You never know what you’re going to learn on any given day, which is part of what makes life so interesting. Here’s an example: I was sitting at the gate in the airport waiting to learn why my flight was delayed. Anyone who flies a lot knows what this is like because it happens more frequently than not. But I digress… I was gazing blankly at the TV screen when the woman seated next to me cried out in pain. I asked her what was wrong, but all she could do for a couple of minutes was hold her face in her hands. Finally, whatever it was that was ailing her subsided.
I asked her if there was anything I could do to help her, and she half-laughed and said, “Find a cure for trigeminal neuralgia. That would be a big help.” Seeing my puzzled look, she sighed and asked, “Do you really want to know what trigeminal neuralgia is?” Partly because it didn’t look like we were going anywhere in a hurry, I told her I did.
My fellow traveler told me trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the 5th cranial nerve–which is the nerve that covers the most territory in the cranium. When damaged, it causes shock-like pain in the face that can last for a few seconds to two minutes. Some people have clustered attacks, where as soon as one attack ends, the next one begins.
I was completely surprised by her cogent explanation, considering the minute-long bout of extreme pain I’d witnessed. I was also intrigued because I’d never heard of trigeminal neuralgia, also known as tic douloureaux.
She explained that the onset of this awful disorder happened to her after sinus surgery, and that most people were like me–clueless. “Part of the problem is this condition is pretty rare and because of that, research dollars aren’t exactly flowing into the coffers of clinical studies, so there’s no cure in sight. Some days I hang on from moment to moment,” she said matter-of-factly.
Just then, an announcement came over the tinny airport speakers saying our plane would begin boarding in 10 minutes and our conversation ended As I gathered my stuff, I couldn’t help but think that I’d like to get the word out about trigeminal neuralgia so progress can be made in finding effective treatments, and hopefully, a cure will one day be found. So, Lady of Newark Airport, this article is for you!
And if you, Patient Worthy reader, suffer from this rare disorder, or know someone who does, here are resources that might help you.
TNA – The Facial Pain Association
Toll-free: (800) 923-3608
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://fpa-support.org/
American Chronic Pain Association
Toll-free: (800) 533-3231
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.theacpa.org
American Pain Society
Phone: (847) 375-4715
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ampainsoc.org
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Toll-free: (800) 352-9424
Website: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
What are your thoughts on trigeminal neuralgia? Leave a comment, and share this article and help raise awareness!