Ok, I found your post MP. And Amanda, please send an update.
I'm sorry to say, removing the bone graft did NOT HELP. The nerve damage was already done. It had nothing to do with the graft. Putting the graft in made the pain a little worse and taking it out,might of made it hurt a little more....but when it gets to that point, hard to say. It was taken out by an Oral Surgeon, who was also an MD. He was young and I suspect the dentist that put the graft in convinced him to take it out, behind the scenes. Overall, my dental care was abysmal. In fact, I had no pain whatsoever, going into this....but a dentist made a mistake, caused pain and then in an effort to get that fixed, I went to other dentists who just worsened the pain. This is because that pain, was NERVE PAIN...the first dentist and maybe the second dentist with-I the same group damaged my nerve initially.
Anyway, the oral surgeon/MD I went to shocked me to death when
he apologized for the dental profession. I kid you NOT. He told me I needed to see a neurologist pronto. He was steaming mad. I think he felt tricked by the dentist (the one who put in the graft in the first place) who didn't give him all the details of my pathetic/tragic case. I think he (the dentist that pulled my tooth) was clueless and likely greedy too. I was desperate as I had severe pain and all he could think to do was remove the tooth and put in a graft and he charged me an arm and a leg for this. But, in reality, he didn't see anything on an xray warranting the removal of my tooth.
I went to a very good neurologist who listened long and hard to my VERY long story. How I went to a dentist originally to replace an onlay. I had NO PAiN whatsoever. This dentist insisted on doing a crown and had a freakish time doing the job...went into a couple of months. LotS of weirdness, ODD behaviors and then the pain started. Then the owner took over and she put in a rod of some kind in the tooth. Found out later, the tooth was cracked....don't know if she did that...very possible. I suffered horrendous, electrical pain at that point. It only gets worse from there...and I had a root canal and the tooth pulled. A graft put in and one taken out. In the end, I had crazy crazy CRAZY CRAZY (I asked God at one point to let me die in my sleep) pain.
My neurologist tried many medications and my stomach was a war zone. I was on Percocet, but it either didn't help or barely helped. Finally, I got on a tricyclic tablet and
a compounded cream that I rub on my face. In the cream is:
Gabapentin, Lidocaine and Capsaicin. It didn't work immediately, but it slowly improved upon the pain. I am diagnosed with
Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia. (Compounded creams are made at compounding pharmacies).
It has been over a year, and the damage to my trigeminal nerve is likely permanent. I still have to take Percocet if I get a trigger like a cold wind hitting my face or accidentally roll over in my sleep and sleep on my right side of my face.
Sadly, of late, the pain has entered another branch of the trigeminal nerve and I have pains in my nose/right side.
I wouldn't wish this situation on my worst enemy.
There are medications that help folks with this. I understand Gabapentin combined with Elavil often works fairly well. But, my stomach just couldn't hack that. I was walking around with an Emetrol bottle, just drinking it straight from the bottle constantly in an effort not to vomit.
The compounded cream (although expensive), plus a medication very similar to Elavil, has given me hope for better days.
I'm sorry about this long post, but if you are still in very bad pain, consider bringing this up to your doctor. Elavil plus a compounded cream with Gabapentin, Lidocaine and Capsaicin in the cream.
Also, there is a very good book called "Striking Back," written by a neurologist, I think from John Hopkins. My case is almost textbook....a mess up at the dentist, dentists assuming it is a dental problem to the point that they pull a good tooth and then needing to get to a neurologist in severe, over the top pain to provided medical assistance.
If you haven't gone already...get to a good, caring, smart and experienced neurologist pronto.
There is an excellent website called
www.livingwithtn.org. GO TO THIS WEBSITE ASAP!