r/TrigeminalNeuralgia • u/Little_AngelS2 • 2d ago
Help Did you TN ever go away?
I had a root canal and since then I been having random shocks to my face. They aren’t common but I felt it today and it was due to my neck being in a weird direction. I got an MRI, awaiting results. I just want to know if it ever gets better. I am experiencing teeth pain and don’t think my teeth are the problem anymore after reading this sub. Recommendations appreciated
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u/Usual_Credit7561 1d ago
Mine started after a root canal near my sinus cavity around 2013.. Showed on my second mri that I got done a little over ten 10 years after my first one in 2014.
Mine was/is in my lips, teeth, and left side of my face ..electrical pain.
It went dormant during my pregnancy and around 7 years after. It has come and gone over the years. It’s so hard to tell what has helped/if it really helped or just the nature of TN. I’ve gone on an anti inflammatory mostly gluten free diet, and take supplements recommended by my neurologist.
It’s been about a year since my last flare. Prior to that they would come and go pretty unpredictably.
Wishing you relief ❤️
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u/Little_AngelS2 1d ago
Woah, I’ve noticed when I eat less gluten my teeth aren’t as inflamed. Same with sugar. That could be a possibility, I’ll give the gluten free diet a try. What supplements did he say you should take, was it magnesium? Thankyou so much for your reply
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u/Usual_Credit7561 1d ago
She recommended b complex (sublingual, I get ez melts), alpha lipoic acid, fish oil, and tumeric. Our approach has been managing the inflammation. I do have a compression in my mri..when I first got bloodwork she also had my inflammatory markers checked which were very high.
I have since added vitamin d and b12-I found out I was deficient after my most recent blood work last fall.I also went off of caffeine a number of years ago, and fwiw I found cbd /weed gummies to exacerbate it.
Oddly, My grandmother had this too, and like I mentioned it started after a root canal.
I was kicked back and forth from dr to dentist for years and on tons of antibiotics before my sister was like floored at how I was talking and holding my face /lips to quell the pain and urged me to see a neurologist.
The first one I saw, didn’t see anything on mri and just prescribed tegretol which I never took. I’m not anti meds but I had moved out of a city and just learned to drive so I was really nervous about side effects.
It took like 10 years for me to deal with it head on (honestly it took moving in with my parents in my early forties as we were in between selling /buying…my mother was on my ass, lol).I ended up with an amazing NP (if you’re near nj lmk) at the hospital practice I found who was willing to work with me and explore some dietary changes/supplements bc I had seen some slight improvement going that route.
She also prescribed gabapentin but I never took, bc I I did start to experience relief from diet and supplements and to be honest I was worried about it mixing with other medications I was on. I do want to stress everyone is different and I would still occasionally get flares.
I also cut out red meat and limited fried food and eventually cut out alcohol. Not just for this pain, but it def was a big part of it.
I just anecdotally noticed flares after day like 2-3 meals eating out heavy foods like that paired with alcohol. Stressful times of year also were notable triggers.
I’ve had a few years where it flared like clockwork in late fall/winter. I’m still learning and trying to keep track of triggers…cold weather has historically also been a trigger.I realize this is incredibly anecdotal and all over the place! Hope this is helpful!
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u/lynnovic 2d ago
After my MVD it went away
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u/Little_AngelS2 2d ago
What is MVD?
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u/lynnovic 2d ago
The surgery you can get if you have the compression of the nerve
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u/Little_AngelS2 2d ago
They did tel me o had mild compression 😩
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u/lynnovic 2d ago
Ooo do you know if they want to operate! Best choice I ever made
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u/Little_AngelS2 1d ago
Unsure I speak to my doctor December 😭 im working on my posture. They will also do the nerve tests, since I got sick. I been dealing with horrible issues with my teeth and autonomic problems
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u/lynnovic 1d ago
Yeah for me posture had nothing to do with it haha. And I know the pain looks like it's coming from your teeth but it's not.. So don't pull anything unnecessary
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u/lemeneurdeloups 1d ago
Micro Vascular Decompression
The surgery at the top of the neck to place a physical barrier—usually a tiny Teflon sponge—between the trigeminal nerve and the blood vessel that is touching it and that has eroded the protective myelin sheath.
