‘Robins appear when Angels are near’ Box Frame

At 16, I started with agonising pain in my ear which completely stopped me in my tracks. I visited doctors constantly to try and find the cause of my pain but they had no answers. Since they didn’t find any problem, they referred me to Maxioral Facial who did X-rays and scans but once again, no problem showed. After this, I was sort of pushed away by the doctors because nothing was showing and in their eyes, they had tried all they could. Years later the pain was back with a vengeance but was 100 times worse. Like before, the pain started with electric shock like pain, suddenly starting in my ear but this time it didn’t last for seconds, it lasted for hours, even days. In September 2015 I handed my sick note in at work as the pain stopped me being able to go. After more maxioral facical visits, my family decided they wanted to send me to a Neurologist. Months and months went by were no appointment came through so my family decided to pay so we could go private and get seen as quick as possible. The neurologist diagnosed me with Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia, wow, there was finally an answer! Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia is a rare condition where I have damaged nerves in my brain stem. There can be numerous reasons for this but one of them is that blood vessels in your brain press on the nerves and eventually cause damage. The nerve that is damaged is the one that controls your swallowing and pain can be felt in your tongue, throat, ear and other parts of your face. I have since been put on numerous medications, carbomazapine and gabapentin but the side effects have been awful. I’m waiting for an appointment to see the Neurosurgeon for the second time as if the medication doesn’t help the pain.. the last resort is major brain surgery. The pain I feel has since stopped me from going to work as it comes and goes and is so unpredictable. It can be set off by daily things such as eating, brushing my teeth, talking and even cold air on my face. The pain is unbearable at times and can’t be helped by medication so I often take strong cocodamol to knock me out to sleep when it starts. The pain in my ear is electrifying and burning to the point where I can’t move or talk cause little movement knocks me to the ground. Throat and tongue pain feels like I am swallowing razor blades and sometimes it’s impossible to even swallow my own saliva and I beg for a feeding tube. I’m nearly 19 now and learning my own ways to cope with the pain like craft. I make handmade personalised gifts! I am definitely a perfectionist so if a piece of work goes wrong.. I will start from scratch as I cannot sell work I am not happy with! I make things like box frames, plaques, signs and other things for you and your loved ones. Read My Full Story.