Understanding of mystery nerve pain grows
Main Category: Pain / AnestheticsArticle Date: 17 Aug 2003 - 0:00 PDT
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opinions'Understanding of mystery nerve pain grows'
| Patient / Public: |  |
2.67 (9 votes) |
| Healthcare Prof: |  |
3.67 (3 votes) |
| Article opinions: | 181 posts |
This pain is caused by subtle nerve damage, in some cases making even the lightest touch result in agony.
Scientists at the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo have unlocked some of the mystery behind this often excrutiating pain. Various physical conditions can appear to initiate the nerve damage that causes this pain, such as viral infections, surgery and diabetes.
These findings move us closer to creating new drugs to relieve the condition.
Visit our pain / anesthetics section for the latest news on this subject.
MLA
26 May. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/4134.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/4134.php.
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Visitor Opinions (latest shown first)
Total 181 opinions, latest 20 shown. For all opinions, click through to the full thread.Shame On You
posted by Warren Zucker on 8 May 2012 at 8:18 amOf course a 2 minute discussion of risk of numbness which may be permanent should be discussed. A typical response from an arrogant health care provider but you would be the first to whine if you wnet to a doctor and was permanently injured without discussion of risk. Shame on you. i am living with a numb tongue from a somple procedure of lingual nerve damage from a poke of a needle and you could care less.
Any Suggestions?
posted by Becky on 11 Apr 2012 at 4:51 pmI appreciate your advice that no procedure is without risk. You did take the time read and respond to this blog. As a doctor, do you have any help or suggestions for us regarding this situation? Do you think the B12 would actually help, how about massage, heat or cold compresses, acupuncture? My endodontist said it will probably heal within 2 years o it's own. I am 66 and suffered nerve damage 2 weeks ago during implant procedure. Numb lower cheek, chin and lips. Tongue is fine.
Mandibular Nerve Injury
posted by butterfly on 23 Mar 2012 at 5:16 pmMy first question - does anyone actually get any responses? I see a lot of questions but no answers.
My nerve injury is only a couple months old - the possible result of a severe tooth infection. Endodontist I was referred to isn't convinced of that since xrays didn't show a large abcess. Although - this only started when the pain from infection started. I have an appointment with an orofacial pain specialist in a couple weeks.
Thankfully my tongue is not affected - just the left side of my mouth, chin, gums, teeth. A lot of achy, soreness, shooting pain, electrical zaps, muscle tightening, burning pain, swelling, sensitive to the touch. Teeth also sensitive to touch and brushing. It feels like I have a bad rug burn on the outside of my face that won't go away. If I eat something that requires too much chewing (have to chew on the right side only) - it irritates everything and makes it feel worse.
Nerve Damage
posted by Gail Rogers on 20 Mar 2012 at 6:15 pmI had a root canal done 7 years ago. It was not the root canal but the injection of Novocaine that damaged my nerve. I was put on a medication to relax my nerve in hopes it would repair itself. Well it has been 4 years on the medication and the numbness is still there. Because of it, I constantly am playing with my mouth and clenching my teeth. My jaw hurts all the time. Will this ever end? Does anyone know of any help?
Chronic Pain
posted by Diane Aragon on 19 Mar 2012 at 9:41 amnerve damage after dental bonding
Facial 7 Cranial Nerve Damage
posted by monika yadav on 3 Feb 2012 at 5:16 ammy mother was operated some 2 years back an an ear operation (ent department)due to which her facial 7 cranial nerve is damaged left side and her eye is also partially opened.she is regularly attending all her exercise but there is no sign of improvement .she is very deprresed its 2 and a half years since the operation please suggest some safe surgery.
Facial-nerve
posted by rennel on 2 Feb 2012 at 10:57 pmi have problem,half of my face not functioning, cant even smile, and my eyes also cant close...tis all started when car accitdent...... is there anything i can do to cure this faster? back to normal?
Pain
posted by Kate Goodwin on 2 Feb 2012 at 7:31 pmNerve damage cannot always be avoided when wisdom teeth are being pulled. If the person is older and the nerve is directly under the tooth. You cannot sue someone for something that is not there fault.
