atypical facial neuralgia

Posted By Beth Ferrenz on September 02, 1997 at 19:56:29:









After a severe, but undiagnosed sphenoid sinus infection which eventually was treated and cured, I remained with intense pain on the entire left side of my head and teeth.  This occurred 6 years ago. Overtime, I was diagnosed with atypical facial neuralgia.  I had taken many drugs with no significant improvement when given Tegretol, and referred to Dr. Neil Raskin of UCSF.  He added 60 mg of Nardil to my Tegretol dosage and I improved greatly.  Some months later, due to elevated liver enzymes, I was forced to discontinue Tegretol.  Nardil has been the best drug for my pain, however I still endure pain all the time, which ebbs and flows with certain circumstances like cold wind on my face, and other times, for reasons not understood.  If you are familiar with this disorder, can you recommend any other medications or therapies?  I have taken Nortriptylene, Amitryptilene, various calcium channel blockers(which really intensify the pain), Diltiazem ER (which caused hair loss), I'm sure there are more, but I don't recall.