tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14321426973320521182012-01-17T23:04:54.059-06:00Description of the trigeminal neuralgia journey for one man and his family as he suffered for 13 years with the most painful condition known to man.Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-30937807917401776152011-12-26T22:25:00.000-06:002011-12-26T22:25:14.265-06:00

I feel an urgency to get more posts done.  As I go through the numerous memories as I chose what to write about my heart goes out to all of you in the midst of severe pain; whether in your face, arm, or any body part, I can only hope my posts and resources will help you....today.

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-28583861312280038692011-12-03T00:15:00.000-06:002011-12-03T00:15:12.666-06:00

The big day comes.  After months of preparation your heart is thumping in expectation of your amazing future with your soon to be spouse.  Walking down the isle is exhilarating as the music plays and smiles are coming from every direction as your friends and loved ones look on to support you in this big step. The wedding takes place and all the hopes and dreams for your future seem so close.  

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-9399149280011764652011-08-22T23:46:00.000-05:002011-08-22T23:46:29.378-05:00

My husband is much better now.  Years of pain and suffering are in the past.  He had five surgeries which I will explain them all in future posts.  But for now, I want to make sure you know there is hope.  The side of Shae's head is mostly numb now.  He can feel the twitching of the pain in his jaw but no pain.  The side effects are numerous but still better than the pain. Much better than the

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-81550763146262680972011-08-19T01:27:00.000-05:002011-08-19T01:27:18.265-05:00

In previous posts I referenced what it was like during the early years of TN.  There was much uncertainty, fear, sadness, anger, frustration, prayer, and a general feeling of unfairness. We didn't have a diagnosis so the continual trips to the doctor got exceptionally wearisome. Then finally, a doctor was able to diagnose Shae with TN. It had a name.  That may sound silly, but just to finally

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-49430272086314642612011-07-25T23:23:00.000-05:002011-07-25T23:23:37.508-05:00

I don't want to draw attention to myself.  I wasn't the one in pain.  Shae needed all the attention.  It was about him.  I don't need pity or want to seem selfish, yet I must bring up that the spouse of someone with a severe illness needs to be acknowledged. It is hard to see a loved one in so much pain.  I watched him struggle day after day.  I remembered the hope I had for our life.  I had

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-76356812732863438792011-07-20T02:15:00.000-05:002011-07-20T02:15:22.352-05:00

You know the anticipation you feel as the roller coaster you reluctantly got on begins the ascent to what is about to be shear terror on the other side? Tick, tick, tick, the track slowly pulls you to the peak. Upon arrival it seems like the world has come to an end until it plunges you over the side into a chaotic rush of turns, thrusts, jolts, and lunges... Until finally, it begins to slow

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-34775689162398267052011-07-13T12:32:00.000-05:002011-07-13T12:32:03.923-05:00

"Have you looked into TMJ?" "What about an Ear Nose and Throat doctor?" "Try a splint." "You really need to go to this incredible doctor that I've heard does amazing things for his patients." When someone is ill, it seems everyone has an opinion or a solution to the problem.  Most people are well meaning in their advice, but often times that same advice is more harmful than helpful.  If

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-20703744880721501232011-06-29T23:36:00.000-05:002011-06-29T23:36:15.219-05:00

The VA approved a surgery. The doctor felt that trying a glycerin injection might do the trick.  We went to Little Rock, Arkansas to a large VA hospital. After Shae was admitted, they did the regular blood tests and scans. He spent the night there in preparation for the morning surgery. As I walked along the halls and passed by the rooms of so many brave soldiers, my heart sunk.  So many of

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-17668887474617806052011-04-23T01:01:00.000-05:002011-04-23T01:01:09.444-05:00

In the beginning years, it seemed like the pain would peak and then fall back down over anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month.  The pain would subside for a while; a month or a few months. Then it would come back. We never knew what it would be like when it came back.  Sometimes it would be severe right away while other times it might take longer to peak. Remission was nice.  As the

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-38775897653215871292011-04-05T02:14:00.000-05:002011-04-05T02:14:05.093-05:00

Hold still. Don't move. It might set off the pain. Sometimes he would wake up suddenly with pain in his jaw, no warning. Other times he would have it consistently through out the night, waking him every few minutes.  After 3 to 4 nights of no sleep and constant pain, sometimes he thought he was going to lose it. I would rub his back, pray for him, play music, play the bible on tape for him.

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-61026355973622149742010-12-28T21:04:00.000-06:002010-12-28T21:04:02.944-06:00

After a season of pain, there were times that it would subside and Shae would have some long over due relief. Oh, those days were glorious.  To see him smile and laugh again.  Shae would cram food down his throat.  After several weeks, the weight would start coming back on his think body. He ran with the kids, four wheeled, and talked. I enjoyed the kisses that I had missed for months at a

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-1427719769378871542010-12-17T23:31:00.000-06:002010-12-17T23:31:57.969-06:00

Sometimes the most simple tasks became a nightmare. There were times during the higher level of pain that I couldn't even cut Shae's hair.  Touching his head, the vibrations of the razor, both would set off the electrical pain in his jaw. His hair would get long.  He doesn't like long hair but had to let it grow anyways.

