April 7

Hi!

It's been 24 hours since Denny has experienced the horrendous pain he had been having, so I am pretty confident in sharing the news and how it came to be.

After being treated for post herpetic neuralgia for a week and getting absolutely no relief from taking the drug, Gabapentin, commonly given for that diagnosis, we had a guardian angel take over. You might remember my story of how Denny got a bed long enough for him when he was in the hospital last December. It was all because our friend and Den's family doctor, Jim Richter, went to bat to get a bed that actually fit Denny. This past Saturday morning our phone rang and it was Jim Richter, calling as a result of his wife reading the blog (thanks, Laurie!!) After listening to my description of what Den was going through, Dr. Richter told me that he believed Denny was being treated for the wrong nerve condition. A couple of hours later, he was at our house with articles written in layman's terms that clearly supported his opinion. With our oncologist on vacation and having no intentions of seeing Denny suffer any longer, Dr. R. called in a prescription for Tegretol. From the first dose, there was a noticeable decrease in the intensity of the attacks. By yesterday there was a decrease in the number and today Denny has not had any pain at all.

What Den has is called trigeminal neuralgia. It is an uncommon disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of lancinating pain in the trigeminal nerve distribution. Denny's case seems to be limited to just one of the three nerves. While it is not usually attributed to another disorder (i.e. shingles) I suppose there could be a connection. It could also be connected to the radiation since that was on the left side, too. Most people experiencing trigeminal neuralgia have it on the right side. This might be a one-time thing or it could reoccur. We aren't even thinking about that!

So, gone are the pain patches, the pain medicines and the "pepper cream." We both got a decent night's sleep last night, and as I type Denny is looking over a few of the British Lit classes I-search papers from last term and the topic choices for the students in those classes this term.

Needless to say, it is with deep appreciation that we thank Jim Richter for what is a miracle to us. That is just the kind of doctor he is--I'm sure all of his patients get the same kind of attention. I don't know if they are accepting any new patients, but if anyone is looking for good family doctors, Jim Richter and Nancy Lindo-Drusch are the best!!!

Now Den just needs to rebuild his strength (again) and get healthy enough to get back on the chemotherapy, which seems to have stabilized the tumor. Hopefully, some decent spring weather will soon allow him to get outside to walk.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!
Love,
Carla