Diagnosing TN first step toward relief

June 6, 2005

Teri Webster, CEO of Hillcrest Healthcare, thought the horrible pain on the right side of her face had to be caused by a dental problem.

So she kept fitting in dental appointments, looking for an abscessed tooth, a crack, a hidden problem -- anything.

The pain started out feeling like someone was flicking her face with a finger, Webster said, and then "to feeling like somebody takes a knife up the side of your nose and is trying to peel your skin away," she said, "and that can go on for hours."

After four months of trying to control her body herself, Webster made an appointment with her family practitioner, who showed her an entry in a medical book that seemed to describe her condition: trigeminal neuralgia.

Sometimes called "tic doulourex," TN is pain caused by injury or irritation to the trigeminal nerve, which provides all sensation to the face, teeth, mouth, sinuses, meninges (coverings of the brain) and blood vessels! to the head. Doctors don't know for sure what causes it, and there's not a single standard treatment.

"I felt better once I knew what it was, but then to have the doctor say to you, 'We don't know what causes it, and we don't know how to cure it' is just a hopeless, a helpless feeling," Webster said.

Since March, Webster has controlled her TN with a commonly used antiseizure drug. But she worries about others who don't have the support system and resources she does. Webster is a registered nurse with a concerned family and a lot of connections in the health-care field, and it still took her months to find help.

Doris Ballew, who coordinates a local TN support group, had TN almost three years before she was diagnosed and knows people who suffered even longer.

"It's very typical" for dentists to be the first to see TN patients, Ballew said. She had seven root canals before being diagnosed.

"East Tennessee Trigeminal Neuralgia Support Group ! is sponsoring Pittsburgh neurosurgeon Dr. Kenneth Casey, author of a T N handbook and one of the few doctors who specializes in TN treatment, to speak and answer questions at a June 20 luncheon at Club LeConte. The public is invited, and the group sent invitations to local neurosurgeons, neurologists, doctors and dentists. Ballew hopes at least 50 will attend.

Kristi L. Nelson may be reached at 865-342-6434. She is health writer for the News Sentinel.

Copyright (c) 2005 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Record Number: 417065060

Updated 6-10-05