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 StoryThe 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 Nerves05:05 Marsha’s First Symptoms07:26 ER Visits and Misdiagnosis08:35 Finally Getting a Diagnosis09:38 Becoming an Advocate13:49 What TN Feels Like15:58 Neuropathic vs Nociplastic Pain17:14 Treatments and Gamma Knife23:13 Concussions and Early Clues28:14 Hormones Menopause Connection36:38 Racing as Therapy39:23 Daily Management and Race Day Routine41:42 Racing as Flow State44:29 Adrenaline and Desert Races46:46 TN Community and Daily Struggles48:37 Fatigue Meds and Survival52:13 Living Without a Cure55:02 Faith and Being There56:38 High School Trauma and Isolation57:28 Neurodivergence ADHD and Pain01:07:55 Hormones Menopause and Treatment01:16:22 Final Encouragement and ContactClick 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 LenzFibromyalgia 101. A list of fibromyalgia podcast episodes that are great if you are new and don't know where to start.  Support the showWhen 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...