trigeminal neuralgia
"Was diagnosed in January with TN, although I thought that's what I had.  My dad & his sister had TN as well.  Started on a low dose of carbamazepine, 200mg a day & naively I thought this would make the pain disappear.  No it did not.  They gradually increased dose to 300mg three times a day & this worked for approx 8 weeks.  I thought I had found the dosage that would work for me & I would be pain free forever, but no the pain returned last week & it was excruciating, could hardly eat anything.  I increased my dose to 400mg in the morning, 300mg in the afternoon & 400mg at night & gradually the pain has disappeared.  Spoke to doctor today & I can increase dosage to 1600mg if needed & she will prescribe slow acting carbamazepine as well."