Friday 9 November 2012

Pain

    I'll keep this post brief, because sitting up to write it hurts. I'm unfortunate enough to suffer from periodic attacks of atypical facial pain, a bland medical description for what I'm told is among the more intense chronic pain conditions it is possible to suffer. The left side of my face is alternately in extreme pain yet strangely numb, or dulled by painkillers to an aching tiredness. There's nothing wrong with my face, teeth or mouth, instead my trigeminal nerve is betraying me by telling my brain about pain that shouldn't exist.
    I'm lucky in how this condition affects me. I get it for about a week, roughly once a year or eighteen months or so. It's usually triggered by stress situations like my currently heightened gender wrangles, and yet again I'm lucky in that painkillers have some effect on it. Some people with this condition have it all the time and painkillers don't work.
    Pain this intense is debilitating. I've had pain before, broken a toe and a rib, split fingernails, had headaches and stomach aches like everyone else. The normal bumps and scrapes of growing up. But nothing like this. Unrelenting, merciless.
    I can understand why it drives some people to suicide.
    My doctor has given me some pills, not a painkiller but an anti-epilectic. Surprisingly the recommended prescription for errant trigeminal nerves. It hasn't worked yet.
    Damn.

7 comments:

  1. That's a pain in the a**e isn't it? Sorry couldn't resist that one. Actually a pain there might be a lot better than where you are getting them but somehow I doubt that. A pain of any sort is a pain though so I sympathise with you.

    Shirley Anne x

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  2. Sorry to hear that you are in so much pain, and I hope it passes quickly.

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  3. Sorry to hear that. Beterschap!

    Stace

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  4. I used to be a real wimp as far as pain was concerned but having to put myself through certain pain for the likes of hair loss and ops found that the threshold has risen past what would once have been unbearable.

    A near neighbour used to do hypnotherapy for chronic pain and found some great results...

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  5. Dear Jenny, sounds absolutely awful, hope the drugs start to work soon!

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  6. Jenny,

    I have had to deal with something called facial neuralgia for many years. It has severely damaged the nerves on the left side of my face. Although I seem to be the only one who can see it, until I point it out, it has also affected the appearance of that side of my face. It is brought on by stress but I have found little that helps it, once it starts coming on strong. This may or may not be what you are experiencing, but I do think I can very much relate to what you're going through.

    Keep the faith, girlfriend. Write me if you want to compare notes.

    Calie xxx

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  7. Still got it, a bit. But it is going away. Slowly :)

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