Would you comment on a non-mask wearer when in public?

[92miles]

If you passed a fit young person coming into a busy venue as you were exiting, and that person wasn't wearing a mask, would you say anything to them?

I wouldn't because you've got no way of knowing if that person is exempt. It is also possible the person does have a mask and had simply forgotten to slip it on. I think they will pretty soon notice others wearing masks and it will remind them if that's the case.

I've witnessed other people making comments to non mask wearers when in public though.

My favourite are those that wear a mask to get on the bus, go upstairs, sit down, and take it off. It reminds me of when people use to do the same with cigarettes.

Mask exemptions do exist in Toronto according to the Toronto Public Health Service factsheet. It states Do not put masks on people who have trouble breathing or who cannot remove the mask without
assistance so very similar to the UK.

Oopps bold fail...sorry.

@Bouledeneige

No absolutely not. I'm not a nazi.

Do you actually know what a nazi is? FFS

@Bouledeneige

No absolutely not. I'm not a nazi.

The Nazis starved, ghettoised, shot and gassed my family. They punched babies in the head and killed them. They tortured children at length. They murdered six million Jews and six million homosexuals, Communists, Slavs, Gypsies, etc.

Fuck you.

You really shouldn't my exempt DS wears one even though he doesnt need too but he struggles so much with the shame that he does and only goes places he knows will be less than 5 minutes. It limits what he can do so much but because he looks like your average 20yr old he gets some right comments. He is ASD and had a panick attack if he keeps it on too long. Even when he used a face shield instead people were horrible about it.

'TN drugs take months to work, and there's no guarantee they do even then.'

The GP told my relative carbamazepine can take a couple of weeks to be effective and tbh within days there was a massive improvement.

.

'Just get a bloody life and stop judging other people just to feel superior yourselves.'

No one likes wearing a mask, no one. I don't feel superior to anyone but if face covers are to be worn then more should be wearing them. I wouldn't say anything to anyone as I'm not a 'nazi'. Though to be fair as pps said they did far worse than criticise mask refusers so not really an appropriate label.

It amazes me that posts like yours are allowed to stand. I suppose in a way it's useful to let people see what kind of person you are.

You're fooling absolutely nobody with your clever language skirting just on the right side to avoid deletion, your fake flowers and your copy and paste from google. You should be utterly ashamed of yourself. People like you genuinely disgust me.

@JaniieJones. Carbamazepine made no difference whatsoever for me. Luckily mine isn't constant and I have episodes a few weeks long with months off in between. When not mid episode I'm fine. When I have one, my own hair brushing my face can set it off.

Even if I weren't already exempt due to PTSD, I'm not sure I'd wear one for fear of setting it off. No one who hasn't experienced it can understand what it's like. It's the worst pain I've ever felt. There's a reason they call it the suicide disease.

They've also proven themselves to be telling fibs with their 'I know someone with XYZ condition and they're fine' line - for example, nobody goes from TN diagnosis to taking meds and managing the condition within a few weeks. TN drugs take months to work, and there's no guarantee they do even then.

Bit of a Dr Google fail there!

Ooh, scundered!

@JaniieJones

'TN drugs take months to work, and there's no guarantee they do even then.'

The GP told my relative carbamazepine can take a couple of weeks to be effective and tbh within days there was a massive improvement.

.

'Just get a bloody life and stop judging other people just to feel superior yourselves.'

No one likes wearing a mask, no one. I don't feel superior to anyone but if face covers are to be worn then more should be wearing them. I wouldn't say anything to anyone as I'm not a 'nazi'. Though to be fair as pps said they did far worse than criticise mask refusers so not really an appropriate label.

Incredible.

TN is the most severe pain imaginable. By the time you're diagnosed, you'll have had enough episodes to fully know this, and how severe it is. Also, GPs don't diagnose TN - they may make a tentative diagnosis and make a referral, but it's a neurologist who diagnoses, after an MRI.

All cases of TN are 'extreme'. There is no mild TN pain. Some people go longer between flares than others, but it always gets worse over time and medication commonly stops working eventually, whether it takes a few months or many years. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. There is absolutely no conceivable way that any drug for TN can make you feel better within days. Carbamazepine is not a painkiller, it's an anti seizure medication, usually used for epilepsy. As with all medications like it, it takes weeks, sometimes months to become effective. If indeed they do at all - results can vary enormously.