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-53097700721868658912010-12-14T09:52:00.001-06:002010-12-17T23:23:38.846-06:00

The doctors tried to say he had TMJ.  They gave him a splint to wear in his mouth at night.  It would have been nice if that had fixed the problem.  But, it didn't. He tried it for a few months and it did nothing. This was the first diagnosis checked off the list of many possible diagnoses. The dentist did a mandibular block to see if that would numb the pain.  They did it on his left side,

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-36888854842765944312010-12-03T22:49:00.000-06:002010-12-03T22:49:07.526-06:00

The pain would hit so hard that there were times it would knock him on the floor.  I remember hearing his fist hit the wall in the shower as the electric type shock would resonate through his head. His tears and groans as the life was slowly sucked out of him. So sad. So hard.

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-4428767727449318442010-11-23T00:27:00.000-06:002010-11-23T00:27:49.631-06:00

Shae was out of the Navy and the pain was getting much worse. He would go to work from sun up to sun down.  By the time he got home he was wiped out and had no energy left after not just working all day, but doing it in a lot of pain. We began to apply with the Veteran's Administration for health care. Our goal was not to get money, but for them to cure Shae.  We all wanted him well.  They did

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-13384464631206441552010-11-16T20:59:00.000-06:002010-11-16T20:59:00.654-06:00

Shae was still in the Navy.  Being the strong, suck-it-up kind of guy he is, to admit to the pain he was in seemed weak.  As the pain seemed to worsen and be more frequent, he went more into denial. "It is fine.  I am fine."  He would say as he rubbed his jaw. He wasn't fine.  He wasn't ok. The Navy decided to send him out to sea on a ship.  He was excited to have the opportunity to serve

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-68103781001479967612010-11-11T20:07:00.000-06:002010-11-11T20:07:02.131-06:00

I wish I had a dollar for every wrong diagnosis.  One the first doctors said it was maybe TMJ.  The gave him a plastic piece, called a splint, to wear in his mouth at night. Needless to say, it was absolutely NOT TMJ.  Sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error to get the right diagnosis.  Ruling out other possible causes and narrowing it down to a right diagnosis is vital for proper

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-62523622012669588752010-11-08T23:56:00.000-06:002010-11-08T23:56:27.263-06:00

It started on our first anniversary.  He was having a lot of tooth aches from his wisdom teeth.  The Navy told him to get in their office and get them pulled out.  All went well until the bottom, back right tooth got stuck because the nerve was wrapped around the root.  The pain started not long after the procedure.  It hurt for days and then would ease up. Shae was young; just 21.  In his

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-80341631971182278912010-11-02T23:43:00.000-05:002010-11-02T23:43:08.985-05:00

Electricity.  Shooting electricity through the side of his head.  It pulses.... Sometimes the pain is not as severe, other times it is so terrible he could not eat for days. When it was light, he could sleep.  When is was bad, he couldn't even think straight.

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-7741326234789737152010-10-15T01:08:00.000-05:002010-10-15T01:08:24.053-05:00

On our first anniversary, the pain started.  It was somewhat mild at first.  It would come and go, like the chiming of a clock on the hour, so his pain faithfully came. Sometimes it would hit once every 20 minutes, sometimes every 10 minutes.  It would stay pretty consistent, for days or even months. He went to the doctor, but they didn't know what to do with him.  Not all doctors now much

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-82985925593260135782010-07-23T00:16:00.000-05:002010-07-23T00:16:27.495-05:00

Good question.  For most people, Trigeminal Neuralgia is caused by a nerve rubbing an artery in the brain.  For Shae it was different. It started when he got his wisdom teeth extracted at the Navy Dentist.  He had a lot of pain in his mouth from his wisdom teeth coming in.  The dentist said they needed to come out.  As you know, lots of people have this done all of the time.  It didn't seem

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-45452935782673223232010-07-22T00:46:00.000-05:002010-07-22T00:49:23.557-05:00

I had never heard of it myself.  It is one of those unknown illnesses.  After some research though, I found out it is more common than we think. I am going to give you my paraphrase and definition of this terrible disease. Trigeminal Neuralgia - In our head there is a huge nerve that runs from the side of our head to the front of our face.  It branches into three parts; one extends over the eye

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432142697332052118.post-86064378639762130812010-07-07T07:50:00.001-05:002010-07-07T07:50:31.757-05:00

This blog is just starting.  Please check back for updates.

Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010721909018116303noreply@blogger.com0