Richard Tool
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- Joined
- Aug 3, 2019
- Messages
- 1,627
Had an interesting experience yesterday. I have been battling Trigeminal Neuralgia for a couple years now . It was originally thought to be TMJD .
( temporal mandibular joint disorder) but now diagnosed as Trigeminal Neuralgia. The Trigeminal Nerve is the major facial nerve . Symptoms are facial pain - jaw , earache , headache, teeth - blah blah blah. All hurts , all the time .
Treated with nerve blockers for a while ( Gabapentin, Carbamazepine) and while the meds took the edge off and definitely helped they are very sedative and I was becoming very lethargic and sleeping my life away . The causes of this disease are varied - among them arterial compression of the nerve. For this the fix is pretty intense . The neurosurgeon drills a hole in your skull behind your ear and inserts a sponge between the artery and nerve . Thankfully in my case two MRI’s and a CT scan showed that this was not the case . There is increasing suspicion ( but no certainty) in the Medical world that it may be caused by the early Pfizer CoVid vaccine. I received the first round available because my wife and daughter both worked in nursing
homes . I don’t know what caused it in my case and the doctors can’t say with any certainty but the timeline fits . I am not anti vaccination by any stretch and the world was in panic mode at the time and most ( including me ) were glad to have the vaccine.
The procedure I went through yesterday is called Radio Frequency
Rhizotomy . Under anesthesia a long needle is inserted through your cheek and brought into contact with the Trigeminal nerve. I believe it is guided by ultrasonic means . When the surgeon believes he is there they bring you out of anesthesia briefly and feed in a little current and gauge your reaction. If the team is confident they are in the right spot they put you immediately back under and burn ( ablation) the nerve .
Norton disease must be very powerful- apparently when they brought me out I immediately sat up on the table and wanted to go for a ride !
Glad they all had a sense of humor.
Good news is my condition is very much improved.
( temporal mandibular joint disorder) but now diagnosed as Trigeminal Neuralgia. The Trigeminal Nerve is the major facial nerve . Symptoms are facial pain - jaw , earache , headache, teeth - blah blah blah. All hurts , all the time .
Treated with nerve blockers for a while ( Gabapentin, Carbamazepine) and while the meds took the edge off and definitely helped they are very sedative and I was becoming very lethargic and sleeping my life away . The causes of this disease are varied - among them arterial compression of the nerve. For this the fix is pretty intense . The neurosurgeon drills a hole in your skull behind your ear and inserts a sponge between the artery and nerve . Thankfully in my case two MRI’s and a CT scan showed that this was not the case . There is increasing suspicion ( but no certainty) in the Medical world that it may be caused by the early Pfizer CoVid vaccine. I received the first round available because my wife and daughter both worked in nursing
homes . I don’t know what caused it in my case and the doctors can’t say with any certainty but the timeline fits . I am not anti vaccination by any stretch and the world was in panic mode at the time and most ( including me ) were glad to have the vaccine.
The procedure I went through yesterday is called Radio Frequency
Rhizotomy . Under anesthesia a long needle is inserted through your cheek and brought into contact with the Trigeminal nerve. I believe it is guided by ultrasonic means . When the surgeon believes he is there they bring you out of anesthesia briefly and feed in a little current and gauge your reaction. If the team is confident they are in the right spot they put you immediately back under and burn ( ablation) the nerve .
Norton disease must be very powerful- apparently when they brought me out I immediately sat up on the table and wanted to go for a ride !
Glad they all had a sense of humor.
Good news is my condition is very much improved.