TN and cancer treatment

I have TN and began radiation and chemo treatment last week.  I go 5 days a week for radiation and 1 day a week for chemo (cesplatin).

My TN started bothering me again last Monday and I am wondering if the treatments I am getting affect the TN nerve?

I have squamous cell carcinoma and my left eye was removed at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Tx on June 3rd.  There are cancer cells still in the cavernous sinus and hopefully treatment will get that cancer that was left.

My Tn become active about 2 weeks before the surgery and my neurologist at MD Anderson thought my stress level was the cause of the TN pain however after surgery I continued to have this problem for about 2 weeks.

When I returned home after the surgery my MS doctor began reducing my lyrica dosage and that in combination of my treatments for cancer may be the cause of the TN pain again.

I no longer feel I can deal with the TN and the cancer treatments so I want to know what would be the next step I should take?

Thank you
Richard Daniels

[Michael Lim, MD]

I am sorry to hear about your pain.  In general, surgical treatment for TN may be difficult when a patient is getting chemotherapy.  Sometimes, radiosurgery can be performed in patients getting chemo.  I would suggest seeing a neurologist to see if your medications can be optimized/changed.

[yakubkarim]

people sufferring from tn also have spontaneous remission from pain for varying period, sometime the pain goes away for years and than retuns for about 1 to 3 months and goes away again.  howver, gradually the priod of remission becomes shorter and pain longer, but this takes years before it gets to worse stage, so please do not lose hope, u will most certainly get remission from pain in a few weeks time,  anxiety and stress can bring on the attack of pain.

i am suffering from bilaterial tn for  last 34 yrs i take tegretol and neurontin one of each three times a day during the attack of pain, but once the pain goes i stop taking them.
u can try tegretol after consulting your doctor, it is the only medicine that arrests the pain of tn. and when  combined with other anti convulsant drugs like, dilantin, or neurontin, it works even better.

hope u are feeling ok

yakub