Tears streamed down Diana Crabb's cheeks as she stood in the shower trying to wash her hair. For more than four years, Diana had struggled with excruciating pain radiating from her hairline past the left side of her nose and into her jaw. Her doctor had explained she has trigeminal neuralgia (TN), which occurs when the trigeminal nerve-which has branches in the forehead, cheek and lower jaw on each side of the head-becomes irritated by injury, dental procedures or, as in Diana's case, pressure from a blood vessel.
Diana's team of physicians prescribed gabapentin, a medication that blocks signals in the brain to reduce nerve pain. Diana was started on 100 mg. twice a day, which had helped. But over the next 18 months, her pain intensified, and her dose was increased to 300 mg. three times a day, which eased the pain but left her feeling groggy. Other pain medicines also brought unpleasant side effects, so Diana opted to not take them.
This story is from the December 12, 2022 edition of Woman's World.
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This story is from the December 12, 2022 edition of Woman's World.
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