★★★★★
★★★★★
Stop all caffeine and sugar as it aggravates/excites the nerves.
It has been 18 months since the last time it fired and that was a relatively calm period. A year prior to that which caused me to find solutions.
When I fires, I would use Capsaicin cream(high potency strength from Walgreens) on my face. I applied it every four hours and relieve comes over time/use. My face would get red but I don't care. Another critical thing that I did was to use a TENS unit electrical stimulation on my face. I would place the simulators, one on my left temple and one on left cheek by my mouth. This would help dissuade the trigeminal nerve from firing as much.
The final key that I learned was to poke my lower jaw out. This would break the electrical connection and stop the firing of that nerve.
Hope this helps!!!
Acupuncture
★★★★★
After recovering, a few months later I started getting very bad head pains in one side of my face, teeth, ear, eye, one tonsil, cheek bone and one side of my scull all at the same time although each pain is different..
I think a good description of a couple of the pains is the lights of a pinball machine going round your teeth, and a bolt that they use to kill cows going into your temple..
Mine always came on at night, after being in bed asleep for about two hours. So I always got up alone as my mum, dad and family were in bed. I never told anybody, and just assumed I must have a brain tumor.
It was very hard to get rid of the pain as none of the pain killers touched it, so I used to put thick rubber gloves on (so i could use really hot water) and bath it. Then I had a better idea, I put the gas fire on and sat in front of that with my head close to the bars.
I had this problem for about 7 years before I ever knew what it was. Then one day i was looking through a very old 'pocket doctor' book about 1900s, that my mum had no doubt got from a jumble sale, and there it was, all my symptoms in black and white, i could hardly believe it, even down to one nostril and one eye running.
I had never heard of neuralgia before, but I was glad I had a name for it. I still had neuralgia on and off for the next twenty years, the wind, the rain or just a whisp on my face would cause it, and also stress and worry.
When I was 43 years old i had a particular stressful time, I nursed my father through lung cancer, then found out my niece was taking heroine and crack cocaine all this while running a business on my own. So I got neuralgia every day, i was like a walking zombie!
I had a brain wave and decided to see an acupuncture practitioner, the best decision I ever made. I had five sessions using traditional chinese five point acupuncture. (where your five pulses are taken and read) on each visit.
Then six months ago I bought some DMSO to treat my dog and thought it would also be a good idea to treat myself for a tooth abscess, low and behold it immediately brought back the neuralgia, after being free from it for about fifteen years I was shocked! but this time i knew what to do, I made an appointment with my doctor because these days you can get acupuncture free on the national health, not five point but it still worked for me. No more neuralgia, gone!
I'm really sorry I can't use dmso because it is absolutely brilliant and soon sorted my tooth out, very powerful and works really fast..
So my answer to anyone suffering from neuragia is acupuncture. I was told it is inflammation of the neuralgic nerve.
Best wishes, Janet..
For a month I have taken 2 tablespoons of COD Liver Oil, and have NOT had ONE nerve pain sense!! I take it every single morning. They have a lemon flavor one on Amazon I take, but the pills should do the same thing. COD Liver Oil does so much good for the body, but the relief I have is amazing. Try it!
B12
★★★★★
She made an appointment with a facial pain medical group, and she was indeed diagnosed with TN. "There is no cure" the doctor told her, so she was prescribed pain medication, and told to return in four weeks. I began my search to cure her TN pain. After 3,24/7, days of searching I stumbled across a cure. It's caused by being B12 deficient, but you can NOT cure it with the B12 injections that the doctors give, they use the cheaper pharmaceutical B12 Cyanocobalamin. You MUST USE the natural B12 Methylocobalamin injection. You begin with a daily injection of the B12 Methylcobalamin, 1cc for 10 days, after that you continue 1cc weekly, supposedly after a time you can cut the dose down even more but after almost two years my daughter is still having to have weekly shots to keep the pain away.
