I know what you mean, and thanks. There’s a good private TN support group on Facebook, and if you get a diagnosis, I recommend it. I’ve learned that I got off pretty easy; there’s a reason they call it the “suicide disease.” Some of these people are at the end of their tolerance and have no backup from their families, and co-workers and bosses who think they’re faking. They have dangerous brain surgery with a moderate chance of success, and fight against all odds to get disability allowance because they can’t even leave their houses.
I have days when my hair brushing against my cheek is excruciating, when I have to hold a hand before my face to keep the breeze from hitting it, and when I can’t let my husband kiss me. But I’m not going to kill myself.
I have a neurological disorder and I know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s “invisible” and people have no concept. I’m in excruciating pain almost all the time, with a host of secondary symptoms, but no one sees it (except my family, who live with it too).
Ann rather than calling your health insurance line, do you have urgent care coverage or ER coverage? I would see someone in person instead. It sounds like at a minimum you’ve got an infection and you need to see someone. My experience with those call in lines is that they usually just tell you to go see someone. Thanks. :rolleyes:
I think there’s another board member who has TN, Mean Old Lady, maybe? If you want, I can PM her and find out.
I’m going to drop by urgent care tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion- seriously, this may sound stupid but I had forgotten about urgent care centers - I’m just never sick, I don’t know these things. So I thought I was going to have to beg an appointment with another doctor or go to the ER ( not really pleasant in NYC ).
They symptoms are holding steady and not getting better or worse - incredibly sore lower center gums, dull pain in the center of the chin (in the evenings only), slightly tingly lips and tongue ( that might be a result of the Orajel cream I’m putting on the gums), slight general malaise.
Now it seems that in one way the severe pain I experienced ( and the milder pain I’m currently experiencing) is different from what some of you are describing in that the affected areas AREN’T overly sensitive to touch and outside stimulation - at times it even seems that applying some mild pressure -like gently pressing my hand against the affected area- helps to alleviate the pain somewhat . That may be the warmth more than the pressure . Warmth definitely helps. As does the SDMB. Thanks to all.
^ Sorry to be the voice of doom, but if it is shingles and it’s attacking your face, it’s imperative to be seen ASAP; if it gets in the eyes, blindness can result.
Trust me, I’m very concerned about this but it’s been 8 days since the first symptoms and I haven’t seen any signs of a rash or felt any skin issues that might signal an incipient rash. And I’ve been half expecting it.
And I’m being super careful about hand washing and not touching the inside of my mouth except when applying Orajel (haven’t needed it today, though) then more hand washing.
Even the gums, as far as I can determine, are very sore but not raw, what I thought was an ulcer was just a really sore spot, no open sores.
And everything feels much better today. I’m still going to stop by an urgent care center even though I’m not sure that they’ll see anything.
My TN bad episode also was not made worse by touching. When I first thought it was a dental problem, the dentist looked at and touched the pain area and that did not cause the pain to change in any way. But the pain was by far the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. By two days later everything felt normal. Every so often I feel it moderately in my gums, but so far the major pain of last November has not returned.
I always admired both Ann Hedonia and **Ambivalid **as thought-provoking user names. The former seems a bit … negative … for my taste. But thought-provoking nevertheless.
When I had shingles on my face, I never had a rash. Just this excruciating headache. I went to my PCP and I seem to remember that she noticed some tearing in my left eye. (This was 13 years ago.) She got on the phone immediately to an ophthalmologist and got him to squeeze me in that same day (God bless her). He put me on anti-virals immediately. My vision was threatened in my left eye. I went to that eye doc every week for a couple of months. I had no insurance at the time, so just paid for every visit. After several weeks, the shingles cleared up, but to this day, I have numbness around the outside of my left eyebrow. Never had any rash. YMMV.
Well, the preliminary diagnosis is something called herpetic gingivostomatitis.
It’s usually found in young children but apparently adults can get it too.
It’s a viral thing with the gums, usually the same virus that causes cold sores.
And it seems to be clearing up. I was way better this morning and stayed better as the day progressed. I don’t feel sick anymore and my teeth have stopped hurting. No more nerve pain. My gums still have some sore spots but they are much improved and my teeth are still a little sensitive but that’s it.
So I must admit I’m still a little cautious in my optimism as I’m not sure the verdict completely fits with the severity of the initial pain and I know I’m still within the latency period for shingles. But I’m relieved to be feeling better.
Now about my screen name. My inspiration was a science fiction short story called Anhedonia. I don’t remember who wrote, it was part of an anthology and google tells me that it may have been written by Adam Roberts. Anyway, it gave me the idea for a cool screen name so I used it even though it doesn’t reflect my personality at all. I constantly think about changing it but I’ve never hit upon anything better, it’s a hard act to follow.
There’s a good private TN support group on Facebook, and if you get a diagnosis, I recommend it. I’ve learned that I got off pretty easy; there’s a reason they call it the “suicide disease.” Some of these people are at the end of their tolerance and have no backup from their families, and co-workers and bosses who think they’re faking. They have dangerous brain surgery with a moderate chance of success, and fight against all odds to get disability allowance because they can’t even leave their houses.