possible TN?

[doublevision1]

Had a strange experience last week.  While watching TV one evening, all of a sudden I had the most intense stabbing pain in the browbone over my right eye.  I actually gasped, it took me so off guard and hurt like he11.  Reflexively my eye started pouring out tears.  My husband was next to me and immediately jumped up and wanted to take me to the hospital.  It hurt so much I didn't even want to move.  After a few minutes - though what felt like hours - the intensity subsided and it became more of a dull ache, sort of bruised feeling.  I would compare the feeling to when I had ON, except the sharp stabbing felt like it was in the bone, not in the eye.

Reading up on the site I posted earlier today, I wondered if it could possibly have been TN.  It appears that the trigemninal nerve branches out 3 ways, with the 'opthalmic VI' branch running along the forehead and eye area.  The trigeminal nerve continues back towards the brain stem and inserts into the pons.  I do have a lesion in the pons which was the cause of my severe diplopia - affecting the 6th cranial nerve.  The trigeminal nerve is the 5th cranial nerve.

I always thought of TN as only occuring along the jaw line, triggered by chewing, etc.  

Haven't experienced anything like this before, or since.  I shuddered afterwards, thinking that had it occurred 24 hours prior, it would have hit me as I was seated with 20 or so others gathered at a friend's for a 60th birthday party.  What drama that would have been!

Definitely a question for my neuro next month.  In the meantime, what do you think?  Has anyone experienced this and was it TN or something else?

[rendean]

As an "expert' like  Michelle, it certainly sounds like TN. My favorite treatment WAS Trileptal but that was the cause of my sodium loss. Actually Tegregtol is the most common. Both have only body chemistry  side effects.\

Hope one of these  fits into your treatment plan. Sympathies accompany this newest development!

Ren

[doublevision1]

Thanks for the info and well wishes, Everyone.  Have added this to the list for the neuro.  Will let you know what he says.

[Mike_Shuswap]

I've never had TN present like that, mine is always in my jaw, or top or bottom mollar area, but I would go with Michelle and Jen's answers, I think they know what their talking about.

I take Gabapentin to combat TN, which also helps with other pains, tingling, etc, but quite frankly I would have lived with the other symptoms, it was TN that pushed me to take Gabapentin, and it's TN pain that I use to determine the doseage I take.

Come to think of it, I do get stabbing pain in my temple, but I think this is not TN related, it's not in the brow area like yours was.

I also hope this never comes back for you.

Mike

[jensequitur]

Any sort of sharp stabbing pain in the face I attribute to TN.  I sometimes wonder what it would be like for that to be going on all the time.  Even the small stabby pains are very distracting.

[sllowe]

Hey DB -
Doc Quix's Cranial Nerves (you may remember this) .....

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/Saw-the-new-Neuro-today-input-welcome-/show/476984

[michelleric]

Oh shoot DB,

Sounds like TN..I am glad it left as quick as it came!  I hope it NEVER returns either!!!

Unfortunately, I have become the expert on TN, and I never anticipated that job!

Yes, the Trigeminal nerve, the 5th cranial nerve, has 3 branches.

http://www.drugs.com/cg/trigeminal-neuralgia.html

The top branch effects my forehead, and skin around eye.  I can not look around when this is occurring or it means the skin around the eye, and the pain is unbearable.

I take many meds, injections to help with the TN.  I also have occipital neuralgia, and glossopharengeal neuralgia.

I would ask your doc if this recurs what you can do to prevent it.

I really hope this will never show up again for you..

Hugs,
Michelle