Migraine and type 2 (atypical) trigeminal neuralgia
I was diagnosed with migraine in my early 30s and now nearly 40 years later I have recently been diagnosed with atypical trigeminal neuralgia on the right side of my face. I am not sure if in my case they are related but I did find one source that people/women in particular who have migraine are more often diagnosed with the disorder than those who do not. I have had an MRI to rule out anything more serious, have resisted taking medication and trying to learn to live with the almost constant tingling in my face and ear. I would really appreciate any insights anyone in this community has. Thank you.
hi there. I am so sorry to hear that you are dealing with this. Many years ago, the doctor suspected that I had trigeminal neuralgia. It was horrible. I am not sure if it had something to do with the gabapentin that I was taking, or not. I eventually quit taking it and my symptoms disappeared.
I did want to share some articles about this for you: https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-and-trigeminal-neuralgia
https://migraine.com/living-migraine/trigeminal-nerve
https://migraine.com/stories/allodynia-real-thing
I hope this will give you some insight into what others experience was. (Tonya, team member)., thank you for your reply. It's interesting that you were taking gabapentin since this is one of the drugs that my doctor has suggested I take. I tried it for a few days but I did not experience any positive results. I went to the links you suggested, thank you. It is comforting to know I am not alone in this.
Ugh that sounds so tough to be dealing with migraine for decades and then adding that new diagnosis into the mix. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be, especially with the constant tingling in your face and ear. It’s good to hear the MRI ruled out anything more serious...but certainly doesn’t make it any easier to live with day to day. It makes sense that you’d wonder if the two are connected, especially given the research you've done. I personally haven't heard these 2 specific conditions linked here, but I hope someone here can share their experiences or tips that might help. You’re definitely not alone and I'm so grateful you took the time to share your experience with the community. I'm curious if you've been able to bring this observation to your doctor? Have they been able to speak into your thought about you diagnoses being related?
- Jake (Team Member)
I have known of a couple of people with TMJ issues and migraine whose pain pattern/intensity was helped a lot by working on the TMJ (both through physical therapy and botox also in one case). It's great you're getting help with that - unfortunately PT can take some time. Please do keep us up to date on how your appointment goes! So glad you are here with us! Warmly, Tracy (Team Member) Thank you for the encouragement to continue with the PT exercises. Having this community to share with and be encouraged by is really helping me.
