Trigeminal Neuralgia

In April of 2014, I start to get really bad pain around my upper left wisdom tooth. It extends outward, running along the gum towards the front of my mouth. At times, the pain strikes specific teeth in the row like a pinpoint shot of lightning and even creeps into my face.

I go to Quick Care where the PA says it could be a sinus infection and gives me antibiotics and Prednisone. The Prednisone helps at first, but the pain comes back a few days later. I’m thinking it could be my wisdom tooth, but when I push in on the tooth itself, it doesn’t hurt. And for as bad as the pain can get, it tends to come and go! which makes it even harder to figure out. I hunt around the internet and find that unexplained pain like this could be Trigeminal Neuralgia. I study a picture of the trigeminal nerve, and indeed the pain (mostly) seems to trace the path of the maxillary branch. I secretly hope that the pain is from my tooth, because there doesn’t seem to be a cure for this Trigeminal Neuralgia thing. Before I can get to the dentist though, I end up in Urgent Care; the pain has become unbearably intense and I’m desperate for some pain medication (I’m allergic to NSAID’s and Tylenol – oh the joys!). The doctor says he doesn’t know what’s causing the pain, (he’s also puzzled that the actual wisdom tooth doesn’t hurt) and refers me to a dental surgeon to be evaluated for possible TMJ. Thankfully, he gives me Hydrocodone, which does dull the pain.

But soon the pain starts to really hang around. It also ramps up a bit. I don’t really want to be on Hydrocodone during the day, (especially since I’m taking care of my year and a half old daughter), so I start doing a bit of acupressure to try and ease the pain. I press in on my gums where it hurts and also massage and apply pressure to points that feel sensitive or tender on the left side of my head – my upper jaw, my temple and the points around it, the area in and around the temporomandibular joint, and points above and around my ear. Sometimes this works wonders for the pain, and other times this does nothing. I also start to get acupuncture with electricity once a week which takes the pain down a few notches and helps me get through the day.

When I finally see the dental surgeon, the X-ray shows a decayed wisdom tooth – the most likely culprit for all the pain. We plan to take it out and I’m told the office will get back to me with a date for the surgery. I feel relieved that the end is in sight. But lying in bed one night, the pain just does not stop. It just keeps coming and coming and coming. I do more acupressure – nothing. I take some Hydrocodone – nothing. I take more hydrocodone – still nothing! The pain is now so excruciating that I’m almost in shock from it. I feel the left side of my face from my cheekbone down to my mouth go numb. With tears streaming down my face, I’m practically frozen in pain. I hallucinate a friendly white wolf staring at me and pass out. In the morning I leave a message for the surgeon that it’s reached emergency level and that if he can’t help me right away I have to find someone who can. I get the surgery the very next day, I recover, and things go back to normal. Everything is fine. No pain! I go back for my follow up and he tells me the decay wasn’t that bad actually. But whatever, my pain is gone and I’m feeling fine, so who cares. UNTIL, LAST MARCH 2016!

I START TO HAVE THE SAME EXACT PAIN AGAIN!! IN THE SAME EXACT SPOT!! Right where my wisdom tooth USED to be! So now I’m thinking, WTF is this shit? My wisdom tooth is gone, so I shouldn’t be having any problems, right? Plus, I’m freaked; I can’t go through that level of pain again. So, I take out my Medical Medium book and sure enough he’s got this one covered. He says this is the Shingles virus. Not EBV, but Shingles. According to Anthony William, there are 31 varieties, and I read about one particular strain:

Mouth Shingles, TMJ, and Bell’s Palsy: This virus affects the gums and/or the area by the jaw. It’s also responsible for Bell’s Palsy (viral inflammation of critical facial nerves) and TMJ disorders (a result of trigeminal nerve inflammation and pain). It’s frequently mistaken for a dental issue, leading to unnecessary root canals. Not only does the dental surgery not help, the medications involved weaken the immune system, which allows the virus to grow even stronger. This viral torture of the mouth can go on for years.

“This virus affects the gums and/or the area by the jaw. It’s also responsible for Bell’s Palsy…mistaken for dental issues…” Bingo! So I flip to his list of healing herbs and supplements for Shingles– I REALLY want to nip this in the bud, and I hit everything pretty hard. I take Alpha Lipoic Acid, Magnesium, Lysine, MSM, Licorice Root, and I find a pack of zinc throat lozenges left over from the winter. I tuck one of the lozenges right up into the spot that hurts and keep it there until it’s all gone. To my surprise, it cuts down the pain quite a bit! I get religious about the supplements, but I pop the zinc lozenges like candy. One after another I tuck them into that spot, and by the end of the day the pain has not gotten worse. On day two it starts to recede, and by the end of day three the pain is gone! THE PAIN IS GONE! I stay with my “program” for a few more days just to really drive the virus back down and cement my victory. I’m pain free and absolutely elated I was able to dodge this bullet!

But there’s just one more thing…

This begs the question: If the pain was exactly the same and was terminated by my antiviral and nerve protecting protocol the second time around, then why did removing my wisdom tooth the first time, also end the pain? Why did it go away and not return – for at least two years anyway? See There’s just one more thing if you’re interested.