Eventually almost everyone diagnosed with TN will have an attack in public; unless they never leave the house, it's bound to happen. Particularly if you've had the condition for many years and it's advanced and/or drugs no longer work.

Anyone newly diagnosed with TN will know how grim it is, and how depressing the outlook is. How dare you minimise the experiences and pain of people suffering a debilitating neurological condition - you have absolutely no idea. Perhaps your 'relative' has downplayed their symptoms because they know you will minimise their own experience. Just a few short weeks ago you knew nobody with TN and now you know several - how unfortunate that even with knowing so many newly diagnosed TN sufferers (unusual in itself!) the information you have on the condition is so very wrong.

Also, @JaniieJones, the dosage for carbamazepine needs to be adjusted over several weeks to get to the optimal level for each individual. The dosage is usually between two and four times a day, but it takes weeks to get it right as the dose has to be increased incrementally. Once the correct dose is reached, it then needs several weeks to start working.

Absolutely no way you can feel better in a few days. In a few days you're still on a very basic low dose

'Also, GPs don't diagnose TN'

They can and do, yes ct or mri can be done to rule out other causes but they do manage as well as diagnose TN.

Anywayyyy. Back to the thread. Until Omicron peaks and positive cases reduce the more people using face covers the better. Barring those exempt.

Posted too soon again!

Yes, a basic low dose which isn't potent enough to offer any relief.

There's lots of information widely available online for anyone who wants to know more about the condition, and I'm sure the TN sufferers here (including me!) would be happy to answer any questions.

@JaniieJones

'Also, GPs don't diagnose TN'

They can and do, yes ct or mri can be done to rule out other causes but they do manage as well as diagnose TN.

Anywayyyy. Back to the thread. Until Omicron peaks and positive cases reduce the more people using face covers the better. Barring those exempt.

CT scans aren't used to diagnose TN, in the UK at least.

Yes. Back to the thread.

Whatever faux experts try to tell you - most people with TN can't wear a face covering

GPs do not diagnose TN. They may informally diagnose it, start you on carbamazepine and arrange for a scan but a neurologist will be the one to confirm it based on the scan results.

The neurologist will also send a letter to the GP regarding diagnosis and medication dosage. The neurologist will also see you annually or 6 monthly while they are stabilising the condition.

And yes, MRI scans are used to diagnose TN in the UK. Not CT scans.

But of course we who have the condition and have been living with it for years wouldn't know better than someone whose relative has just been diagnosed.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

GPs do not diagnose TN. They may informally diagnose it, start you on carbamazepine and arrange for a scan but a neurologist will be the one to confirm it based on the scan results.

The neurologist will also send a letter to the GP regarding diagnosis and medication dosage. The neurologist will also see you annually or 6 monthly while they are stabilising the condition.

Exactly.

How strange that the several newly diagnosed people that poster knows haven't told her that.

(Incidentally, this is exactly how my diagnosis came about - weeks of agony which I'd suffered previously for years but thought was dental, followed by emergency hospital dental appointment where no dental cause was found. They suggested TN and sent me to my GP who agreed that's what it could be, and referred me to my neurologist who confirmed after an MRI. It's a bit like GPs can suspect rheumatoid arthritis but only a rheumatologist can diagnose it.)

@VikingOnTheFridge

They've also proven themselves to be telling fibs with their 'I know someone with XYZ condition and they're fine' line - for example, nobody goes from TN diagnosis to taking meds and managing the condition within a few weeks. TN drugs take months to work, and there's no guarantee they do even then.

Bit of a Dr Google fail there!

Ooh, scundered!

I'm cringing so hard I might just have turned inside out

How embarrassing to be caught out (repeatedly!) like that.

@Bouledeneige

No absolutely not. I'm not a nazi.

I'm exempt, I think those who are exempt should be left alone, but this comment? Disgusting.

Yes I experienced the same. Have had my wisdom teeth out and 3 root canals thinking it was dental. Of course they made no difference.

Strange that the pp knows so many people with the condition. I've never met anyone else. Also strange that they are all so misinformed about the life changing condition they have.