The B12 Methlcobalamin is much more expensive and a lot harder to find on the internet, but it's out there. After a year of using the B12 Methylcobalamin my daughter decided to try the cheaper pharmaceutical B12, within a week and a half her pain returned. It has to be the injection form and it must be the Methylcobalamin, this has been a God send for my daughter, the best of luck to you with your journey! There is a book out there, written by Dr, Oz's father in law, on facial pain that goes into more detail on this subject, but we have found that the B12 injections were all that was needed to keep the pain away.
I am frantically looking for alternatives. She is already showing signs of red spots, due to Tegretol. I really do not know how bad is Tegretol, but it is the only working medication now. So we are holding fast to it. In the meantime from what I have seen on this forum, I will enquire for a good acupuncturist on our small island, please do sent her your prayers and good vibes. I wish to God, I could change place with her.
Also by chance took viral cold sore defence vitamins and they helped clear up TN (contained astragalus 2g, lysine hydrochloride 800mg, vit C and zinc 45mg)
Ear Infection as Possible Cause
★★★★★
Several years ago I began suffering a condition which I now believe to be Trigeminal Neuralgia of the right side of my face and head. The pain comes on slowly but continuously until the pain is unbearable starting from my right front upper jaw to the right side of my nose and sinus, under my right eye and up to my right temple and right ear. I don't cry but my right eye tears and makes me want to cry more. I had actually contemplated suicide even before I had heard this condition called the "suicide disease". I have had broken noses, fractured eye socket etc. (not disfiguring) and have blamed the condition on those injuries but was never sure and I have been to many MDs, specialists and Maxillo Facial surgeons who told me that those injuries could no possibly cause headaches and never even diagnosed the headaches as Trigeminal Neuralgia!
However, we all know most of that but I have discovered another possible cause for our condition which may or may not give you relief that I am surprised that no one that I know of has suggested.
All my life I have had a problem with middle and inner ear infections. Some have been excruciatingly painful, and will let you know it's there and demands urgent treatment, which I'm sure some of you have experienced.
The facial nerve center is in very close proximity to the ear. It is possible that the patient can experience a low grade infection of the middle or inner ear which may only itch a little and not become highly inflamed and the patient may neglect the condition. But my friends let me tell you that it can tear your nerve center a NEW ONE!
So if you have this condition try antibiotic ear drops (I use Locacorten -Vioform) Which needs a prescription but is not so expensive. Lie down or turn the head sideways and use a small amount only until you feel the ear close up. Dampen a small amount of cotton and squeeze out water and place in ouside of the ear so the oil will not soak into the cotton. Use especially at night and leave in until morning and more during the day as needed if possible.
Also keep ears completely dry in shower, lake and ocean with ear plugs if necessary. Alcohol after swimming or showering WILL NOT WORK!
Hope some of you will find relief, and won't hurt to try...
★★★★★
★★★★★
I've had TN for about 6 years now, for the first 3 it was non stop, and doctors put me on the brain surgery waiting list after all of the drugs didnt work, I was 22 so not to keen on the idea of surgery, and refused to go on anti depressants.
But everything changed when I started having weekly sessions of acupuncture and cranial osteopathy. The accupuncture just treated the stress the condition had put on my mind and body (as I was seriously depressed and had been in therapy for a while) and the cranial osteopathy treated the actual pain. After each osteopathy session I experienced a very bad attack for a couple of days, as my osteopathist had warned me. I continued this treatment for about 2 months, and couldsay for definate that I have been 95% cured since and its been 3 years. When I told my neurologist he actually laughed at me, but with a combination of that and a healthy lifestyle and a relaxing environment (going home to the beach from the city helped a lot) I could carry on life as normal again.
My pain only now flags up if im really stressed or in extreme weather environments.
One more piece of advice is speak to the acupuncturists and osteopathists first and find someone who understands it and is confident they can help.
