is this trigeminal neuralgia?

[helena333]

Hi, About a year ago, I suddenly developed shooting pains in the front of my face, above my upper front teeth. I went to the dentist, who x-rayed me, and said I had an abscess, above my left upper 1 tooth. He did root canal treatment, but could not find anything, the pain did not go away, and after several root canals, he referred me to a consultant for an apicectomy. When the operation was done, as he drilled through the bone, he said there was lots of pus to drain away.Two days after this my face swelled up, and I was in extreme pain, and had the gum cut open, at the hospital, and had a very bad infection. After antibiotics, the swelling went away, but the shooting pains in my face didn't--it's only when I eat and drink warm things, cold doesn't affect it. The pains, are above the tooth treated, and very sudden and severe. I had more dental x-rays, and no infection is showing up. I am taking seven days strong antibiotics, just in case, but the consultant said the pain could be trigeminal neuralgia. This pain is so bad, I'm really struggling to eat,in case it sparks it off again. Has anyone any experience of symptoms like this, or even any thoughts, about it. I would be so grateful for any input, I can't imagine living with this pain, it's so extreme.

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi,
It could be Trigeminal neuralgia. There are other conditions that need to be ruled out since they present with similar symptoms. They are-  Myofascial pain, Atypical neuralgia, Local disease in the sinuses and jaw.  It is important to discuss the symptoms with your doctor because with appropriate drug therapy trigeminal neuralgia can almost always be controlled. Please go for a CT scan and MRI of the head and consult a neurologist for examination, confirmation of diagnosis and treatment. Hope this helps you. Take care and regards!

[helena333]

Hi, Dr Rajgopal, thanks for your ideas, I'm going back to the hospital in two weeks, and hopefully something will be done to diagnose this.