Trigeminal neuralgia

[sharoma]

Due to physical trauma I suffer from Trigeminal neuralgia. I am writing this post because right now, it is hurting a lot. Trigeminal neuralgia is basically nerve pain in the face. It never goes away and it can be triggered even by slight contact, or sometimes no contact at all. When I wear my glasses, the pain can be extreme. I have suffered with this for 23 years now but it was only diagnosed in the last two years. Up until that point I had to battle through because I didn't want to seem like a complainer; after all, we all get headaches and migraines from time to time. However, before I was medicated the pain was basically crippling. It made it difficult to focus: both literally with my eyes and mentally with my thoughts. It was exhausting and I was prone to becoming very depressed about it. In the early 'teens I was close to giving up entirely. What changed?

Well, I finally had access to a decent doctor, for which I am extremely grateful. Canada, like the UK, does not charge people to see a GP. Nor does it charge you if you need CT or MRI scans, both of which I had. My pain is still present and always will be. However, I now take three times daily a high dose of gabapentin. This is in many ways a miracle drug. Although it cannot remove the pain, it can reduce it. Even a slight reduction or numbing of the pain can help tremendously and has allowed me to resume school and start planning a new career. Before I was medicated, both of those seemed utterly impossible. Of course, I still suffer from breakthrough pain, as I am experiencing right now. I can use other painkillers and topical CBD ointment, both of which help.

What was the point of this post? To make me feel better of course. Although I also hope anyone else who suffers with Trigeminal neuralgia will feel that they are not alone and that there is always a reason to keep going. I am here if you need to talk about this!

Thanks for reading.