50-years-old professor, Mr. K.S. (Patient identification number: 29587) visited Life Force on 24th August 2016 for getting treated his complaints of trigeminal neuralgia. He was suffering with trigeminal neuralgia since one year, and the left side of his face was affected by it. He used to suffer from an electric shock like pain which would start from the left side of his lips radiating to the left side of his temple and forehead. The frequency of the pain was twice in a week and the pain would last for some seconds to about a minute. 

The pain was so severe that it would prevent him from eating anything. This led to eight kgs of weight loss in about three months. All he could have is food in the liquid form. He exclaimed that his life had turned miserable because his quality of life was severely affected by trigeminal neuralgia. The pain used to get aggravated by brushing, eating hard food, getting exposed to a cold draft of air, and monsoon. There was a specific time of aggravation, wherein the pain would reach its peak, i.e. between 6-7 pm. Stress was also a major triggering factor for the pain. Being a professor by profession, continuous talking while teaching would also make the pain worse. 

He was already on the conventional treatment (Tab. Tegretal 200 mg twice/ day) which was not doing any good to him. He was still suffering from the pain twice or thrice in a week. All he would do to get relief was having warm drinks and applying heat to the affected part which would ease his pain. In the past, he had undergone many treatments for the same which did not help him have relief. He was on Tab. Pregalin 75 BD (Anticonvulsant) which he took for seven to eight months, but unfortunately even increasing the dose did not help him.  

Personal History

The patient was a non-vegetarian by diet and had an average appetite. He craved for spicy food and fish, which unfortunately he could not relish because of the severe pain. He was also a chronic alcoholic since 10 years. Thermally, he was sensitive to the cold weather.

Past History

He suffered from stroke (TIA) and otitis media in the past.

Family History

There was no history of any major illness in the family.

Self And Family

He lived with his wife and two children, and his daughter was 20 years old and son was 24 years old. He would get along well with everyone and had good interpersonal relationships. 

By nature, he was a perfectionist. He would make sure that the work he did was in time. If the work was not done within the time frame, he would get irritated. He was an introvert and had a few bunch of close friends.   

Prescription

After reviewing the case, Dr. Shah prescribed research based medicines and the necessary instructions related to the exposure to cold wind and other precautionary measures were given to him in order to prevent the painful episode.  

Follow-Ups

The first follow-up after the first batch of medicines showed a significant change in the pain. A major change that the patient mentioned was that he did not suffer pain after he started having homeopathic medicines along with Tab. Tegretal 200 twice/ day. He also mentioned a new complaint of leg pain and low backache after standing for a long time. The patient was well-informed about the side effects of Tab Tegretal that the lack of calcium absorption due to the conventional medicines was giving rise to the musculoskeletal pains. He was advised to start a course of calcium supplements.

The patient called up on 16th January 2017 for his next follow-up where he mentioned that there was a 75% relief in his complaints. He had now tapered of the dose of Tab, Tegretal 200 mg twice/ day to 50 mg twice/ day. The leg pains and backache had also mellowed down after starting the calcium supplements and reducing the dose of conventional medicine. He was sent the same batch of medicines to which he had responded miraculously. 

The next follow-up dated 9th March 2017 showed a consistent relief in the neuralgia pain. The patient was continuing the same dose of Tab. Tegretal 50 mg twice/ day. This recovery continued till 8th August 2017 where the patient was pain-free. He mentioned that there was 90% relief from the pain. He had now successfully tapered Tab. Tegretal to 50 mg once every week. He is still continuing his treatment at Life Force. The patient happily shared his experience and his successful treatment story through a video. 

LINK TO VIDEO: 

-Written by Dr. Kanchan, Associate doctor to Dr. Rajesh Shah