How we got here.

Several years ago I started on a journey to address some sudden and extreme pain I was experiencing in the left side of my jaw. This experience was costly and painful. It had started with what was a misdiagnosed wisdom tooth and evolved into two root canals and a tooth extraction, four separate dentists, and two dry socket incidents to boot. This entire experience was a test of patience, persistence, and pain tolerance. And when I felt I had exhausted every option my final dentist hit on the true diagnosis. Trigeminal Neuralgia.

After arguments with a Neurologist over this diagnosis, I was able to bully my way into meeting with a Pain Doctor and an Neurosurgeon. This is where, after 3 plus years, real progress started to be made. A cranial and mandible MRI confirmed the diagnosis. I finally had a medication that could control the pain. Now all the is left is the procedure.

What is Trigeminal Neuralgia?

Trigeminal Neuralgia, often referred to as the “Suicide Disorder”, is a condition where an artery resting on the trigeminal nerve slowly wears through the protective myelin sheath on that nerve. This causes pain impulse signals. These can be debilitating, and I can attest to this. It is like getting an electrified ice pick stabbed into your face. TN can affect the 3 nerve branches in the face, affecting the forehead, cheeks, or jaw. Mine was affecting the jaw which can be mistaken for dental issues and lead me down that path costing me two teeth and a not insignificant amount of money.

The surest remedy for this issue, the most effective long term, is a surgical procedure called Microvascular Decompression. This procedure involves going into the skull behind the ear, going through the meninges, clearing the Arachnoid Mater, and reaching the Trigeminal nerve. Then the doctor will use micro surgical tools to separate the artery from the nerve and place a Teflon pad between the two giving the myelin sheath a chance to heal. The procedure is relatively short and only requires a short hospital stay. To put it succinctly; brain surgery.

Anything to help cover the surgery cost and fees is appreciated.