I hope this helps someone, dont give up there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
L-lysine
★★★★★
Ear Infection as Possible Cause
UPDATE:
When my TN problem first appeared about 4 years ago I was taking Melatonin every night as a sleep aid. The cluster headaches usually would wake me up in the night, but sometimes would appear during the day.
About 2 years ago I ran out of Melatonin and didn't use any for a while and the headaches went away for about a year and a half. I thought the problem was gone but about 2 months ago I found a bottle of Melatonin and started using it again as I suffer from insomnia at times. Soon after I started the Melatonin again the headaches reappeared again and more frequently and stronger than before. I started all my regimens as before when I had the headaches (you can see them on my posts here), with some results but not complete.
Before, I never considered Melatonin as a possible cause but this time when I stopped it the headaches went away after about a week while decreasing in frequency and strength, and now I have been completely free of this curse for 2 months. I can now even sleep on the right side of my face.
I have waited this long to post to make sure the relief is not a coincidence.
I am in no way stating that Melatonin is a bad drug, only that it may not be for everybody.
So, I am suggesting that all of you who suffer with Trigimenal Neuralgia, cluster headaches or migranes and are using Melatonin, to lay off it for a while (at least 2 weeks) and see if that may be or exacerbate the condition.
Antioxidants, NMDA Antagonist, Diet
★★★★★
The antioxidants I used:
- curcumin BCM-95 (fat soluble)
- grape seed extract (water soluble)
- astaxanthin (fat soluble) (i had always taken this)
- Pterostilbene (water soluble) (resveratol is obsoleted by Pterosrilibene)
I added these later:
- HiTart cherry (water soluble)
- Purple Defense (water soluble)
- blueberry extract (water soluble)
I also use krill oil to potentiate the astaxanthin and the absorption of the fat soluble antioxidants. The fat solubles must be taken with a fatty meal. The water soluble can be taken with or without food. I take them all at same time with biggest meal.
This cured my Occipital Neuralgia and RLS. I used to get a severe headache when I took MSM but not anymore. I thought a while back that the ON was caused primarily by shingles.
Solving these problems enabled me to see that I had something called Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN). It is different than plain TN in that pain is chronic as opposed to episodic and never got sudden electroshock pain. My pain is located on right side around maxillary and bottom eye. It blended in with the migraine like pain over eye from occipital so hard to distinguish. I thought the pain may have been due to sinus or dry eye problem but through very exhaustive process of exclusion, I was able to diagnose it as ATN. I had never seen ATN mentioned until relatively recently.
I think Occipital Neuralgia needs to be listed under TN category since they all relate to the head region. I primarily use Taurine and Magtein along with some things I eat to control glutamate overload in order to manage the ATN.
I want to take more B12 methycoblamin but it can aggravate it so must go low dose. Phosphytidylcholine aggravates symptoms so can't take that. Any choline supplement aggravates things it seems. I am still trying to find a complete cure for the ATN. I have some control over the ATN pain.
★★★★★
So I read more and found that a virus also could contribute to TN. I have an old Bob Beck Zapper from the 90's. It works by placing the contact probes over the Ulna and Radial arteries. I would use the zapper 30 min each nite before bed. W/i 2 days the involuntary shocks stopped. Now all I had were the shocks that I triggered off by touching various spots on my face (R side only) I noticed that the intensity of the shocks decreased from 12/10 to 5/10. I quickly learned where not to touch on my face.
After about a month of nightly zapping, I am now to the point where my shocks are gone, even when toughing my face. It looks like the virus was the main cause of my TN. I continue to zap each nite for 30 min. This is a blood purifier and takes care of all pathogens and viruses in the blood.
B12
I'm back, still dealing w/ sporadic aching / stabbing, get's easier as time goes on ( 4th. year now ), compared to pain after a Grand Mal Seizure, this is a " walk in the park ", mind over matter ( simply pay it no mind and it won't matter ). Turns out increasing B12 daily dosage from 400mg to 1000mg was the culprit, I had surmised such after surfing various sites pertaining to B12 and in some cases side effects.
