trigeminal neuralgia
"Diagnosed May 2015 - left side typical TGN. Didnt want to take Tegretol because of the side effects so tried Gabapentin with minimal effect even on 2700mg pd. After 7 months of daily agony I finally changed to Trileptal. Took two weeks to kick in properly but have  been pain free for the last 6 weeks. Have come off the Gabapentin (hideous) and am now working up the courage to come off the trileptal to see if its gone into remission. The MRI I had has identified the offending blood vessels but I really want to avoid surgery if I can. Medication is expensive but I have had very few side effects - I'll take that over pain any day of the week!"