vascular decompression?

[jenniferah8]

I am a 28 yr. old female that was recently diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia and told my treatment will be a vascular decompression.  My symptoms are: face pain, headache, ear pain, and dizziness.  The pain is all on the right side.  I started taking Nortriptyline at night.  This has helped control the pain but the dizziness has become a lot worse.  My MRI came back and I have an artery wrapped around my trigeminal nerve so that is why I was told I need to have the vascular decompression.  

The compression of the trigeminal nerve explains the face pain, headache and earache but it does not explain the dizziness.  I want to know if anyone who has trigeminal neuralgia has also experienced overwhelming dizziness.  How was that cured? Also has anyone had the vascular decmopression surgery?  If so how do you feel after?  

I just found all this out and am pretty scared, so any feedback will help.  Thank you, Jennifer

[yakubkarim]

hullo jennifer,

i was just on the web and read your e mail of feb 2007 about ur facial pain, since it well past year now i would like to know what happened to ur facial pain, did u go for vascular decompression? if u have i would like to know if ur pain has gone.  and is there any recurrence of pain after the operation.

I have had bilateral facial pain and it is diagnised as trigeminal neuralgia, i am on tegretol and neurontin 3 times a day, this controls the pain, but do feel dizzy but yet prefer to pain.

I hope u are relieved of this terrible pain.

yakub karim

[sunshine20618]

Hi Jennifer,

My name is Missy and I am 26.  I have had trigeminal neuralgia for about 4 years now, but mine is due to lesions on my brain, possibly caused from Multiple Sclerosis. Maybe the compression of the artery could be causing your dizziness?  I have dizziness quite a bit but I think that may be part of the early stages of MS.  Do you take any pain medication that could have those side effects or any other medications causing it? I know dizziness is a side effect in a lot of meds...good luck with your surgery, and I hope it takes away your pain-it's a horrible experience that's for sure.  Take Care.