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Possible TN?

Posted , 8 users are following.

kayleigh04103
kayleigh04103

Hi All

Just after some advice really as feeling a bit let down after a recent visit to my GP.

For the last 7-8 weeks I have been experiencing electric shock/stabbing pains down the right hand side of my face. The pains started off at the front of my head and have gradually worked their way down to my cheek and jaw. I get very little warning but symptoms seem to be made worse after I eat and when I put any sort of pressure on that side of my face.

I decided I could no longer cope with the pain and over the counter painkillers have been useless so I made an appointment with my GP. I am only 29 so my GP doesn't think that I can be suffering with TN and that they are more likely to be tension headaches but has printed advice from this website on both for me to look over and see which I think it is more likely to be? I have to say my symptoms seem to fit more with TN. I have been prescribed Amytriptaline 10mg and have too see the same GP in a week to discuss how things are going

Just wondering if the symptoms sound familiar? Are there any others that have been diagnosed at a young age? I would really like an MRI scan to try and pin point what is causing the symptoms but I am not sure if this is normal practice?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • patrice95661
    patrice95661 kayleigh04103

    Posted

    Hi there this surely sounds like TN. Mines affect the right side of my face too. Most people get it on that side. I was diagnosed with it at 26 and I'm 30 now. A doctor should never tell a patient they are too young to suffer from anything. You should see a neurologist as normal pain killers would never help. This is a nerve issue. My MRI showed nothing so be prepared for that. I take seven seas cod liver oil daily and it calms my flare ups. I notice that it starts to act up when I stop taking my cod liver oil. Mines acted up last week during the night I got shocks to my jaw. I started back my cod liver oil regime the next morning and no attacks since. It is worth a try

  • sarah_41542
    sarah_41542 kayleigh04103

    Posted

    I'm 28 and just had a diagnosis of tn. It can happen at any age. I'm awaiting a mri scan ( it's been 2 months since i saw the consultant for ny official diagnosis and told it was a 6 week wait for an appt). My pain starts in the eye and goes along the cheek, following the nerve. I was lucky in the sense my gp recognised it straight away as tn as he referred me straight to neurology (it took about 5 months to get an appt). My gp practice has never had someone my age diagnosed with tn before and only a handful of patient with the condition. It's quite rare.

  • Tnhurtsme
    Tnhurtsme kayleigh04103

    Posted

    I got my tn from an ear infection at age 30 it's progressive it's very painful all day long pain even with gabapentin

  • kayleigh04103
    kayleigh04103

    Posted

    Thank you for your comments.

    I am going to go back and see my own GP on Monday as the one I saw on Friday was a junior doctor and had to google my symptoms as she had never see anyone presenting with my symptoms before. Hopefully I will be able to get through to them.

    I am not coping at all with the pain I feel so miserable.

  • Valkyrie
    Valkyrie kayleigh04103

    Posted

    I am really shocked that there are so many GP’s that don’t seem to be willing to send a patient to a Neurologist when facial pain of a stabbing or burning nature is described. A Neurologist can often rule out many of the possible causes other than Tn in a single visit and order tests specifically to determine the cause and treatment.  As Patricia  has stated in her post, there is no lower age for Tn. Please ask your doctor for a referral to a Neurologist as soon as you can and insist if you must. Consider taking a support person to the appointment as this may be helpful in persuading the doctor if you don’t feel you can be insistent enough esp if the support person is male (shouldn’t work that way but it often does)
  • kayleigh04103
    kayleigh04103

    Posted

    Update from follow up GP appointment following a week of taking Amytriptaline and Naproxen.

    GP now convinced that I have TN. I have been struggling with the pain all week and the medication has had little to no affect on my symptoms. GP has increased my Amytritaline to 70mg a day and also prescribed codeine to take throughout the day.

    I asked if I would be referred to a specialist and was told that I would only be referred if the surgery could not control the pain I am in. Does this sound like normal practice? The pains are getting worse week by week I feel absolutely miserable. Back to the GP again in a week for another follow up

  • clint71
    clint71 kayleigh04103

    Posted

    I was diagnosed with TN as a 36-year-old male, 9 years ago. Never hesitate to seek a second opinion.
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