Friday, June 20, 2008

Ways To Treat Trigeminal Neuralgia


Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that affects the nervous system of the body. It can cause extreme pain in the facial region and it is a nightmare to the various individuals who have this medical condition. This article will look at the different ways that are available to treat this condition.

Trigeminal Neuralgia can become quite challenging to an individual who has it. The pain can become quite extreme and often the result can lead someone to commit suicide. Over time, medicine has developed a wide range of treatments that can bring some amount of pain relief to affected individuals.

The easiest way to treat the condition is with surgery. There are different types such as peripheral, minor and major surgery. Each of these gives various degrees of relief to the patient. Peripheral surgery is done in a way in the mouth of the patient to reach the affected nerve. This means the patient has to go under local anesthetic. This type of surgery will only give short term pain relief and can last around 10 months. This type of procedure only has a few complications that are associated with it.

Minor surgery is another way to treat the condition. This type of surgery requires the use of an instrument that is passed into the skull. This is done under full xray control. This then enters the Gasserian ganglion and alleviates the pain temporarily.

Major surgery is another way to treat Trigeminal Neuralgia. This is done when surgery is done at the back of the skull right behind the ear. The area of pressure that is responsible for the pain is often highlighted with the use of a MRI or MRTA. This type of surgery is also done under full anesthetic.

Aside from surgery, medication can be used to treat Trigeminal Neuralgia. One such medication is Baclophen (Lioresal®). For patients who take Baclophen then they usually start with 5 mg two or three times a day. This is then gradually increased over time. The proper dosage for individuals is between 50mg and 60 mg per day. The beneficial effects of this drug does not last a long time and individuals need to take it every 4 hours.

Carbamazepine (Tegretol, Carbatrol) is an anticonvulsant drug, and it is the most common type of medication that doctors use to treat the condition. The drug starts out at being very effective at treating the condition, but the effectiveness of the drug is decreased over time.

You can buy Lioresal here

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