Trigelminal Neuralgia? Dental?

[StayingHere]

In February I had dental work done on my two front teeth (veneers) long story but it was to cover some pretty ugly black gaps and twisted teeth and chips from prior gum disease and an accident. After this, one of the teeth would not settle so I ended up having root canal in the tooth. It hasn't made a lot of difference and still causes pain. I also have sensitivity in the other tooth. I am back and forth with an endodontist who isn't convinced of where the problem lies and is holding back on treatment- I'm about to have the tooth re-treated and the one next to it done in desperation to get relief. I'm pretty much fantasising about having them taken out and replaced with implants as I can't face the discomfort any more. In the meantime, my cheek on one side constantly aches, and my eye on the same side feels a kind of raw feeling. Before I go and sink my savings on root canals I'm starting to wonder if maybe I have a nerve problem. Does anyone suffer from TN and does this sound like it could be it? Or is TN way worse? My face doesn't hurt to touch, just constant discomfort in the cheek and round the eye plus the constant teeth problems.

It's both. Cold breezes, eating or drinking, brushing my teeth all triggered attacks of pain. But I also got spontaneous attacks too that needed no trigger.
Now I'm medicated the only trigger I have is cold or exercise (I have an artery pressing on the nerve in my brain, so when my heart rate increases i suppose the nerve gets more annoyes) but i can still have random bouts of a gnawing ache.

One of the only ways to rule out whether it is TN is to get on carbamazepine or gabapentin and see if they give relief. Theres no real other diagnostic tool to verify it.

Many people have several teeth out or messed with before they realise it isnt dental and generally the TN advice is avoid more dental work unless your dentist is 100% sure it is dental in nature.

@DrMadelineMaxwell you poor thing sounds awful. I dont know if what I am experiencing is this or some kind of atypical facial pain, or really is the neighbouring tooth tricking me. But I think a couple of weeks of the drug you mention would at least show me whether more dental work is necessary or not. I'd hate to be two root canals down and still feeling that stabbing.

Visited my endo again today. He tested every tooth and all others still vital with no decay. The neighbouring incisor is very sensitive and he suspects my pain comes from that tooth as it's impossible in the RCT one. But he doesnt want to go into the tooth yet because veneer teeth can take a long while to settle. I have referral to neurologist next week who he thinks will say nothing is wrong but might try out a medication to see if it puts me out of pain. Such a palava beginning to feel pretty depressed.

@StayingHere hey how are u now? Ny symptoms the same! Not sure if its tn or tmj x

@DrMadelineMaxwell hello!
Just wondering how long did it take for meds to work?
My gp has prescribed me gaba but abit scared to take it cause of side effects xx

I MUCH prefer the gabapentin and have been on it successfully for many years now.

The side effects from carbamazepine were horrid. The gabapentin ones were very mild and I barely notice them much now.

What dose did you get prescribed? I had to start off on 3 x 100mg a day and slowly increase until my pain was managed. It took about a 2 months to get to my current dose which stops all pain 90% of the time.

My side effects? A bit of a weird effect on my writing (have to concentrate a bit more on it or weirdly I dont always start the word at the beginning - bit embarrassing as a teacher) and I had a twitch that only I was aware of most of the time.

The carbamazepine left me unable to function and stay awake. I wasnt safe to drive or even to walk as it left me reeling like I was drunk. So I much prefer the gabapentin. And the side effects settle down after a while on it too I found.

Give it a go. Fingers crossed it works for you. And you just reduce your dose or ask to try something different if you have any side effects.

@DrMadelineMaxwell thankyou for your reply! Thats very helpful❤️
Thats what i am being started on, he didnt give me the other one because im due back to work from being on maternity.

Oo i bet that is hard especially being a teacher.
Oo did the twitch really annoy you? Im glad it went away though!
They tried me on amitriptyline but ididnt find much help plus it caused me to get tinnutis!

Im going to try it this weekend. Hopefully it aill help. What dose are you on atm? X

The twitch was annoying. Once I managed to twitch with one hand and knock a glass of water down myself. Usually it wasnt noticeable.

I'm on 3 x 600mg a day. At about 400 x 3 my random pains stooped but ones triggered by eating or touching my face only went away at 600mg.

@DrMadelineMaxwell did the twitch go in the end ? Xx

At the start I could lie very still and every 30 seconds or so I could feel a tiny twitch somewhere on my body. My little finger. My knee. No one else would really know to look at me unless it made me fumble with something.
It did settle down slowly. And now a Tony twitch is very unusual. Once a week or so.

I'd be happy with the twitch anyway for the amount of pain relief it gives me and has given me for over 7 years.