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Do I have Trigeminal Neuralgia? What's causing my headaches???

Posted , 4 users are following.

SatoriSecrets
SatoriSecrets

Hey guys, I think I might have trigeminal neuralgia. I would appreciate some feedback.

Here's the short run down:

-December 2016, got into snowboarding accident. 

-Next day had a concussion, slowly started to heal after a few weeks.

-January 2017, concussion "came back."

-Got an MRI. Brain MRI was normal. 

-Started vestibular & memory therapy. After a month, my intelligence was back to 100% + balance perfect. Was officially diagnosed with post-concussion

-Got a nerve block for my back occipital nerve. Did very minimal help.

-After a few more weeks of waiting for headaches to go away, I tried chiropractor.

-Chiropractor made things way worse (2 weeks)

-Massage Therapy made things worse (tried twice)

-Got an MRI of the neck. Came back fine. Went to Physical Therapist.

-Physical Therapist proved that my headaches were partly caused by neck problems (cervigogenic headaches).

-After about a month, got massive relief. Neck range of motion back to normal. Also did dry needling which helped.

-At this point, late May/early June, my headaches were still 24/7, super persistent, quite painful.

-Went to pain doctor. He was too brief, and did some nerve blocks on my back occpital. He put it in differently and I got minor relief.

-The back of my head now feels okay. However, the back of my head is still a bit tender when I lay on it which makes my forehad pain worse.

-Given muscle relaxers & strong anti-inflammatory. Appears to be very minimal. In fact, I feel like the muscle relaxers are making my headache WORSE because using the computer is giving me a massive headache.

So, now I'm here. I've got massive pain in my forehead & behind the eyes. I also got some right below the eyes. I also have pins n' needles on the top front of my head and slightly on the sides.

The worst part about it is it causes me to be massively fatigued, but most importantly it is SUPER SENSITIVE TO MOVEMENT, particularly up/down motion. If I were to run, or even drive for too long, my pain would be made WAY worse and I'd be in the bed for a while.

Okay, so do you guys think it's Trigeminal Neuralgia? I'm so exhausted. It's been 7 months since the freaking accident and I've gone through too much! I've been treated for concussion, post-concussion, whiplash, and still these headaches persist.

I found something saying that 90% of people with Trigeminal had a whiplash injury.. which stood out to me. Could that explain why my head is SO SENSITIVE TO MOVEMENT? Like, I can't hike because I can't bob up and down without ridiculous pain sensations. 

Thanks for reading smile

2 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Jeej
    Jeej SatoriSecrets

    Posted

    Hi - It certainally sounds as the your nerves are affected by the injury. I've had whiplash injuries before but haven't been able to have anyone confirm my TN is a result of it - although it Makes sense to me. I went to a chiropractor and made it worse too - I hope what your suffering isn't permanant. Given more time from the original accident maybe it will calm down.

    Have you tried accupuncture?

    Try this website. They may be able to give you some good info: http://fpa-support.org.

    Good luck and stay in touch.

  • Jeej
    Jeej SatoriSecrets

    Posted

    P.S. I don't know if my original post will go through because I included link to a website for the Facial Pain Association in Gainesville FL. Please look them up as they may have good info for you too.

  • marlene36342
    marlene36342 SatoriSecrets

    Posted

    Hi - you certainly have been suffering and I am sorry for your pain.  I was diagnosed with TN in 2006.  I have had appointments with several pain specialists and was always asked if I had fell or was hit in my head.  I was.  Because of the embarrasing reasons for being hit, I said no.  Has your family dr made a referral for you to see a pain specialist who deals with this horrific disease.  Getting to the bottom of the pain does take time.   I am really interested to know how you are getting along?
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