Cases of trigeminal neuralgia

Note: The illustrative cases described here shows how homeopathic case processing incorporates the study of the disease, the mind, genetic tendency and other aspects. The remedy administered to the case is based on the individual case study, not supposed to be of any use to other patients with similar disease.

Mr. R. K. T (Patient Ref. No. S-5879), a male patient, 50 years old, had been suffering from trigeminal neuralgia for last 19 years. He had undergone surgery three times in the past but the relief would last for about 3 years only and the complaints would recur after this.

The complaints had started as toothache for which he had reported to a dental hospital. There he had 4 teeth extracted but the pain did not subside and kept recurring. He would experience burning, throbbing, shooting pain on the right side of the face. The pain would last the whole day long and when it would be at its peak it would be impossible to eat, drink, talk or sleep. Washing the face, brushing, blowing, shaving would also increase the pain. Initially the pain would also be worse from exposure to cold. Patient would wake up with severe pain in the morning and would first have to gulp a tablet for pain relief.

He also complained of pain in the neck since 30 years. Sometimes the pain would be on the left side and sometimes on the right side. It would increase on exertion and when he would remain empty stomach.

His appetite was less and he was fond of sweets. Thirst for water was on the lesser side. Sweat was scanty and did not have any particular odor. He was a chilly patient and sensitive to cold in general. There was no problem with stools and urine. His sleep was frequently disturbed due to the pain. He would often dream about going through some sort of difficulty or falling from a high place.

He had a business of sports goods and fitness equipments. Basically he was a very shy and reserved person since childhood. He had very few friends in school and even at office. He had anxiety about being in public and would not even go to a hotel when alone. He would not speak out in front of people due to hesitation. He was unduly conscious about his looks because he had a lean physique. He lacked confidence in himself and due to this he gave up his driving lessons in youth. He preferred to remain alone and was a passive listener. He would get nervous easily and whenever he would take up some task but would manage to complete it; mostly he would avoid taking up any such task. He also had developed forgetfulness whereby he would forget names and faces of people. He would get very angry when things would not go according to his wishes. At such times he would scold the opposite person. He had fear of snakes and dogs. His overall mood would be depressed and sometimes frustrated. He would not be able to weep even when he would be in a very sad mood. He would tend to brood over and again about his problems.

He had suffered from typhoid in the past and besides this there was no other significant illness in the past. His father had ischemic heart disease and his mother had some kind of skin problem that he was not aware of.

He had been on conventional treatment (carbamazepine and gabapentin) for the pain since the beginning of the complaints and he would get some relief but many times he would experience severe, continuous pain inspite of being on high doses of such drugs. He had also taken homoeopathic treatment in the past which had given him some relief.

The patient was prescribed a remedy called Argentum Nitricum alongwith another one called Capsicum. He also required doses of a remedy called Platina during the course of his treatment. Within 4 months of the treatment, patient had more than 90% relief in his complaints. He was completely off all allopathic medication during this period and inspite of stopping the conventional medicines there was no increase in the severity of the pain. In between he kept getting occasional relapses of the pain but the frequency and severity of the pain was much lesser than before. The pain would be tolerable and would be controlled by the homoeopathic medicines. During the periods of stress too, the pain would relapse but it would be effectively controlled with the medication. Thus with homoeopathy, we could effectively control the pain in this case which could not be achieved even with high dosage of conventional medicines. In addition to this the dependence of the patient on conventional medicines was also reduced to a great extent. Thus he could lead a near-normal life with the help of homoeopathy.

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This is the case of Mrs. F. K (Patient Ref. No. S-5905), a 67 years old female who had been suffering from trigeminal neuralgia since 4 years. Her complaints began as pain in the right side of the face that would start above the lips. It would ascend to the cheeks, cheekbone and up to the forehead on the right side of the face. The pain would be very intense and of shooting type as if there was some electric current passing through that part. She would get these episodes of pain daily for at least one or two times for the last 4 years. The pain would last about 15 seconds and she would not be able to do anything when she would get this pain. Eating, sleeping, washing the face, brushing the teeth would worsen the pain. The pain would come up at almost anytime and would be worse on exposure to cold and at night. Blowing the nose would also be painful and any kind of jerky movement would also trigger the pain.

She also had complaints of gastritis since few months wherein she would get retrosternal burning and occasional burning in the stomach. She was a known case of hypertension since last 10 years rand was under treatment for the same.

Her appetite and thirst was normal. She disliked eating fish. She would be more comfortable in warm weather and did not prefer fan or A.C. She would always take a covering during sleep. Bowels would be normal except that she would occasionally be constipated.

She was a retired school teacher by profession and she would spend her time in stitching, knitting and reading besides doing her household chores. She was a cheerful person by nature and denied having any kind of stress in her life. She preferred to speak less, only when required. She was a confident lady who was prepared to face any stressful situation with confidence. She would get angry at trifles and especially when she was disturbed while doing her work. She would scold people and abuse them when angry. She was afraid of heights (mountains) and of being in elevators.

There was no history of any significant illness in the past. In her family, her father had hypertension and ischemic heart disease.

She had undergone Radiofrequency retrogasserian trigeminal rhizotomy right V3 during the initial stages of her illness and the condition was under control for some time. But then the she started developing pain in V2. Due to her age and ischemic heart disease, the operation could not be repeated and so she was put on the conventional medicines for the control of the pain. But within few days of starting the treatment, she developed severe side-effects due to those medicines and she had to discontinue the same. She even had to be admitted to the hospital for the control of the seizures that she developed as a side-effect due to those medicines.

She was started on homoeopathic treatment and within the first 3 months of treatment she was significantly better. She was prescribed a drug called Platina and Mercurius Iodatum Flavum alongwith intercurrent doses of Carcinosin. The attacks of TN were much less frequent and much less severe as compared to before. After about a year of homoeopathic treatment she was almost 90% better than before and she was able to lead a near normal life. This case illustrates that how homoeopathy can help the patient even in those cases where the conventional medicines don't suit the patient and where surgery has provided relief temporarily.

Remark: The remedy prescribed in these cases is patient-specific i.e. it has been prescribed based on the symptoms specific to the patient at that point of time. It is advisable that the patient does not indulge in any self-medication.

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