Trigeminal neuralgia usually involves brief, but intense jabs of pain, though is sometimes more steady and continuous. It can also get revved-up by external stimuli, like washing face, putting on make-up, brushing teeth, chewing—and sometimes just talking.

The most usual form of trigeminal neuralgia begins after age of 50. And, once present, it tends to hang around. Its course—-like that of stock market—-fluctuates.

Treatment is not usually curative, but help is still available. Most patients obtain relief through one or a combination of medications that either simmer down extra nerve-impulses or reduce effects of barrage of extra signals that arrive in brain. Some of their generic names are carbamazepine, gabapentin, baclofen, clonazepam and lamotrigine.

A minority of patients with this condition undertake surgery for it. One surgery involves purposely damaging trigeminal nerve-fibers where they gather together in a structure called a ganglion. This approach is fairly safe, but produces partial numbness on face.

Another surgery goes straight to where trigeminal nerve fibers meet brain. The surgeon gently separates nerve from its surrounding tissues. The good part of this procedure is that it doesn't seek to damage tissue. The downside is that location for surgery is at an important cross-roads for many nerve and brain pathways, so a complication can be devastating. While some people get long-lasting relief from surgeries, others obtain just temporary respite.

While foregoing summary of treatments sounds gloomy, it's important to realize that most people who seek medical treatment for their trigeminal neuralgia are able to arrive at a happy point where pain is minimized and quality of life is maximized. The neuralgia no longer rules their lives; instead, they're in control of neuralgia.

Gary Cordingley, MD, PhD, is a clinical neurologist, teacher and researcher. For more health-related information see his website at:

Every morning you wake up, thank your body for resting itself so you can enjoy day ahead.

Every evening when you go to bed, tell your body how happy you are that it let you have a wonderful, fun-filled day.

Find a way to exercise, and begin to practice it so that you end up doing it on a regular basis. But don't do it to loose weight, do it to enjoy your body.

Think back to a time when you enjoyed your body. Tell your inner self that you can feel that way again, even in your body, at your age.

Look and go through some family photo albums-find beauty and love that you value in those faces-and treasure them in your heart.

Tell 10 positive things about yourself, without mentioning your appearance.

Take a look in your closet. Do you wear any clothes that hide yourself? Think about why you wear what you wear.

Decide to wear clothes if they only give you power, energy, and most importantly, comfort.

Take time to put a sign on your mirrors that says "I'm beautiful, inside and out."

If you only had one year left to live, how important would your body image be?

Start saying to yourself, " Life is to short to waste my time on my image and hating my body. Look how wonderful I am inside."

Look to find beauty inside yourself.

You can also teach body to develop stamina. Let's say you exercise on a treadmill. To train your body to develop stamina, just tell it what you want at beginning of workout. You might tell your body, "Run in a relaxed manner at pace of treadmill until I tell you to stop. Breathe easily." Your body will then run easily until you tell it to stop. If, however, you start thinking with your mind about how tired you feel or how much you hate treadmill, your body will get tired. As long as you keep your mind neutral, your body will easily run for as long as you want.

If you're interested in losing or gaining weight you can program your body to use food in a specific way. To lose weight, tell body when you want it to get hungry and how much you want it to eat. You can tell your body, "You will not be hungry until noon today." Before you start your meal, you can also tell your body, "Use this food for energy and stamina only. Release all excess calories after this meal and do not store them," or some similar statement.

The point is that your body can be programmed any number of ways to suit your desires and lifestyle. Don't get wrapped up in what your body does or doesn't do now. Focus your attention on training your body to do what you want it to do. As a Spirit with a mind and a body, you are in charge. So take charge and start giving orders!

Last but not least, remember this note: "Beauty is only skin deep."