New Results
posted by Jeanie on 26 Jan 2012 at 5:16 pmI have been at this for six months. A couple of weeks ago I went back to my dentist to have my teeth cleaned. I had told him that I had a real bad pain that seemed to be under the next to the last tooth on the bottom on the left side. He took another xray and found a small crack on the top between the back tooth and the one that seemed to hurt all the time. After he dug around, he found a huge crack down to the gums in between the two teeth, that couldn't be seen on the xrays. After he took the tooth out I had no pain at all, now I am getting off all the pain pills that I have been on for the last six months. Those pills kept about 95% of the pain away. Thank god this wasen't TMJ. I don't think I could have lived with that pain. And those pain pills. If you have not been to a dentist for a while, you might want to check and make sure you don't have some kind of a large crack, that the xrays are not showing. Good luck....
New Results
posted by Jeanie on 26 Jan 2012 at 5:14 pmI have been at this for six months. A couple of weeks ago I went back to my dentist to have my teeth cleaned. I had told him that I had a real bad pain that seemed to be under the next to the last tooth on the bottom on the left side. He took another xray and found a small crack on the top between the back tooth and the one that seemed to hurt all the time. After he dug around, he found a huge crack down to the gums in between the two teeth, that couldn't be seen on the xrays. After he took the tooth out I had no pain at all, now I am getting off all the pain pills that I have been on for the last six months. Those pills kept about 95% of the pain away. Thank god this wasen't TMJ. I don't think I could have lived with that pain. And those pain pills. If you have not been to a dentist for a while, you might want to check and make sure you don't have some kind of a large crack, that the xrays are not showing. Good luck....
Same Happened To Me
posted by Liveonce on 19 Jan 2012 at 8:25 amI had a facelift 3 months ago and my mouth is noe drooping about 1/2 inch from the other side of my mouth. I, too, am devastated by the fact that I had a facelift to improve my appearnace and now I look awful. My doctor is not giving me any information on how this can be repaired or that he did anything wrong but from readin on the internet it is pretty obvious to me that he severed a nerve. Please anyone who has info on or has had this happen to them please let me know what I should do.
Severe Mouth Pain/ Nerve Damage
posted by Robin on 14 Jan 2012 at 9:24 pmI have had numerous dental work that started me with fillings then second fillings then root canels and the bridges and crowns. My mouth has always been very sensitive. Then 15 years later I had to have all my crowns and caps removed which was all of them and I suffered severe pain.
I was given dentures and boy were they ever not fitting right. I was in pain all the time. Then I had the dentures redone but they might as well gave me the same set back because my mouth hurt so bad. Ever since that surgery. I have been in severe pain. I did finally go to another dentiist that made my dentures feel a lot better but I still had a mouth fill of pain all the time. 10 years ago I finally went to my current MD and he said that I basically had a reaction to a new medicine that I was taking and once I figured out which one it was and took a prescription of ACYCLOVIR and it took all the sores and blisters and burning out of my mouth to the make it feel much better but my mouth is still in severe pain and I need a prescription of 750 vicodin 4 times a day to keep me out of the severe pain I go through.
It seems so rare. Maybe after years of having that allergic reaction from medication and flaring up so greatly for long periods of time that I could not eat foods but only liquids during those times but I have severe pain throughout my mouth all the time. I know that people are making it a bigthing about people abusing it so it is getting so hard to obtain a prescription. I am not a pill head by any means but if I am in that much pain for more then 12 hours a day and each medicine pill takes the pain away for 4 yours at a time and I use self control and I have a really bad problem that needs to be addressed with proper medication so I want to live without pain. Others make it very hard for those of us that need a
presciption to take daily to live without pain in such a sensitive place. I have been checkeed for cancer more then once and one lab said I had cancer and another more recently said I dont. I just thinks it stinks that other people have to abuse pills like that .I with a very rare condition am having trouble getting a doctor to prescribe them to me. I wont give up intil I am free from this pain.
Do other people have such severe pain in there mouth and have already went to a dentist, oral surgeon and a MDand specialist and everyone of them wants someone else to give me a daiy scripe I will need to get stop or mask this horrific pain. My lips swell up some times and I am unable eat or drink anything spicy,citrus,or sauces and more recently item like ketchup,mustard and many otheres.
