Sue,

So sorry you are in so much pain. Coincidentally some of us having been discussing late side effects of radiotherapy on another thread about face, neck and head pain.

Do your symptoms match those described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia?

Hope the MRI provides some reassurance.

Best
Cathy

Hi Cathy,

I can't believe that I have not come across that website before.

Thank you so much, I have just been on the link you posted for me and it's bang on as to what my symptoms are.

I will print that off and take it with me when I go for my MRI results.

Once again thank you.

Best Wishes
Sue

The treatment for trigeminal neuralgia can be amitryptilline 10mg at night.Didn't you post earlier that you were already on that?

Hi Liz,

Yeah I am already on Amitryptiline and taking 20mg at nite.

The pain does not wake me at night but it's there all day, sometimes it's mild all day and on other days it is severe. It's making me really miserable and tired and really starting to control what I do.

I have to be very careful when going to the gym cos one minute I can be fine and the other I'm running out to get home as quickly as possible. Sometimes the only way in which I can get the pain to go is by going to bed and sleeping it off. That indicates to me that it could be the fact that I am relaxing, so I think sometimes its stress that brings it on.

Will post when I have the results of the MRI, but for the time being I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Love Sue

Hi All,

I have had my MRI appointment through today for Monday 22nd March but I have a question.

When they did a head x-ray at the hospital last Frdiay it showed up clips that they use to put the blood vessels, that they have to go through when they operate, back together.

Does anyone know what those clips are made of. Are they metal?

Sue x

Hi All

Just a small update.

I had the MRI but now have to wait until 23 April before I see my consultant again, but, I do know, that if he gets the results and finds anything suspicious he will call me.

However, what seems more promising at this moment in time is that I had to go to the doctors last Thursday, had to get something to clear the oral thrush again!! She questioned the reason why I was having a further MRI and I explained about the pain. She could not see why my consultant had not tried treating me for nueralgic pain prior to doing the MRI. Now although my consultant didn't want to give me anything, until the MRI results were through she wanted to because of the severe pain I was getting so she has put me on Lyrica 75mg, one a day for the first week to be increased to 2 a day thereafter. These contain 75mg of pregabalin, which I have seen mentioned on this site before.

Now, prior to going on these I was, most days, taking the maximum amount of Ibuprofen, however, since being on the Lyrica, of which I am still only taking 1 a day I have only had to take 1 dose of Ibuprofen.

This to me seems very promising and could be nueralgic pain rather than anything more sinister. So fingers crossed. Will post once I have the MRI results.

Take Care All
Sue

Hi All

Well haven't posted for some time.

My scan results were all clear so my consultant believes the pain I am getting is from nueralger. I am on Lyrica 75mg one in the morning and one in the evening but I have an appointment with my doctor to review this as they do not appear to be strong enough, but other than that everything is good.

However, I am now pushing my husband to the doctors as he tells me he has had a sore on the back of his tongue for the last 4 weeks. He had mentioned it to me before but, then said nothing more about it until yesterday, when he didn't want certain foods on his plate because they hurt the area that is sore, so I thought it had gone. I had a look at it this morning and it looks horrible. He is a smoker, but is not really a drinker, especially over the past 5 years because of his accident.

Fingers crossed it is nothing sinister, surely we cannot be that unlucky. Will post again when he's been to the doc's.

Best Wishes to you all

Sue