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Will not face the facts

Posted , 4 users are following.

donna70237
donna70237

My neighbor has had head pain for 1 year now. After traveling to 30 different Drs. In the past year, 4 DR's have told her it is TN. She will not believe it. Still insisting it is her teeth. I have watched her go downhill over the past year. I have done a lot of research on TN, and everything I read is her symptoms. Every time I mention TN she gets nasty that it is not it. Please help me....she isca mental mess right now

3 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • susan33651
    susan33651 donna70237

    Posted

    Hi,

    I can understand your frustration, I have a similar issue with a relative who simply refuses to do anything about a problem with her eye (a blocked tear duct) despite it being the eye in which she still has some sight!

    Sadly, people will only accept help and advice if they are open to it. Perhaps if you go with her to a Dentist and mention TN (which I know some good dentists will be aware of) it may prove to be successful and she will get the treatment she clearly needs. At the very least a dentist can rule out anything wrong with her teeth and mandibular joint which can lead to excrutiating pain in some instances.

    Best of luck, I think you need it!

    • donna70237
      donna70237 susan33651

      Posted

      I have gone with her. I have been there when 4 DR's told her it was TN. She is insisting it is her teeth. O do not know how to get through to her. She REFUSES to take the meds since she is convinced it is not TN..I WORRY so about her mental state right now. She is totally broken.
    • TwinAngels0116
      TwinAngels0116 donna70237

      Posted

      Have she been seen by a neurologist? That's who found my pain after months ... it was a relief that i wasn't crazy ... and also a relief to know i wasnt' by myself w/this pain. IDK how you can convince her if (4) doctors have told her ... IDK how she's managing w/o meds to maintain her .. good luck on her finding a resolution
    • donna70237
      donna70237 TwinAngels0116

      Posted

      She REFUSES to face it. Says it is her teeth...she isn't surviving without pain meds. She is going down hill so fast, mentally and physically. She has meds from a neurologist, but will take them. I THINK last night we convinced her to take them. She keeps saying it is her teeth.
    • susan33651
      susan33651 donna70237

      Posted

      You must be at your wits end too. I think at this stage you may well need to take a step back. Tell your friend how desperately afraid for her health you and those around her are and say that you can no longer watch her suffer. Tell her that your own health is suffering through your worries for her and it's breaking your heart (which I am certain it must be - you are clearly a dear friend to her). Perhaps by doing this she will get the wake-up call she needs to listen to all the people who have tried to help. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before those that need help have to want it before accepting it.

      You could also try once more to tell her that TN pain can be felt in the teeth and gums, hopefully she will take the medication once that is clear to her. Argue that she can at least give it a week. She may then realise that it is actually working and will then continue with it. My own teeth and gums often feel like they're on fire or that I've been punched in the jaw. My first symptoms were to my mind those of Cluster headaches and so I persevered for a long time with basic pain killers until the pain spread from my eye and head to all three branches of the Trigeminal nerve, and it was only after taking Morphine with no effect that I went to the GP suspecting TN. With the right medication I now get relief. I feel, though, that your friend's powers of self belief may just be too strong for you to overcome.

      Have you tried to get her to read the posts on this forum? Many people present with pain in their teeth only to discover, finally, that it is nerve pain from TN. If she reads the posts she may appreciate the difficulty in diagnosing it from this type of symptom presentation. Although it does seem that many dentists are somewhat lacking in knowledge about TN they do know about teeth and as evidenced by postees who have been down the dental route they eventually concede the point and accept TN as a diagnosis (both TN sufferers and dentists!).

      I wish you the very best of luck. 

  • susan43532
    susan43532 donna70237

    Posted

    I am sure my symptoms are TN as they match the symptoms and the doctr has prescribed gabapentin 900mg a day and I am still getting head pain, stabbing pain around the wound so this matches TN symptoms and was caused by a head injury and not via the teeth etc
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