Trigeminal Neuralgia
Symptoms
There are no tests to diagnose trigeminal neuralgia. A doctor determines if a person has TN based on what the patient says about the type of pain he or she is experiencing and where the pain occurs.
People who develop classic or typical trigeminal neuralgia tend to have the following symptoms:
People who develop classic or typical trigeminal neuralgia tend to have the following symptoms:
- Pain that they describe as an “electrical shock” or “lightning bolt”
- Pain that occurs on and off – attacks of pain usually last from a few seconds up to several minutes and then get better. Some people may have multiple attacks of pain that occur one right after another.
- Pain-free periods between attacks
- Pain that occurs spontaneously or is “triggered” by certain factors such as chewing, brushing your teeth, washing your face, applying make-up, and even by wind blowing on your face
- Pain that almost always occurs only on one side of the face
- Periods of remission and recurrence
- No loss of sensation or feeling on the face