Trigeminal Neuralgia / Prozac ???

Trigeminal Neuralgia / Prozac ???
L

Lloydy

Registrant
Has anyone else here any experience of Trigeminal Neuralgia ? ( AKA Cluster headache - migraneous neuralgia - suicide headache - tic douloureux )
Here's a description of this fairly rare condition.

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN -- tic douloureux) is a disorder of the fifth cranial (trigeminal) nerve that causes episodes of intense, stabbing, electric shock-like pain in the areas of the face where the branches of the nerve are distributed - lips, eyes, nose, scalp,forehead, upper jaw, and lower jaw. A less common form of the disorder called "Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia" may cause less intense, constant, dull burning or
aching pain, sometimes with occasional electric shock-like stabs.
Both forms of the disorder most often affect one side of the face, but some patients experience pain at different times on both sides.
Onset of symptoms occurs most often after age 50, but cases are known in children and even infants.

Something as simple and routine as brushing the teeth, putting on makeup or even a slight breeze can trigger an attack, resulting in sheer agony
for the individual. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is not fatal, but it is universally considered to be the most painful affliction known to
medical practice.

Initial treatment of TN is usually by means of anti-convulsant drugs, such as Tegretol or Neurontin. Some anti-depressant drugs also have
significant pain relieving effects.
Should medication be ineffective or
if it produces undesirable side effects, eurosurgical procedures are available to relieve pressure on the nerve or to reduce nerve sensitivity. Some patients report having reduced or relieved pain by means of alternative medical therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic
adjustment, self-hypnosis or meditation.
Click to expand...
It's not fun.
https://facial-neuralgia.org/conditions/tn.html

I suffered with it in it's chronic / atypical form for nearly 20 years, getting hour long attacks anything up to three times a day, although one attack was most common.
It then became 'clustered' with attacks daily for about one month early in the year. No obvious reason why.
Then it more or less dissapeared, just a very occassional attack, the last thre years maybe 6 or 7 attacks.

I have just started taking Prozac for a bout of depression and they're back with a vengence. ( Which is why I'm posting less ) I had three attacks on Saturday !

The Prozac doesn't suit me at all, my anxiety attacks have become very intense and there's more of them, so the doc's changed the happy tabs to Lofepramine ( Gamanil )

Has anyone else experienced bad effects from either of these drugs, and the Trigeminal Neuralgia ( TN ) ?

My interest was aroused because one medical journal I tried to read ( it was way above my head ) mentioned PTSD and OCD as ' chemicaly related' ( I think ) to the TN.
I'm interested in any possible psycho-somatic link there might be, or a chemical link to the Prozac.

If it's linked to depression, then I was depressed for over 20 years without knowing it. And that amount of regular pain is enough to cause depression on it's own, so it might have been a viscous cycle ?

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy ( well, maybe a few :mad: ) but if anyone does know anything about it I'd like to hear from you.

Dave
 
I am sorry you have suffered from TN, I have never heard of it, so I do not have any advice there.

I was on Prozac for awhile, and that increased my anxiety and panic quite a bit so the doctor switched me to Lexapro and Remeron, I'm afraid I have not heard of the other medicine, but I hope it helps you.

scott
 
LLoydy,
I struggle with headaches and migraine headaches. Thankfully since Christmas, things have quieted down for me but I know the pain of these headaches.

Prozac was an medication that while it worked had serious side effects like headaches and anxiety. I'm not a person that needs even a tenth of an ounce more of anxiety. So I had to stop taking it as prozac while supposed to be one of the more "friendly" medications, was not nice to me.

Don
 
Hi Dave, I took Prozac in the mid 1990s. Some of the side effects were: back spasms & pain, jaw clenching, weight loss (good thing), decreased libido and difficulty in getting and maintaining erections. The positives were I was able to put things into perspective more easily, better able to concentrate on tasks, less likely to fly off the handle, enabled me to be more creative in writing and playing music.
Peace, Andrew
 
Dave,

Boy, do I feel for and with you--been there, done that!! I've suffered from migraines for most of my life (since 7th grade). The semester I was due to graduate from college I was laid prostrate with a savage series of cluster headaches. This was back in 1975. The treatment then was to put me on a tricyclic antidepressant. They lessened over a period of eighteen months but never went away entirely. At the end of that time I quit taking the antidepressant. Afterwards I could count on at least three attacks a month. That is, until three years ago.

At the end of 2000, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type II. I began taking Paxil and Depakote. The Paxil was later changed to Prozac. The last time I had a headache attack was over a year and a half ago. I don't know what to say; my experience with meds has been uniformly beneficial.

Tom
 
Thomas
thanks for the reply, I've just given the Prozac the boot ! boy, did they disagree with me.
I was having the most severe panic attacks I've ever known, and twice as many as ever before.
I stopped the Prozac on Sunday and haven't had one panic attack since.
I was also very confused and lacked concentration.
I got the adverse reaction to Prozac instantly, but none of the benefits at all.
Not a good thing.

Since monday I've been on Lofepramine, which is a trycyclic. And so far I haven't had any adverse side effects. Although the T.N. attacks are still happening. But whether they will ease off with the pills I don't know, it's a bit early to tell.

It's a bit confusing knowing what affects the depression has on the T.N. and what effects the tricyclics have on both the T.N. and the depression ? Maybe the depression is causing the T.N. ?

Do you think you might have been depressed when your clusters were happening ?

Dave
 
Dave,

I'm convinced that I was depressed when the clusters hit. Of course, at the time I didn't think so, but responding to the antidepressant like I did is a pretty indication that I was. But it also took eighteen months to get them under control. That was a lo-o-o-ng eighteen months.

Tom
 
Tom
thanks, that's got me thinking about the cause.

I'll have to check my medical records with the doc' to find the dates, but I have a feeling they match up with what I suspect.

Dave
 
Dave ... not had any prediction drugs yet...stick with the Cabernet Sauvignon & Garlic at the moment.

I do get headaches (or heedakes as they may call them a little further north)from time to time. Sometimes it's just pure stress, other times it's lack of solids & too much caffeine. Feels like someone has drilled to the centre of my head and started lipo through a fine (thin)tube....also get blurred vision when this occurs. I usually drink water first to dilute whatever is in my sytem, or alternatively to rehydrate.

Don't know if it's your prescription stuff, or some of the other posibbilities I've mentioned. Might even be a combination of several factors.

Rik again...
 
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