Bridget Kelly , TN Patient

Her Personal Story

I don’t know where to begin or whether to relay that I am successful in conquering this pain. Pain is personal. Pain cannot even be described successfully. Success over pain is ongoing.

Over eight years I learned so much about the rarity of Trigeminal Neuropathy over Trigeminal Neuralgia. At 25 years old, I was doomed.  In 2000, I was told that my own Trigeminal Neuropathy is the result of a B12 deficiency that I encountered either from a birth defect or some other cause.

I find it so interesting that new research on TN is prompting the need to study why most cases of TN seem to have a similar kind of demyelination that I experience. My disorder is progressive like Multiple Sclerosis. I hope that my pain is not.

In October 2003, I had Motor Cortex Stimulation (MCS). MCS provides electrical stimulation to nerves. The electrical sensations compensate for misfiring that causes excruciating pain and symptoms for other disorders. MCS is very complicated.

On September 10, 2001 after six years with TN, my doctors became sick of me because no treatments worked up to this point. Doctors put me on eleven medications making me a zombie in pain. I lost consciousness. It was a drug interaction. It was not a suicide. The next morning I woke up to what I thought was the end of the world. September 11, 2001 was truly the end of my battle with this disorder. I realized that the care my body is under my control, yet reluctantly, I started morphine and sleepwalking into months of inquiry about MCS.

I am now alive and unwilling to settle for any more excuses in treatments for this disorder. My pain is reduced by 80%. I have felt this reduction in nerve pain for over one year. It is important to remember that the neurosurgeon must place the electrodes precisely, in order to find relief. This is why consults with trained specialists are important.

This past summer I had $33,000 in dental work done to fix my jaw and teeth. The work was done wrong. Now, all the work needs to be redone. So, where do I start in expressing success? Success is ongoing. Success is personal. I have experienced so much. My breaking point is now. I will work to reform this disorder in whatever way I can. I will not let the pain return. My best to all TN and face pain patients seeking relief.