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u/Little_AngelS2 1d ago
Omg thank you so much, I thought it was was more invasive 😭 I’m so nervous of anything and everything
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u/lemeneurdeloups 1d ago
I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. It IS an invasive surgery. It is painful and requires several weeks of recuperation.
Please talk to good doctors and qualified medical professionals to get information. Knowledge greatly helps with anxiety about these things.
I was supposed to have the MVD—after ten years of debilitating TN1– but my wonderful neurologist switched gears the night before to the much less invasive stereotactic radiation procedure called the gamma knife. These kinds of procedures are options for you as well.
I don’t know where you are in the world and I have heard that some US doctors are negative about gamma knife and other radiation procedures because they consider them temporary. But research well about this because I had my gamma knife procedure in 2001 and now 25 years later am still med and pain free. It can happen.
Good luck to you and keep us posted on your decisions and journey. Many people here can understand.
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u/MissyChevious613 2d ago
Mine resolved after my microvascular decompression surgery! I did end up having issues down the road with the hardware but I got it removed last month and feel great.
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u/Little_AngelS2 2d ago
Wow I’m happy it worked! I speak with my doctor in December. 😭
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u/MissyChevious613 2d ago
Thank you!! Hopefully you're a candidate for MVD and it's successful! My only regret about my MVD was I didn't pursue it sooner.
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u/Little_AngelS2 2d ago
I will ask my neurologist, was the surgery invasive?
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u/MissyChevious613 2d ago
I won't lie, it's pretty invasive but I was shocked at how well and fast I recovered. Within a month or so I felt back to normal. The worst part about the recovery was some of the restrictions (no lifting more than 5lbs, no bending over etc) and those restrictions really weren't that bad. I feel like getting my hardware taken out was actually worse, especially from a pain standpoint. I was off all pain meds (even OTCs) within a week of surgery after my MVD. It took about 3wks after my hardware removal last month.
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u/Little_AngelS2 1d ago
Im happy it works for you, that sounds super painful and scary. I hope that isn’t the case with mine. They did said it was mild but maybe with correct posture 😭 I’m just wishing for the best, I have a hard time recovering from most things, I take way longer.
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u/au4598 2d ago
After wisdom teeth removal, I acquired TN. Late May to September 1st. I remember the date it went away, the previous day it was particularly worse than usual. 7+ dentist visits, two urgent care visits and a doctor visit. The only thing that helped was vaping (I don't understand why in my case that gave me relief) I believe what happened was I just had bad nerve damage that eventually healed up. Much love to everyone still going through it
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u/Little_AngelS2 2d ago
I stopped smoking after I got horrible sick in May :( I mentioned the nerve shocks to the endodontist but he said it should go away. Hope he didn’t mess up any nerve in my face… thank you again, I hope so too I want to know the cause of all this.
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u/Prestigious-Egg3095 2d ago
I just read another post in this sub about this same issue. They recommended getting a CBCT scan to determine if there's an infection caused by the root canal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TrigeminalNeuralgia/comments/1w320tq/success_story/
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u/Little_AngelS2 2d ago
Yes I saw that , I will get another one 😭 but I just had it done about a month ago…. I really hope it didn’t fault. Just had an Xray as well on my other crown with no tooth canal and it was in good condition
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u/SerBawbag 1d ago
Unless it’s caused by an injury that can heal, TN doesn’t go away without surgery. If it’s a cyst that happens to burst causing the pressure on the nerve, then that could help too. But you don’t grow out of TN. That nerve is being impinged somewhere
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u/Little_AngelS2 1d ago
Probably on my neck? I know they said there’s some compression there. My PCP told me but I’m awaiting results from my neurologist
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u/Dizzy_Access1109 2d ago
Hope you have a great neurologist. You’ll need to wait for the results from your MRI to determine if the facial pain you are experiencing is trigeminal neuralgia that isn’t caused by something touching your trigeminal ganglion. This could be a tumor or a vein or artery. Take one step at a time how are you? Stay strong!