Is anybody out there understand what I have been thru.Its like no one wants to help me. I could use a referral.
I.A.N. Damage
posted by Ted on 1 Jan 2012 at 9:41 am1) I hope you were properly prepared for your surgery with a detailed Informed Consent form which was reviewed with you, signed by you and witnessed. Some surgeons have a video informed consent.
2) The very serious and real issues of lingual nerve paresthesia and inferior alveolar nerve are seen and followed up by practicioners all over the world.
3) The lingual nerve can be damaged during a routine dental injection (inferior alveolar nerve block) resulting in symptoms discussed on this blog. It is a smaller diameter nerve which can be damaged by the bevel of the local anesthetic needle.
4) The inferior alveolar nerve, when damaged, usually results in anesthesia of the area following the distribution of that nerve. This is a much larger nerve. I have seen cases which took up to 2 1/2 years to resolve.
5) While your suffering is not to be minimized, if the procedure you underwent was documented and necessary, the routine use of this injection does not implicate malpractice.
Nerve Damage
posted by Jeanie on 31 Oct 2011 at 12:12 pmSusan, Mine is in the left jaw, TMJ is for the jaw. I had an MRI so the Dr. could eliminate blood clots, tumers etc, which could bring on something like this. This nerve starts up in your head and runs down to your jaw. An MRI was a good idea to make sure nothing else could be going on that would cause this. So far these pills seem to be working real good, I now am at about 95% pain free. Talk to your Doctor.
What Part Of Mouth?
posted by Susan on 23 Oct 2011 at 8:35 amYou didn't say what part of your mouth where this is happening....tongue? cheek? etc.
Nerve Damage
posted by Wanda Schumacker on 21 Oct 2011 at 8:37 pmI've been suffering constantly for over 2 1/2 yrs without much relief from the many meds. Has your husband found any help through surgery or even a doctor that knows how to treat this? To this date I've been unsuccessful. Thank you.
Nerve Damage
posted by Jeanie on 11 Oct 2011 at 3:45 pmHi all
Mine came out of no where, the second day I thought it was an absessed tooth, went to the dentist, and nothing wrong, gave me vicado. Went back in a week, took xray of top and nothing again, suggested seeing my Dr. (Kaiser) she gave me Neurontin & percocet sent me to the head & neck specialtist, He gave me Valium and to the neurologist. Before I could see the neurologist I ended up in the ER. The IV was morphine, valium & percocet, But it took about 50% away. The neurologist gave me Tegretol, which after a couple of weeks I'm just on Neurontin & Tegretol. The pain is 90 to 95% gone. One of the side effects is insomnia, if these drugs are strong enough to kill off this big nerve, it had to affect other thing too. After weeks of not sleeping, it was pretty clear it was killing off all the melatonin in my system. I would sit in a dark room for hours trying to get my own to kick in. No such luck. I went to the drug store and got some melatonin and now I'm getting at least 5 to 6 hours sleep a night. I hope this might help at least someone out there. This is the worst pain ever!!! The neurologist told me this is gettin more & more common and not all are brought on a dentist, it just happens, like mine did. Good Luck and see your Doctor
Partial Paralysis
posted by mary on 24 Sep 2011 at 3:46 pmWell I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed almost 9 years ago, have the same problems as you, it has never gone away!!! Wish I would of never had them removed!! This is worse than having them in...and of course the dentist said I never touched your nerve...liar and I almost died in the process guess they doped me up to heavy.... I could keep going on wish you the best with that!
To You Dumb Person
posted by Jamie on 23 Sep 2011 at 10:36 amObviously you don't understand how anything works apparently. Way to be completely unhelpful and jesting don't talk about what you don't understand.
Little Hope
posted by phil on 21 Sep 2011 at 10:07 pmI'm afraid there seems little hope for full recovery. My son just had a filling & it looks like after 12 hrs his toungue is still numb. Looking at the sites and comments on the net...things look SCARELY BLEAK!..There are, it seems, hundreds of victims with this "Lingual Nerve Damage" all with the same hopeless story. I suggest you check the net yourself...if you want disappointing results...
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