't proactive in this, so I need to be) that long standing chronic sinus infection and tooth infection can cause trigeminal like pain. Since my MRI showed a sinus infection, and I just had an infected tooth pulled, I am hoping that this is it for me. But at the time of my MRI, I was just getting over a cold; I don't think I have had chronic sinus problems. I have also looked into NICO, but that is controversial, and frankly, scares the beejeesus out of me. The other two things that might fit for me are bilateral TN2, or atypical facial pain, which is even more ambiguous than fibro.
Anyway, I hope that you feel better soon. Try to stay warm too, the cold does not help!