Trigeminal Neuralgia

Last time I described Trigeminal neuralgia. Once it has been diagnosed, what is to be done about it?

Usually, medication is used to control the painful episodes of the sharp lancinating pain. The main class of medications, used for the control Trigeminal Neuralgia is the antieleptics, sometimes called anticonvulsives. Drugs like Tegretol or Trileptal are standard. When prescriptions those medications are written, we usually write for blood tests and an MRI also. We need the blood tests to establish a baseline against which other future blood tests are measured. Sometimes the extended use of a particular drug will cause a change in the make-up of the blood cells. If we do not have anything to compare such a test with, how are we to know if a slight elevation in the number of a particular blood cell is within normal limits or represents a change? A brainstem MRI is also needed to rule out the possibility of some sort of brain tumor as a causative factor.

In summary, the first line of treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia is medication. What happens if the medication stops working? To find out you will need to return to use next week to find out.

Stanley Markman, DDS

Stanleymarkmandds.com