Trigeminal Neuralgia. It's MORE than you Realize

Text Dr. Lenz any feedback or questions Trigeminal Neuralgia Beyond Nerve Pain: Marsha’s Racing, Menopause, and Advocacy Story The episode explores trigeminal neuralgia as more complex than a simple nerve injury, often overlapping with nociplastic chronic pain features like widespread pain, fatigue, insomnia, and brain fog. Marsha, a longtime off-road racer, recounts an eight-year path to diagnosis after severe electric-shock facial and scalp pain, repeated ER visits, normal imaging, and feeling dismissed as drug-seeking. She describes TN as “torture,” worse than childbirth, and details treatments including carbamazepine, gabapentin, nerve blocks, and gamma knife, which provided about a year of relief but left facial numbness and corneal damage with vision loss. She also has Sjögren’s syndrome, concussion history, anxiety/depression, and discusses perimenopause/menopause timing, hormone therapy trials, and possible ADHD. Racing helps her cope mentally, though symptoms worsen after removing her helmet, and she emphasizes support groups, self-advocacy, and not giving up. 00:00 Trigeminal Neuralgia Beyond Nerves 05:05 Marsha’s First Symptoms 07:26 ER Visits and Misdiagnosis 08:35 Finally Getting a Diagnosis 09:38 Becoming an Advocate 13:49 What TN Feels Like 15:58 Neuropathic vs Nociplastic Pain 17:14 Treatments and Gamma Knife 23:13 Concussions and Early Clues 28:14 Hormones Menopause Connection 36:38 Racing as Therapy 39:23 Daily Management and Race Day Routine 41:42 Racing as Flow State 44:29 Adrenaline and Desert Races 46:46 TN Community and Daily Struggles 48:37 Fatigue Meds and Survival 52:13 Living Without a Cure 55:02 Faith and Being There 56:38 High School Trauma and Isolation 57:28 Neurodivergence ADHD and Pain 01:07:55 Hormones Menopause and Treatment 01:16:22 Final Encouragement and Contact Click here for the YouTube Channel Click here for the YouTube channel International Conference on ADHD in November 2025 where Dr. Lenz will be one of the speakers. Joy Lenz Fibromyalgia 101. A list of fibromyalgia podcast episodes that are great if you are new and don't know where to start. Support the show When I started this podcast and YouTube Channel—and the book that came before it—I had my patients in mind. Office visits are short, but understanding complex, often misunderstood conditions like fibromyalgia takes time. That’s why I created this space: to offer education, validation, and hope. If you’ve been told fibromyalgia “isn’t real” or that it’s “all in your head,” know this—I see you. I believe you. This podcast aims to affirm your experience and explain the science behind it. Whether you live with fibromyalgia, care for someone who does, or are a healthcare professional looking to better support patients, you’ll find trusted, evidence-based insights here, drawn from my 29+ years as an MD. Please remember to talk with your doctor about your symptoms and care. This content doesn’t replace per...