I'm new and ready to give up, Face pain

[jamlws]

Where to start. I have been through alot in the last year. I broke a tooth on my right upper side of my mouth, I went to dentist and she did a root canel, a week later still in alot of pain so I went back and asked her to pull the darn thing and she threw a fit, then I started to chicken out but she said "you wanted this pulled I'm pulling it" so she pulled on it for 20 mins I was crying so bad, she finally stopped and sent me on my way. I was crying, shaking and freaking out and in major pain. I went to my work and they took one look at me with blood all over my face and sent me home. 2 weeks later I went to another dentist he got the tooth out but it left a hole from my mouth to my sinuses. He tried for 8 months to close it. Long story short, weekly stitchs and packing and lots of pain meds. The dentist went on medical leave without warning so I had to go to a Oral Surgern. He took tissue from my cheek and put it in the hole and pulled a wisdom tooth out on the right side. Every since the surgery I have had alot of nerve pain on the right side, Oral surgern said "I fixed the problem, I can't treat you no more" So he sent me to a ENT dr and I had a cat scan all came out clear. Then he sent me to a nerve dr. Nerve dr put me on 300mg of Gabapentin 2 times a day 15mg Meloxicam 1 a day, 25m amitriptylin at bed time. The first 3 weeks the meds did take the edge off then week 4 I started to notice a difference in the way my cheek felt, the next day is when the new pain started. I am in pain 24/7 it effects everything I do. My whole gum area where the surgery was hurts, i have alot of pain coming from where the wisdom tooth was taken out, alot of pain in my upper cheek, and the new pain in my lower cheek. Nothing I do helps. It hurts to eat, smile and talk. I called nerve dr and haven't heard back, I called surgern he said he will see me Thursday just to give me a peace of mind nothing is wrong. I feel like I am getting pushed around and not treated. I am sick from going to dr to dr. My husband said he wishes he could have his wife back and the mother of his kids back. I am sick of being in pain all the time my family don't deserve this. I dont know what I did wrong in life to get treated like this. Hubby said he is going with me to the oral surgerns office this week cause he is sick of it and is going to tell him to send me to a pain management dr. I really don't think the dr will. It seems to me they like me being in pain either that out of the 3 dentists I been to screwed me up and they are covering it up. Any advice would be great cause I just want to give up!!!
Jamlws

[TrayCee]

I would just try a different Dentist.  One who know what theyre doing.  I have 3 in my immidate family that are excellent dentist. I was a dental assistant for 10 years. I have never heard of anything remotely like this.  There are good dentist's out there.
Hope you feel better soon

[Tuckamore]

Hello and Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I am so very sorry to hear about your horrid untreated and uncontrolled pain. If it helps at all, there are many of us that have been in a similar situation with pain. We can relate.

My guess is your assumption is correct. Physicians and dentists have an unwritten code to protect one another. It maybe that not a one of them were actually negligent, your body just responded in this unfortunate manner.

CT Scans do not always reveal the problem. They are not infallible. I encourage you to request a repeat. Did they do it with contrast? If not contrast will provide a more detailed picture and I would be sure I asked for it.

A second thought would be an MRI, again with contrast. I would want to rule out the possibility of a smoldering infection or osteomyelitis, infection in the bone itself.

An EMG and Nerve Conduction studies may also be beneficial. This may rule in or rule out specific nerve damage. Nerve pain is one of the most difficult to treat. But there are treatments, including opiates and in my opinion you should be offered them.

I hear and understand your frustration. Don't give up. When you see a new oral surgeon or an ENT make sure they are not connected with the previous ones you have seen. If possible travel to another city.

Muster all the courage you have and be assertive. Don't leave the physician's or oral surgeon's office feeling that nothing has been accomplished. Don't take "I don't know, good-by" for an answer. And keep searching for some answers, even if in the end that means medication to control your pain.

I wish you the very best. I hope that you will keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. I will be interested to hear about the results of your consults. Our members are very supportive and informational. I hope you will become active in our forum. I have found that it can be helpful to share with others. Hang in there. We are always here for you.

Take Care,
Tuck

[opus88]

Oh honey I can empathize with your pain...nerve pain is so paralyzing, I have it in my lower limbs but cann't imagine how horrible it would be to have this in a jaw. My mother had neuralgia for years and was in a horrific amount of pain.
I don't have anything I can tell you that will help, it sounds to me that you had extensive nerve damage done during your root canal and all the subsequent procedures....I don't know if anything can be done to correct the damage, only pain management as a last resort left(?)..I think you are correct to think the dentists are covering up for each other and not telling you everything?
Keep looking and hopefully you can find a good oral surgeon who can do some repair for you or at least make sure you do get a referral to a Pain Management Clinic...no one should have to live with such uncontrolled pain.
All the best to you dear, I hope someone can give you some help.