They sometimes use response to carbamazapine as a dianostic test for TN. I've been on it for the past year and at the highest dose was on 1600mg per day. Read up on the side effects, they can take you by surprise. My neurologist is currently trying to get me off carbamazapine and onto something that has fewer side effects. I've also been on Lyrica, no effect to pain - just made me feel drunk.

What titchiguana, said is right , carbamazapine is usually a pretty accurate test to tell you if you have TN are not. If it stops the pain within an hour are two. It does have side affects as with any medication, but, it is really good in controlling TN pain. Lyrica is a medication that really just seem to make me feel dizzy, really off balance, I couldn't tell if it helped my TN are not. I have also crushed a pill up and got it inside my mouth when the pain was really severe and this helped me a lot. This is a wonderful support site with friends here that are very supportive.
Take care and God Bless,
Linda

hmmm OK....I was going to ask my neurologist about trying the carbamazapine but idk if it has a lot of side effects. For me the Neurotin has been the most successful but only at high doses.

I was moved from Trileptal to Carbamazepine after changing to my 3rd neurologist. It has not reduced my pain but I'm not having any attacks. The pain management clinic manages my pain for me. Why 3 neurologists? Because i do not have any confidence that they can treat this disease. All 3 of them tell me something different and I'm frustrated as hell. I've never had so many issues before in trying to get treated for something. I have lost all confidence in any neurologists in my area to be able to effectively treat this disease. I'm so sorry that you have TN and i hope you can find better care than I have.

Hi Zatochi

Sounds as though things are really rough for you. I have a neurologist I trust, but he doesn't pull the punches. I have the ATN form and he has described me as having a set of head pain conditions that are constant which in turn set off the TN pain. As far as I'm aware this seems really new thinking and also seems to describe ATN. He was very honest with me and said that he cannot cure me but he will work with me to find the best possible combination of drugs to manage it. He also said that it'll take time and anybody who says this is easy and quick to treat it telling you a lie you might want to hear. Hang on in there!

this finding the right med with this condition is so hard. i am on tegretol and lortabl in the morning and neurotin and lortab the rest of the day. it's just what works for me and everyone is different.
i had to succumb to surgery before these low doses worked.
swithching meds you can have a spike of pain until the new med gets into your system which may take a couple of weeks.
be careful on pain meds they may cause contispation and a host of side affects. so drink tons of water!
if this doesn't work also ask if you can try the cymbalta
blessings for finding what works for you
jady

I was on tegretol and had sideeffects but am now on trileptal. i am on hydrocodone 7.5 for pain and that is much heavier than percocet. I went thru several types of meds but came on trileptal, it is more like the tegretol but has less side effects for me. I tried the lyrica but i gained 10 lbs in a month and got off of it quick. Some folks see a lot of help from the neurotin. It all comes down to finding what works for you. I hope you have a Dr who will work with you on meds and what works. If I can be of any help or you need to chat drop me a note any time. I hope you find the right combo of meds.
Julie

Hey guys, I was just diagnosed with TN on wed. I have been told it was TMJ and finally after my dentist app for a cleaning the pain just got more and more intense!! I went back and thats when he said he was pretty sure I had TN and put me on a low dose of carbamazapine. Im taking 400mg a day. 200 in the morning and 200 at night. He said if this medicine gave me relief then this is what I got! Well it did! Im also on percocets for the pain. I feel really weird, like out of it and nausious. Did anyone else feel like they were in slow motion and nausious?

Surprisingly Gabapentin (Neurontin) works well for me. But only in high doses, which sucks. My neurologist the last time I seen him (about 6 months ago?) has been trying to wean me off of the Gabapentin and onto a lower does of another drug. So he took my Gabapentin down to 1 300mg 2x a day and put me on 75 mg of Lyrica 3x a day. For a while it worked (I'm think from the high doses of Gabapentin I was taking it was still residue in my system) but it's not working at those doses anymore. So I've put myself back on 600 mg 2x a day. That's down from the 900 mg 3x a day I was taking. I hate Gabapentin and the side effects but if its going to keep me relatively pain free I guess I can deal with them.

Pitman, are you in pain everyday? Im wondering when im gonna be out of this flare up??? I first felt pain after a root canal about 2 years or more ago and have only had pain maybe 3 times in that time that lasted at the most 2 weeks. The last time was about 7 months ago and was tolerable with vicodin only, but thats when they thought I had TMJ! Now it's been just over a month and the pain got really bad after a dental cleaning!! That's when I was guessed to have TN and put on a low dose of carbamazapine to see if it gave me relief. I know I have TN and go back for a follow up at the family doctors this friday and Im gonna ask about seeing a neurologist then. I am hoping that I dont have to be on this medication all the time and just when I have flare ups being before they were spaced months and years apart??

I have some level of pain all the time.
My normal everyday pain feels like a bad toothache. But it's not in my TEETH its in my cheek. It's an achy annoying pain.
The flare ups are much worse.
My last bad flare before the one on Mother's Day was in July of last year. So I almost made it a year.
I don't think I will ever be able to be completely off of medicines. I tried that myself and it wasn't good......