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Suggest Treatment For Trigeminal Neuralgia
My husband is suffering greatly from Trigeminal Neuralgia; they are treating him with Tegretol. He is almost 78 years old, I have been told at his age; he should not have been prescribed this drug. The side effects have devastated him. We are seeing a neurosurgeon this Thurs. since the drug is not working completely, and I am doing research on a nerve ablation. Could you please address the drug question and what surgery is most commonly used to treat this once and for all; that he can be removed from Tegretol? Thank you very much.
Fri, 15 Jul 2016
Hello,
I can understand your concern. Tegretol is Carbamazepine which is the main drug given for relief in nerve pain like that of Trigeminal Neuralgia. I do understand that the drug has many side effects and it can espcially troublesome for a patient of 78 years of age, but this drug has benefits which are higher than any other drug for this type of case.
Other drug that can be used for Trigeminal Neuralgia instead of Carbamazepine is Gabapentin. This drug has also shown benefits, but it is also associated with side effects.
Regarding the invasive or procedures that neurosurgeon may suggest you includes injection of alcohol in the nerve, which is called nerve block or nerve ablation or surgical procedure where the nerve is operated through skull known as microvascular decompression.
In the nerve ablation procedure, the patient is given an injection of alcohol directly into the Trigeminal Nerve which acts as neurolytic and subsides pain for 6 months to 1 year of time. The procedure can be repeated then. This is a more commonly practiced procedure than the open skull procedure.
I hope this information helps you. Thank you for choosing HCM. I wish your husband feels better soon. Take care.
Best,
Dr. Viraj Shah
I can understand your concern. Tegretol is Carbamazepine which is the main drug given for relief in nerve pain like that of Trigeminal Neuralgia. I do understand that the drug has many side effects and it can espcially troublesome for a patient of 78 years of age, but this drug has benefits which are higher than any other drug for this type of case.
Other drug that can be used for Trigeminal Neuralgia instead of Carbamazepine is Gabapentin. This drug has also shown benefits, but it is also associated with side effects.
Regarding the invasive or procedures that neurosurgeon may suggest you includes injection of alcohol in the nerve, which is called nerve block or nerve ablation or surgical procedure where the nerve is operated through skull known as microvascular decompression.
In the nerve ablation procedure, the patient is given an injection of alcohol directly into the Trigeminal Nerve which acts as neurolytic and subsides pain for 6 months to 1 year of time. The procedure can be repeated then. This is a more commonly practiced procedure than the open skull procedure.
I hope this information helps you. Thank you for choosing HCM. I wish your husband feels better soon. Take care.
Best,
Dr. Viraj Shah
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