negative MRI result for Trigeminal neuralgia

[stevie12000]

My first attack of pain from what was diagnosed (after seeing two dentists and several Drs) as Atypical Trigeminal neuralgia took over two months to get the pain under control. The side effects from the medications were also very bad, although I was grateful for any relief from the extreme pain. I have been seen at the neurological centre and have had an MRI scan to determine if there was a vessel crossing over the Trigeminal nerve, which could be causing the pain attack. This has just come back as negative which leaves me wondering what happens now.... Do I wait for another episode of pain? am I supposed to pretend it did not happen? What can I do to prevent it? Why did nothing show up?
As you can see I have been left with all these questions as to what do I do now.

[nancy99n]

From my research, sometimes MRIs don't show the nerve compressions.  Was it a "thin-slice" MRI?  Was it T-3 magnets?  Both of these items help make the MRI more accurate.

The drugs are annoying -- there are many different types -- some have less side effects than others.  There are also things you can do to counteract the nausea and fatigue.  My pain doctor suggested taking the meds 1/2 to 1 hour prior to eating to avoid the nausea and to take NoDoz with the daytime doses to counteract the fatigue.  Both of these coping mechanisms helped.

How experienced is your doctor with TN?  I went through 6 different doctors until I found the right one.  I went to a large teaching hospital's Facial Pain center -- all they do there is deal with Facial Pain.  It helped to find the right doctor.

There's a book called "Striking Back" which has a lot of great information on Facial Pain.  There's also a great website that the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association has with a lot of great info and an online support group.

Good luck and all the best!

[painterchic]

Hi Stevie,
The phrase "I feel your pain" has a whole new meaning on here. I was just told I have TN after getting shingles on my head. Apparently it affected my trigeminal nerve and well, here I am trying to figure out what to do about it. I have been on Gabapentin (Neurontin), it's day 4. At first the side effects were awful, nausea, stumbling and general stupidness, if that is a word, lol. But it's better now,not great but better. So as I sit here with an ice pack on my head and face, I am wondering what next. For me, the pain is constant, sometimes worse than others, but never gone. But from what I read, it could be worse. Also from my reading, maybe you need to determine what your triggers are and try to avoid them. I don't know about that yet. I have the same questions. I guess all we can do at this point is research, read and talk to others on forums like this and learn from each other. I swear sometimes we know more than some doctors.  Also check out NeuroTalk, it has a lot of Trigem and Atypical Trigem posts. Good luck and I hope you stay pain free!