Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is a horrible condition. It’s also known as Tic Douloureux (a French title that means “painful tic”). The pain is excruciating! In the U.S., there are 10,000-15,000 new cases per year. The risk increases with age and trauma. Fortunately for most, it is not permanent, but for many, it is.
It is characterized by sharp shooting pains in the face. There are 3 main branches of the trigeminal nerve: The Ophthalmic nerve which affects the upper eyelids, forehead and scalp; the Maxillary nerve which affects the middle part of the face – cheeks, nose, lower eyelids, upper lips and gums; and the Mandibular nerve which affects the lower part of the face – lower lip, lower teeth, gums and one side of the tongue. If you can imagine, if one or more of those nerves fire off, it’s like someone takes a red-hot ice pick and stabs you repeatedly in the face. These “tics” can be triggered by something as simple as a light touch to the area, eating, brushing the teeth, or even a light breeze.
What causes TN? Basically, anything that irritates the Trigeminal nerve or one of its branches. That could be compression by a blood vessel, a vertebra out of alignment, tumor, cyst, structural abnormality, or swelling due to injury or trauma, such as dental surgery or a whiplash. Sometimes it is caused by demyelination – damage to the protective myelin sheath that prevents abnormal firing of a nerve (think – the plastic coating around wires so you don’t get shocked if you touch the bare wire – that is what the myelin sheath, a fatty sheath, is).
There are also a few nutritional deficiencies associated with many cases of people with TN: Vitamin B12, magnesium, Vitamin D, and essential fatty acids. The latter two, in my opinion, are the most prevalent. On a nutrition line of thinking, it would be prudent to avoid inflammatory foods such as sugar, caffeine, nightshade vegetables, wheat for many people, and in general, most packaged foods are inflammatory and should be avoided. Opt instead for fresh, whole foods.
Medically, it is addressed by medication – generally several medications – and surgery. Surgeries could be microvascular decompression to separate whichever structure is compressing the trigeminal nerve; gamma knife radiosurgery to stop the pain signal; and others if there is no visible compression.
Of course, I find that acupuncture is the most effective approach, and in fact, more and more medical doctors are referring their TN patients to acupuncturists for treatment. Acupuncture stimulates hormones, and peptides that have pain-modulating effects, reduces swelling of tissue that may be compressing the nerve, has anti-inflammatory effects and helps with the emotional aspects of TN (depression, anxiety, PTSD). If the TN was triggered by injury or trauma, the acupuncture speeds the healing of those injuries.
There is hope for the horrible pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia. You don’t have to suffer!
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©2025 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
