Everyone who reads this knows by now that I suffer with nerve pain. But what is nerve pain anyway? And, how is it so different then other pain?  Aren’t our nerves what sends signals to the brain about pain? So, what’s the difference between regular pain and nerve pain? I’ve written about pain before, acute and chronic. But what is nerve pain??

The two main categories are pain caused by tissue damage, also called nociceptive pain, and pain caused by nerve damage, also called neuropathic pain. Pain is also classified by the type of tissue that’s involved or by the part of the body that’s affected (chest pain, back pain, headache, etc.)

nociceptive pain: Most tissue damage occurs from an injury to the body’s tissues. The injury can be to bone, soft tissue, or organs. The injury to body tissue can come from a disease such as cancer. Or it can come from physical injury such as a cut or a broken bone. The pain you experience from tissue damage may be an ache, a sharp stabbing, or a throbbing. It could come and go, or it could be constant. Pain from tissue damage can be acute, For example, sports injuries. Or it can be chronic, such as arthritis or chronic headaches.

neuropathic pain: Nerves function like electric cables transmitting signals, including pain signals, to and from the brain. Damage to nerves can interfere with the way those signals are transmitted and cause pain signals that are abnormal (& bloody awful!!) Nerves can be damaged by diseases, trauma, certain chemotherapy drugs, and also as a result of stroke or an HIV infection, among other causes (as if those weren’t enough!) The pain that comes from nerve damage could be the result of damage to the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain (like my TN) and spinal cord. Or it could result fro, damage to peripheral nerves, those nerves in the rest of the body that send signals to the CNS.

The pain caused by nerve damage is often described as burning or prickling. Some people describe it as an electrical shock. Others describe it as pins and needles or as a stabbing sensation. Some people with nerve damage are often hypersensitive to temperature and to touch. Just a light touch, such as the touch of a bed sheet, can set off the pain.

Trigeminal Neuralgia, is the fun disease I get to live with (note the sarcasm!) My Trigeminal nerve (the biggest nerve in the body) was found with 2 large veins that were pressing into it, damaging its protective outer myelin sheath layer.  I had the Microvascular Decompression (MVD) surgery and the Neurosurgeon put Teflon into my brain, underneath these blood vessels to protect my nerve and allow it to heal. Problem is, the surgery didn’t work and I’m still here with a damaged and consequently misfiring Trigeminal nerve. I get horrible shocks and stabs of pain. The pain is intense and lightning like, and it can occur in my lips, scalp, forehead, eye, nose, gums, cheek, and chin on one side of the face. The pain can be set off by touching a trigger area or by slight breeze. Frankly, the pain sucks! It’s so so awful and so so hard to treat!! 

(The majority of the above information was found online at WebMD, I do not intend to plagiarize, just not sure how you do a bibliography for a web site!!)

To help with research and treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia please go to http://www.tnnme.com (Trigeminal Neuralgia and Me) to sign a petition to have the World Health Organization (WHO) add Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) to their “Health Topic List”!  

Hopefully one day I’ll get it right, or at least have fun, while about it I write!!