facial migraine

[Ceedee]

I periodically develop an aching jaw and face on the left hand side, and recently have had sudden horrible pain shooting down my face, teeth and jaw for half an hour or so, took ibuprofen, codeine, paractamol and decongestant (in case its sinus) out of desperation, at 3 in the morning. Someone suggested facial migraine??? I know its not teeth.

[Cally01]

Hi Ceedee, yeah it could be facial migraine but could also be your TMJ. I had the same only it travelled up to my temples and lasted for days. I had no teeth where I had horrendous toothache so I had a dentist check my jaw alignment and muscles in my jaw. He started treatment on it along side a physiotherapist but it was very painful and taking months to get results so I paid a private GP who specialised in Botox and the pain left within 2 days and it hasn't come back yet but it's been 10 days now still early to tell. I'll take it though cause it was getting worse. Good luck.

[Ceedee in reply to Cally01]

interesting, thanks

[BAGS93 in reply to Cally01]

Sorry, I don't know if its cos I'm new here or cis I'm not giving it enough thought but whats TMJ?

[Cally01 in reply to BAGS93]

Hi Bags93, TMJ is the big muscle that comes from behind your eye's, down your temples, face, jaw and nape of your neck. If you google Tmj dysfunction it will show you everything it causes and what symptoms you get from it. It's a pretty under diagnosed condition. Good luck 😀

[2ndtimeround]

Shooting pains down your jawline could also be trigeminal neuralgia. This is a periodic pain but it is not like any other pain, it is excruciating and no painkiller touches it. It can feel like you are being stabbed n the jaw or an electric shock. I suffer from this and when it starts its mild and intensifies over the next few days/ weeks. I have been known to get on the floor and punch the floor like a toddler taking a tantrum just to try and take my mind off the pain, I even threatened once that I wanted to cut my jaw out just to be relieved from the pain. I know my description seems over the top but there is no way to describe the intensity of the pain. TN is caused by the Trigmeninal nerve in your brain which transmits the sensations to your face. If no painkiller is touching the pain I would go and get it checked out by your doctor.

[Fran_in_California in reply to 2ndtimeround]

OMG! Reading your post about TN. It sounds like what Van Gogh had that made him cut off his ear! I hope you don't become that desperate; that your docs find some relief for you. Thanks for the education.

[2ndtimeround in reply to Fran_in_California]

Currently I am in remission but initially I was given epileptic drugs which somewhat helped. They then found an aneurysm, which they though initially may of been leaning on the nerve, that has now been treated, during this I had them check my B12 levels as low B12 can cause nerve damage. turns out my B12 levels were low and I now take B12 and touch wood I was then able to wean off the epileptic drugs an now only have very faint pains. But who knows I just hope it doesn't come back with vengeance.

[Gambit62 in reply to 2ndtimeround]

Interesting - was thinking low B12 as I read your post.

B12 is used - amongst other things - to maintain the insulating sheathe around nerve cells so if your B12 levels are low the nerve cells stop carrying messages properly - this can either result in numbness or it can result in intense pain depending on how the brain interprets the signals that get though. It can affect nerves anywhere in the body though is most generally associated with hands and feet.

Well done to your doctors for picking up on it. Many don't.

[2ndtimeround in reply to Gambit62]

Lots of people don't realise the effects of low B12. I was presenting all the symptoms of MS and endured 3 years of scans and tests which is how the aneurysm was discovered. I knew about B12 and it was only when I was having a moan on another forum on here that it was suggested that I get it checked again as my thyroid replacement had almost doubled in this time. I asked my doctor about it who initially said that it would have nothing to do with my B12 but he agreed to have me tested and this time it showed low and I have now been taking B12 for around 6 months and I can't believe the change on my life.

[Ceedee in reply to 2ndtimeround]

my sister is hypothyroid but struggling with dry skin and exhaustion, even on replacement medication, I will suggest it to her. I take a multivitamin and Iron (vegetarian) , how much B12 do you need ?

[2ndtimeround in reply to Ceedee]

I take 50 mcg a day it seems to of helped with my absorption.

[Gambit62 in reply to 2ndtimeround]

if you want the chance of a diagnosis of B12 deficiency then you need to get bloods tested BEFORE you supplement. However, given that the test is not specific enough (for various reasons) and most medics just aren't aware of that it can be a difficult road to go down.

The amount you actually need depends on whether the problem is lack of B12 in your diet or an absorption problem. Generally it is an absorption problem and the treatment for that tends to be injection (though some evidence that very high dose oral can help). Most B12 (99%) is absorbed in the ileum so potential absorption problems include - a) autoimmune response (PA) that attacks the mechanism and slowly destroys it - b) general lowering of acidity levels in the stomach - c) gastric surgery affecting the ileum - d) genetic abnormalities affecting the ileum - e) drug interactions - often ironically with drugs that are being used to treat symptoms that can be warnings of a B12 problem - eg anti-acid treatments, and some pain-killers - but also includes metformin used to treat diabetes.

If malabsorption is the source of the problem then you would need to be taking somewhere around 1mg -10mg a day orally to be getting enough in. RDA is about 2.5mcg - so you need at least 100 times that orally if none of it is being absorbed in the ileum. If the problem is acidity then that could affect the whole gut so you'd need even more - hence the 1-10mg.

B12 isn't toxic. the treatment for cyanide poisoning is 5g intravenously (1000x the amount mentioned above for oral supplementation with absorption problems), administered over 15 minutes with follow up dose after 30 minutes.

It is worth getting blood tests done to check on folate as B12 and folate are used together and being low in folate will affect your ability to use B12.

Ceedee, If you think B12 is a possibility recommend joining the PAS forum on health unlocked.

[Ceedee]

dont think its that extreme , but will bear it in mind, thanks

[2ndtimeround in reply to Ceedee]

I would still get it checked out the pain I was referring to was when it was at its optimum but it did start like I had toothache and then took a week to get to its most excruciating.

[Ceedee in reply to 2ndtimeround]

Will do 😃