Nerve pain-HELP!

[jaydoc1]

Thank you all.
The doc agreed on my diagnosis and is starting me with 12 advil a day (4 at a time) for a week straight.
We'll see...

Advil is great for musculoskeletal pain, not so much for neuritic pain (what you are experiencing). While Advil will certainly be cheaper than what I'm about to recommend, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. If/once the Advil hasn't worked I would ask him/her about Neurontin and Lyrica. You'll have much better success with them.

This is not a random viewpoint. I'm an anesthesiologist. This is what I do. Good luck. Trigeminal Neuralgia isn't any fun.

[Not_A_Llama]

Advil is great for musculoskeletal pain, not so much for neuritic pain (what you are experiencing). While Advil will certainly be cheaper than what I'm about to recommend, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. If/once the Advil hasn't worked I would ask him/her about Neurontin and Lyrica. You'll have much better success with them.

This is not a random viewpoint. I'm an anesthesiologist. This is what I do. Good luck. Trigeminal Neuralgia isn't any fun.

It sounds to me like the Doc is going for the anti-inflammatory aspect of the Ibuprofen.

[jaydoc1]

It sounds to me like the Doc is going for the anti-inflammatory aspect of the Ibuprofen.

Obviously that's what they are thinking. And, if the OP is very fortunate (lucky) he will get relief using only anti-inflammatories. The only problem is that anti-inflammatories aren't very effective in treating trigeminal neuralgia. And speaking as a doc who is also a pain specialist, I'm just telling you what works far more often. This is a condition that has periods of flare and remission. It may go away and not recur for months or years. Unfortunately it does recur the majority of the time and ultimately more invasive nerve destruction or surgical procedures are required to alleviate it completely (although there is no guarantee of this).

Additionally, while rare, trigeminal neuralgia can be an indication of a greater problem. Usually it's caused by the rubbing of an artery or vein against the trigeminal nerve. Unfortunately it can be caused by other things which should be investigated if with adequate treatment his pain gets no better or gets worse.

Advil, while fine as a starting point, unfortunately, is not likely to be the answer to this question (completely ineffective in the majority of typical cases). Sorry.

Moving along now.

[wyzardd]

Thank you all.
The doc agreed on my diagnosis and is starting me with 12 advil a day (4 at a time) for a week straight.
We'll see...

Advil? What a quack! That herbal stuff never works. You need massive prescription medication, preferably new or even experimental stuff. Sometimes you even get to ride in an ambulance and stay in the hospital after taking some of those.
Peripheral neuropathic pain sufferer for 5 years... I think that's what they're calling it this week.

[Roger]

Ask him for a rx for Ultracet. Its non-narcotic. And its easier on your stomach then all that advil.

[Irving]

Sounds like he's trying to keep his liver doctor buddies in business.