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Curious question.......

Posted , 3 users are following.

susan33651
susan33651

Hello fellow sufferers,

I recently watched a TV show in which a comment was made regarding 'Brain freeze' and how it's the cold temperture of the ice cream which causes the Trigeminal Nerve to spasm and cause pain following the consumption of Ice cream. I wonder if any of you have had this phenomenon and whether this might actually be useful for the medical profession as an indicator or predictor for the condition?

I have had 'Brain freeze' when eating ice cream ever since I was a child, my son gets it too, fortunately he hasn't developed TN, yet at any rate! I would be interested to hear your responses, many thanks.

Best wishes.

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • wanganui
    wanganui susan33651

    Posted

    Hi susan33651,you make an interesting post! However I feel there would be many more people suffering from TN  if the sharp pain you get after eating cold ice cream was a forerunner for TN.I asked around my acquaintances just here and they  all have experienced that sharp pain of eating cold ice cream but none of them have TN apart from me! But then that's only a count of ten people so could well be worth a much bigger study.Maybe we are more sensitive to the sharp pain and react  physically differently somehow........Hope more people reply here! Good Luck!
    • susan33651
      susan33651 wanganui

      Posted

      Thank you for replying. I was curious to see if there might be some sort of correlation whether causal or otherwise! Perhaps, as you say, we just react differently to the stimulus that precipitates TN pain.

      Regards.

  • Windy338
    Windy338 susan33651

    Posted

    This is a very interesting point.  I was feeling pain-free for 1 1/2 years after a surgery then while gulping down cold water I had a pain break-through.  It sounds like a Trigemenal Nerve spasm was caused by that.  Thanks for the information.  
    • susan33651
      susan33651 Windy338

      Posted

      You're welcome and thanks for replying. It does seem to make a sort of sense that cold is a trigger, for me cold wind and icy rain/sleet on my face trigger TN. As Wanganui says we need a bigger sample for more accurate data. I'm sure that researchers will have pursued this angle, I just can't find anything in the published literature to support or disprove the hypothesis. Also a proportion of TN sufferers may not have ever eaten ice cream, or those that have and get the brain freeze may still be quite young and have yet to develop TN?! Oh well, it was a thought.

      Regards.

    • Windy338
      Windy338 susan33651

      Posted

      I think I will be more careful next time I eat ice cream!!  Thanks.  confused
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