Heres our: An Open Letter to Emergency Room Doctors: (Please post in a common area) Many people are still suffering with Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) and Facial Pains that are not treatable or controlled well. They will not arrive in the ER unless in severe duress, the treatment you provide will in some cases mean the difference between life and death. The pain is that severe, and the disease was formerly known as tic douloureux or the suicide disease. By the time a TN patient arrives in the ER, they may not be able to communicate; planning ahead, most will arrive with medical records (either paper or electronic), others will have a support person with them to communicate as their proxy. Many TN patients are unable to brush their teeth properly and have problematic oral hygiene, yet most will be very educated on TN and their medicines. Many use long acting or rescue opiates as well as anti-epileptic or anti-depressant medications used with neuropathies or as mood stabilizers. All of the above can make them look like people too familiar with the medical process and potential drug-seekers. We recognize this as a legitimate concern and hope this notice preparing you for how a TN patient might appear in the ER will help you sort them out. They have had to become informed on Trigeminal Neuralgia as many of them waited years for a diagnosis and some found information on relief through national support groups such as Trigeminal Neuralgia Association and TNNME. We are suggesting to TN patients that they bring protocols from their neurologists or regular physicians to the ER, should they have need of your services, yet this may not always be possible. Your on-call neurologist should be able to assist with information and care. The reasons a TN patient usually comes to the ER are either: • The pain has intensified and needs to be addressed beyond the current protocol or • There are side effects to the medications that need to be addressed. Other issues are usually dealt with by the patient’s regular doctor and not in the emergency setting. Resources: ninds.nih.gov/disorders/trigeminal_neuralgia/detail_trigeminal_neuralgia.htm Helpful information on potential ER assistance can be found here: fpa-support.org/2011/01/emergency-room-management-of-episodes-of-severe-tn/ (This link includes proven treatments like IV dilantin/cerebbyx, opioids, depacon, or local injection of an anesthetic at the trigger zone) Current thinking on and classifications of facial pain related to the trigeminal nerve can be found here: fpa-support.org/2011/05/a-new-classification-of-facial-pain-a-patient-oriented-classification-scheme-for-facial-pains-2/ (updated on 04/2013). [email protected] . On-going support for patients experiencing TN or facial pain is available at facepainhelp. In addition, tnnme is an international awareness building organization that is internet-and facebook- based. Thank you for your assistance in treating TN patients with dignity and diligence. Toni Saunders…aka…TNNME and the International TN Awareness Fighters. Heres our: An Open Letter to Emergency Room Doctors: (Please post in a common area) Many people are still suffering with Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) and Facial Pains that are not treatable or controlled well. They will not arrive in the ER unless in severe duress, the treatment you provide will in some cases mean the difference between life and death. The pain is that severe, and the disease was formerly known as tic douloureux or the suicide disease. By the time a TN patient arrives in the ER, they may not be able to communicate; planning ahead, most will arrive with medical records (either paper or electronic), others will have a support person with them to communicate as their proxy. Many TN patients are unable to brush their teeth properly and have problematic oral hygiene, yet most will be very educated on TN and their medicines. Many use long acting or rescue opiates as well as anti-epileptic or anti-depressant medications used with neuropathies or as mood stabilizers. All of the above can make them look like people too familiar with the medical process and potential drug-seekers. We recognize this as a legitimate concern and hope this notice preparing you for how a TN patient might appear in the ER will help you sort them out. They have had to become informed on Trigeminal Neuralgia as many of them waited years for a diagnosis and some found information on relief through national support groups such as Trigeminal Neuralgia Association and TNNME. We are suggesting to TN patients that they bring protocols from their neurologists or regular physicians to the ER, should they have need of your services, yet this may not always be possible. Your on-call neurologist should be able to assist with information and care. The reasons a TN patient usually comes to the ER are either: • The pain has intensified and needs to be addressed beyond the current protocol or • There are side effects to the medications that need to be addressed. Other issues are usually dealt with by the patient’s regular doctor and not in the emergency setting. Resources: ninds.nih.gov/disorders/trigeminal_neuralgia/detail_trigeminal_neuralgia.htm Helpful information on potential ER assistance can be found here: fpa-support.org/2011/01/emergency-room-management-of-episodes-of-severe-tn/ (This link includes proven treatments like IV dilantin/cerebbyx, opioids, depacon, or local injection of an anesthetic at the trigger zone) Current thinking on and classifications of facial pain related to the trigeminal nerve can be found here: fpa-support.org/2011/05/a-new-classification-of-facial-pain-a-patient-oriented-classification-scheme-for-facial-pains-2/ (updated on 04/2013). [email protected] . On-going support for patients experiencing TN or facial pain is available at facepainhelp. In addition, tnnme is an international awareness building organization that is internet-and facebook- based. Thank you for your assistance in treating TN patients with dignity and diligence. Toni Saunders…aka…TNNME and the International TN Awareness Fighters.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:59:07 +0000
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