The miracles of our lives are scientists, philosophers, teachers, artists physicians, and others who work everyday to make the world better for others. Oh, to be one like your doctor.
I knew within the first sentence we shared this pain. Trigeminal Neuralgia, I was diagnosed 2 years ago. Thankfully the medication is working, and I have not had to increase dosages. Great to hear that the surgery is working.
Happy to read this. Pain really is one of those experiences that's difficult to describe to others, but you conveyed how excruciating it was very well.
I hope your stature leads more people to Sekula and away from plasma-enriched platelets.
From the first lines I suspected it was trigeminal neuralgia. I was also a suspect of this (no idea if it was really this or other thing), but I got lucky, the pain went away within a week or so with carbamazepine (which is indeed used to treat this).
Very happy for you to have escaped this debilitating pain!
This was deeply familiar to me. One of the hardest things about chronic pain is that you don’t “get used to it” in any noble or uplifting sense, you just become skilled at organising your life around it. That’s a different thing entirely. And when it vanishes, even for a few minutes, the feeling is extraordinary, because you suddenly remember that the world is not supposed to hurt all the time. Those moments feel less like comfort than revelation. Thank you for writing this. People talk a lot about pain as a symptom, but not enough about how it colonises time, attention, sleep, language, and hope. Gioia describes exactly that kind of overwhelming, hard-to-explain pain, and the relief he felt after successful surgery.
Thank you Ted for sharing your story…and importantly, for continuing to write through your suffering. It sounds like you went through hell and I’m so pleased your outlook is great! Pain is a beast. My husband has suffered from chronic pain for 25 years and over the last 3 or 4 it’s evolved into severe nerve pain when he lies down, making sleep impossible most nights. It’s horrible to watch! And there doesn’t seem to be many treatment options for his type of nerve pain. Stories like yours mean we will continue to search though! Thanks.
Oh my God,this is what my niece has got. Everything fits. I'm going to share your article with her mother for a start. We live in UK. I don't know if we have access to the sort of treatment you had. Can I though congratulate you on all the writings you have done on culture,entertainment and the businesses that involve both. And none of us knew about your pain. I'm horrified to read what this is but a little relieved to find an identification for my nieces pain. She is an adult so it's her choice to seek further treatment but just having an identification for what it is has got to help. Thank you so much.
Thank you for describing this horrible experience. I am so glad you did the research that most could not. Most of all I’m so happy to hear that you and the doc conquered this incredible pain.
I only suffered from that for a few hours after some dental work, but it was unbelievably painful. My heart goes out to anyone who suffers from it for a significant period of time.
I knew it was Trigeminal neuralgia from the first paragraph, because I am a dentist. I encountered it in many patients - there are different therapeutical approaches, besides decompressive surgery, and the results vary of course. I am glad you feel better after the procedure.
The miracles of our lives are scientists, philosophers, teachers, artists physicians, and others who work everyday to make the world better for others. Oh, to be one like your doctor.
I knew within the first sentence we shared this pain. Trigeminal Neuralgia, I was diagnosed 2 years ago. Thankfully the medication is working, and I have not had to increase dosages. Great to hear that the surgery is working.
Three cheers for Dr. Sekula, the Trigeminal Man!
Happy to read this. Pain really is one of those experiences that's difficult to describe to others, but you conveyed how excruciating it was very well.
I hope your stature leads more people to Sekula and away from plasma-enriched platelets.
Thanks!
From the first lines I suspected it was trigeminal neuralgia. I was also a suspect of this (no idea if it was really this or other thing), but I got lucky, the pain went away within a week or so with carbamazepine (which is indeed used to treat this).
Very happy for you to have escaped this debilitating pain!
This was deeply familiar to me. One of the hardest things about chronic pain is that you don’t “get used to it” in any noble or uplifting sense, you just become skilled at organising your life around it. That’s a different thing entirely. And when it vanishes, even for a few minutes, the feeling is extraordinary, because you suddenly remember that the world is not supposed to hurt all the time. Those moments feel less like comfort than revelation. Thank you for writing this. People talk a lot about pain as a symptom, but not enough about how it colonises time, attention, sleep, language, and hope. Gioia describes exactly that kind of overwhelming, hard-to-explain pain, and the relief he felt after successful surgery.
Pain is actually a fascinating topic for conversation, and this story was riveting. I am happy for you that the surgery has been a success.
Oh this sounds worse than the worst toothache, which is the most unbearable pain that I can imagine so I’m very happy that you managed to tackle it.
Thank you Ted for sharing your story…and importantly, for continuing to write through your suffering. It sounds like you went through hell and I’m so pleased your outlook is great! Pain is a beast. My husband has suffered from chronic pain for 25 years and over the last 3 or 4 it’s evolved into severe nerve pain when he lies down, making sleep impossible most nights. It’s horrible to watch! And there doesn’t seem to be many treatment options for his type of nerve pain. Stories like yours mean we will continue to search though! Thanks.
Amazing story. Congratulations!
Congratulations! And thank you for sharing. What a remarkable story. And it wrote itself (sort of)!
Oh my God,this is what my niece has got. Everything fits. I'm going to share your article with her mother for a start. We live in UK. I don't know if we have access to the sort of treatment you had. Can I though congratulate you on all the writings you have done on culture,entertainment and the businesses that involve both. And none of us knew about your pain. I'm horrified to read what this is but a little relieved to find an identification for my nieces pain. She is an adult so it's her choice to seek further treatment but just having an identification for what it is has got to help. Thank you so much.
Thank you for describing this horrible experience. I am so glad you did the research that most could not. Most of all I’m so happy to hear that you and the doc conquered this incredible pain.
I only suffered from that for a few hours after some dental work, but it was unbelievably painful. My heart goes out to anyone who suffers from it for a significant period of time.
I knew it was Trigeminal neuralgia from the first paragraph, because I am a dentist. I encountered it in many patients - there are different therapeutical approaches, besides decompressive surgery, and the results vary of course. I am glad you feel better after the procedure.
Thank you. People don't know how important it is to share our experiences.