These days Frank drives around to help others with trigeminal neuralgia. He seeks to raise awareness while comforting those who are living with the condition.
Before Frank was diagnosed, he felt numbness in the area near his jaw and chin. A couple days after the initial pain, he started to experience an on-and-off discomfort in his gums. Frank’s face was in pain. He described the right side as an “intense burning and electrical shock-like pain.”
Then, he was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. It is called the “suicide disease,” since some people suffering from it would kill themselves just to be free of the pain.
Frank says that having the condition has changed his life. It is a severe pain that caused an outgoing person to withdraw himself from conversations and socializing. It forced him to be absent from work for an extended amount of time, which led him to retire. The condition made it painful for him to talk, eat, and even brush his teeth. The terrible pain prevents him from enjoying life. Even a conversation can be extremely painful.
There are some treatments available to help reduce the pain, such as antidepressants, botox injections, anticonvulsants, and opioids.
For Frank, the medicines have only worked occasionally, while causing some side effects. Others have had neurosurgery to reduce the pain but surgery is not an option for everyone.
According to a neurologist who specializes in headaches and facial pain, there is no truly effective treatment for people who have trigeminal neuralgia.
Click here to read more about Frank and his awareness efforts.