After seeing Dermatologist, her referral was that of a " Pain Specialist " ( more appt.'s $$ ) I've been dealing w/ idiopathic left temporal lobe Epilepsy way too long to know what comes after referral and original consultation from one " Specialist " to another, what else but more " follow up's & test's " .
I walked that road over 15 years ago after deciding to try elective brain surgery @ Yale Univ. New Haven, been having countless seizures, both complex partial along w/ grand mal ( " slammers " ) & amnesia, whatever is " done is done " logic alone leads one to believe there's no fixin' this but the Nice Cold Gel Pak sure does suffice at times, especially now as I type.
Only managed to make Phase 3 @ Yale ( 5 interior electrodes ) shortly after Triple ByPass making me no longer an eligible candidate for partial lobotomy, might very well have been to my benefit, can't cry over spilt milk.
Reason for writing today is : DO NOT use excess B12 ( in my case anyway 400 to 1000 ) today after cutting 1000 pill into half, the chronic stabbing burn above eye along w/ forehead and side just above ear is every bit apprx. 90% LESS, leaving a slight easily tolerable one on top towards the rear of skull.
If this helps one persons attempt in pain reduction my time won't be wasted, nor will theirs.
Good Luck ........ careful w/ excess B12, see Primary first or have a blood test to know it's dissolution factor / half life.
20 Minute Walks
★★★★☆
HOWEVER!!! I find that if after having early morning shocks every 5 minutes, I go for an hour's walk, I then get maybe 2 strikes after which I am totally pain free, so much so I can play a round of golf! The pain will then return later in the day once I cease to walk /exercise despite medication!! So if you want relief during the day try going for a 20min walk
Try it. You have nothing to lose!! Good Luck
Vitamin D
★★★★★
I visited a couple neurologists early on who could find nothing on an MRI so I was sent away and told to "monitor things". But things got worse. When I developed full-blown trigeminal neuralgia I knew something was seriously wrong and the neurologists weren't going to cure me. Trigeminal neuralgia is an extremely painful condition and happens in a small percentage of MS patients. This is due to demylination of the sheath that protects the nerves causing severe nerve pain in the face and head. I was also having severe nerve pain all over my body. I knew if I didn't do something right away I would be on my way to an MS diagnosis. That's when I heard about Dr. Cicero Coimbra, a neurologist in Brazil who was treating his patients with high doses of vitamin D. His patients were becoming totally asymptomatic in a few months! Dr. Cicero has a long waiting list and I could not wait any longer because the pain was killing me and my symptoms were getting worse. So I got a hold of one of his patients from Australia and this woman explained the protocol to me.
WARNING:
Certain precautions need to be taken when taking high doses of vitamin D so do not undertake this without doing more research. I avoided all dairy products in order to prevent hypercalcemia and drank 2.5 litres of water every day. One must also avoid calcium supplements. Well, after 3 months of mega doses of vitamin D (I will not say the dose but it was between 10,000 and 40,000 iu per day) I was pain free! I am now on a maintenance dose of the vitamin D but I have no more trigeminal neuralgia and all of my other symptoms have disappeared! I praise God for allowing me to find this information. I now live a normal, pain-free life. Vitamin D not only halts progression of MS but it reverses damage done. A true miracle.
★★★★★
I can't speak for anyone else, but if I had Trigeminal Neuralgia, I would try melatonin lotion as one of my first options because it is a simple noninvasive approach. Here is a link about it and how my friends make it :
https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/topical-melatonin-pain-relief-success-stories.html
The following study suggests this potential use of melatonin :
Here is a relevant study quote:
In this situation, melatonin can decrease the frequency and intensity of pain syndromes through inherent analgesic mechanisms and circadian rhythm normalization. Melatonin receptors were found in the ganglia and nuclei of the trigeminal nerve, suggesting that melatonin decreases trigeminal vascular nociception.
Art
Peppermint + Cistus Essential Oils
★★★★☆