Re: Do I have Neuralgia?

Posted By Elaine on July 16, 1998 at 09:12:26:

In Reply to: Re: Do I have Neuralgia? posted by Debby on July 15, 1998 at 13:11:25:






I'm 31, and ever since my teenage years I have experienced occasional sensitivity in my face. It varies from side to side. Sometimes it spreads to my head and it's too sensitive/painful to brush my hair. Sometimes I have ear ache or toothache associated with it, but not always. I can't tell sometime if the ear ache/toothache causes the sensitivity or vice versa. Often times the inside of my mouth/gum is sensitive too. I don't usually have a headache with it. Ibuprofin or Tylenol will usually provide temporary relief. Nothing specific that I can tell seems to trigger it. Could this be a form of Neuralgia? If so, should I do something about it now to prevent it getting worse when I''m older? My mother had the same thing - maybe it's hereditary?
Dear CCF Dr
I have a question re your response on this subject - tho it's not common, trigeminal neuralgia does occur bilaterally in patients with multiple sclerosis.  
I have MS/TN and prior to the onset of the "typical" knifelike, lightning bolt pains, for a couple of years my pains were not typical.  I thought I had sinus infections, bad headaches, dental problems and the list goes on.  Finally 2 years ago the pains became "typical" and I received a dx of TN with MS.  
Shouldn't this patient get a complete neurological checkup?

Okay Debby,
you're response worried me!! Like I said, I have had this occur for approx. 15 years, but it has never been severe enough for me to be motivated into seeking help - it's been more bothersome than painful.  I would like to make it clear that I have never had knifelike, shooting pains, sinus problems or bad headaches.  My skin simply becomes extremely sensitive and only painful if I accidently jab or bump it (or get whacked by my 20mth old).  So at this point, I'm not really convinced that it's TN, or necessarily even Neuralgia.  What would be typical symptons of MS for me to look for?