Carbamazepine can't just be taken and poof! You're better! It takes weeks to work up to a therapeutic dose, you have to start low.

For me it's made no difference and I'm not suitable for surgery so I just have to live with it. Like fuck would I risk an episode just for the sake of wearing ineffectual piece of fabric that does little but give a false sense of security. It's a moot point of course as my PTSD makes it impossible but still...

'The neurologist will also send a letter to the GP regarding diagnosis and medication dosage. The neurologist will also see you annually or 6 monthly while they are stabilising the condition.'

Perhaps healthcare varies nationally? Imagine that. I guarantee in a pandemic referrals to neuro will be on a fairly urgent needs basis only, not because it happened to someone on mumsnet so therefore must happen everywhere. If someone presents with facial pain and responds to carbamazepine then the gp will continue to manage them until they can't, say if extreme doses are required.

Secondary care referrals are only when needed.

'Carbamazepine can't just be taken and poof! You're better! It takes weeks to work up to a therapeutic dose, you have to start low.'

But it can and does work at low doses, not for everyone but it can.

Some of you may sneer at my newly diagnosed relative but they have been on online forums and discussed this at length with others in the same boat too not just me with my 'wealth of medical knowledge' .

Face covers though should be worn! (Unless genuinely exempt).

It does not vary nationally. A neurological condition is diagnosed by a neurologist. A GP cannot prescribe a dose of carbamazepine high enough to affect TN without a neurologist signing off on it. They are not allowed to. They can't just hand out drugs willy nilly for whatever they please.

A low dose will do sweet fuck all. I have been told that by my consultant when I first told her it wasn't working. I was categorically told that the dose GPs are allowed to prescribe is simply not enough to actually do anything but get your body accustomed to it

Why are you insisting that your information is correct when several people with TN have told you that it isn't? You don't have the condition, your information is third hand at best from Internet forums through another person who didn't even know this condition existed a month ago and you still insist that you know better than us because that person can still wear a mask. We've had this condition for years, spoken to God knows how many consultants and specialists but you know better because 'Google'

And yes, btw I have still been having my regular neurology appointments during the pandemic. This is because my treatment needs reviewing and this cannot be done through the GP.

@JaniieJones

'The neurologist will also send a letter to the GP regarding diagnosis and medication dosage. The neurologist will also see you annually or 6 monthly while they are stabilising the condition.'

Perhaps healthcare varies nationally? Imagine that. I guarantee in a pandemic referrals to neuro will be on a fairly urgent needs basis only, not because it happened to someone on mumsnet so therefore must happen everywhere. If someone presents with facial pain and responds to carbamazepine then the gp will continue to manage them until they can't, say if extreme doses are required.

Secondary care referrals are only when needed.

'Carbamazepine can't just be taken and poof! You're better! It takes weeks to work up to a therapeutic dose, you have to start low.'

But it can and does work at low doses, not for everyone but it can.

Some of you may sneer at my newly diagnosed relative but they have been on online forums and discussed this at length with others in the same boat too not just me with my 'wealth of medical knowledge' .

Face covers though should be worn! (Unless genuinely exempt).

TN can be caused by a tumour in the brain stem, MS, or pressure on the trigeminal nerve by a major blood vessel in the brain stem.

As I'm sure you realise with your medical background, brain tumours and MS are extremely serious conditions and require urgent treatment. Which is why MRIs are done routinely and quickly in cases of suspected TN, pandemic or not. It's also why GPs can't make a firm diagnosis and manage treatment. To do so would be dangerous and negligent. GPs don't refer because 'extreme doses [of carbamazepine] are required. They refer immediately, to rule out tumours or MS, and to confirm the diagnosis.

Yes, carbamazepine can work at low doses - but it still takes weeks or months for the correct dose to be achieved. And then it takes as long again for the drug to work. It doesn't give relief in a few days. That cannot happen, it's utterly impossible.

Your relative should be wary of taking advice from strangers on a forum. The internet is full of people who claim to be experts on a topic but in reality know absolutely nothing about it.

It does not vary nationally. A neurological condition is diagnosed by a neurologist

This. As I said, it's the same as a GP being unable to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis - only a rheumatologist can do that.

A low dose will do sweet fuck all

Certainly true for me! All it did was make me sleepy and permanently hungover.