(Foreword: This is the continuation of our response to Ai Ai of Tagum on her concerns about the painful electric sensation she felt around her mouth.)
Dear Ai Ai of Tagum,
Let’s now move on to the treatment of what you are suffering from at the moment, which I believe is trigeminal neuralgia.
The first line of treatment here is medicine to treat pain, or analgesics. Then, medications that can control convulsions or seizures, or some antidepressants can also help in relieving pain. So, you might be prescribed the following: Baclofen, Naproxen sodium, Tramadol, Mefenamic acid, Carbamazepine, Clonazepam, Gabapentin, Oxcarbazepine,
Phenytoin, Pregabalin, Topiramate, and Valproic acid.
But, of course, the drug interactions and side effects should also be considered, especially if you are also taking other medicines or suffering from other diseases.
But if these drugs fail to relieve your pain and give you undesirable side effects, neurosurgery is next in line. There are a lot of surgical techniques that can treat trigeminal neuralgia.
Overall, the goal of these procedures is to damage or destroy the part of the trigeminal nerve that is causing the pain. The issue here is that any of these surgeries can lead to numbness in your face to a varying degree.
The best thing for you is to talk with your physician about what works best for you.
Discuss with your doctor the options that you think could fit you well. But, I do hope that treatment would use a multi-disciplinary approach which would bring together neurosurgeons, specialists in pain management, psychologists, a social worker, and pharmacists to devise a customized approach to treat your trigeminal neuralgia.
I do hope this helps. Good luck!
-Dr. Fritz
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist, surgeon, and clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15-year stint with her radio program, “Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz.”. For your questions, you may send them to Dear Dr. Fritz, c/o Sunstar-Davao Publishing Inc., Door 11, Ebro-Pelayo Building 1, Juan Luna St., Barangay 29-C, Davao City, or email them to dokatlaw@gmail.com. If you don’t wish your letter to be published, we regret that we cannot answer it. Thank you for your understanding.)