Why Spread Awareness for Trigeminal Neuralgia?

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​How would you explain to someone why we're Lighting up teal to someone who never heard of facial pain disorders (TRIGEMINAL Neuralgia)??

Kathy Somers fire works going off in your face. Being electrocuted and burning fire in your face. Include some sites for them t look at. Some of the pictures our members have made.

Carol Levy I thin the answer is in the question ((*_*)) We are doing to bring attention to this disorder that is rare and of which most people not aware. It is disabling and for many people. costs country millions + in lost productivity and we need to find new ways to treat it. By letting people such as yourself know why we are lighting it allows us to spread the word to people like yourself and hope that you in turn will spread the word.

Sarah Heavey I agree to both. By asking landmarks and buildings throughout the world to light up teal, we are hoping to spreading awareness, not only to the general public but to the medical community. Too many people with TN and Facial Pain have being misdiagnosed, suffered ridicule or had to go through the pain alone. The only way to change all of these things is to speak out, get awareness, so sufferers can get access to resources they need. Funding has to come from above to eventually discover a cure. It will happen eventually, but each awareness day brings us one step closer.​

Gabby Randall We're lighting up teal to make people ask WHY?. Why we need to, why there's little awareness besides sufferers and their family and friends, why there's no cure, why the medical community isn't doing more, why so many of us have never heard of it until were inflicted with it.

Jeanette Lopez Bulthuis We're lighting up teal for a disease that has been unknown for too long now. Trigeminal Neuralgia is a very painful disease and needs awareness. Lighting the world teal is just a start! We need funds for research and so one day we will get a cure. Please contribute to our cause.

Kenny Wilmont Trigeminal Neuralgia lights up our face so we are lighting up teal to help spread awareness to a rare know disease that is so painful it is nicknamed the Suicide Disease.​

Trigeminal Neuralgia photo by Jennifer Sweeny

Alette S. Kohl-Forman The teal lights are shown to make people aware of TN. TN is a life changing disease. Largest nerve in face. Branches forehead, cheek and lower jaw. It has allot of faces of destruction, as each person can attest. For me I will tell you it's like being stabbed in side of face with an electric ice pick. And sometimes I feel like someone using a steel chain to swing on my eye . When I first got this in 1991. No one could really tell me what it was. I lost allot of teeth , was given several different meds. Had a gamma knife and a MVD. Nothing really worked went on pain meds. For now the pain has decreased and I am enjoying this very much.​

​Cathy L. McKinnon TN pain feels like jolts of lightening that zaps your face out of the blue unexpectedly. We want to light up the world teal to make everyone aware of the excruciating pain we live with.​

Kathy Magliaro Trigeminal Neuralgia is a rare disease . The fact that they have never heard of it before is evidence of this. So we do anything and Anything we can in order to bring "light" to this Rare Facial nerve pain disease (disorder, condition etc. the definition of "disease"& the term is used interchangeably for it) 
One common way anyone brings awareness & sheds light to any disease , "is by lighting up buildings and bridges & monuments. ​

Kim MacDonald Krause To create awareness for TN and also a show of support and solidarity from one TN patient to another TN patient and one country to another country all over the world. We are strong together!​

Kathy Somers We are the voice of those who can't speak because of their pain. By lighting up we speak for others with tn and show support internationally to support others with TN.

Susan Wiffill If anyone reading this does not know about TGN.. trigeminal neuralgia..it is a condition affecting the cranial nerve in the face. The pain is unbearable. Normal pain relief, for me, does not help. Our wish is for the World Health Organization to recognize that this condition exists.. The medical profession know it exists. We need this condition to be known much more. So that more research can be done and hopefully, improve the lives of so many people who suffer from this complaint.it can make lives very difficult.​

Howard Techau "Imagine if you will, having bolts of lightning shooting up your nose to the top of your head. Having a constant earache that feels like a spike being driven in by a sledgehammer. Or eye pain that hurts so much that you want to tear your eyeball out of it's socket. These are some of the pains that occur because of TN, the worst pain known to mankind. To top that it is so rare that most doctors have not heard of it or don't know how to diagnose and treat it. We need more research which is why we need to turn the world teal to raise awareness and money."​

Nikki Samuel TN is a rare condition that is very unknown and slow to diagnose. When people see a building or landmark lighting up teal, they're likely to ask why - that's when awareness begins. By educating our communities, we are helping every single TN sufferer receive better care and greater compassion.​

Tammy Vassallo TN has become my life and unfortunately not many people are aware of the debilitating effects it can have on not only your life but the lives of your family as well. Fireworks, stabbing pain, not being able to talk because it increases the pain and many other symptoms are just the start. Hopefully some awareness can be achieved by lighting up Teal.​

Gloria Barry Christian TN has become my life for the past 20 years.
I can not imagine a disease more painful then TN it is the most excruciating pain known to have. You have sharp stabbing pains in your face, your face feels like someone is stabbing you with a knife, my eyes feel like someone is stabbing them it affects my ears it affects my entire face down to my neck. We are never pain free any day maybe some days are more tolerable but anything can bring in a attack brushing your teeth, eating the cold the wind the list goes on. 
It is called the suicide disease because people I believe just want the pain to go away so you take more meds and accidentally overdose but some people sadly do take their own lives because they just can't stand being in pain anymore. 
People don't understand we may look fine but inside we ate suffering. 
More people need to understand what people with this horrible disease go through on a daily basis. 
Hopefully some awareness can be achieved by lighting up Teal.​

Summer Nicole Benson Diagnosed in 2005 at 18. I'm now 30 and a mother to 5, soon to be 6. It almost destroyed my life, but I overcame covering up the excruciating pain w pain meds and get through the day just by being blessed with my kiddos. I've had the electro therapy sessions, and I've also been scheduled twice for the brain surgery. With their only being 1 surgeon on my state at the time to do it, and being told the odds and recovery etc, Just cant get myself to do it with my babies so small. Nobody around me has a clue what it really is, or especially what it feels like.... As if I'm being stabbed in the face w pitchfork over and over again... Only your not, and you see nothing on the outside. No proof. No pitchfork. ...and your still living through it to wait for the next attack. Luckily, my episodes have become farther apart, once-twice every 2 weeks as opposed to daily not long ago... but it's still hard to make any plans or do anything for that matter knowing it can happen at any time. Definitely takes over ones life in more ways than ten! I don't see how this disease is so unknown, so little ways to help or even a cure... for how much pain it causes.​

Patty Clark Calhoun My 17 year old has suffered for 16 months. It took me a year and 4 neurologist to finally get her diagnosed. All I kept hearing from every Dr is she is too young. It took me finally finding a pain Dr that would see her and me begging him to do a diagnostic Trigeminal nerve block. That finally gave us our answer. It was TN. I cried because of the diagnosis but also from relief to know what was wrong. It's pure torture to watch your child suffer through this level of pain and you're absolutely powerless. I hope this helps raise awareness with the neurology community too that kids can get TN as well. She will be having MVD surgery in June just after graduation and I'm praying for the best possible result.​

Karin Snijder Verschrikkelijke pijnen,
Onmenselijke pijn,niet te dragen.
Heb net de jannetta operatie achter de rug en ga heeeel hard hopen dat deze mij zo helpt de pijn van ap nooit weer hoef te ervaren.​

Janet Hauglum Thompson I had this for over 4 years in 3 branches until I was able to have the surgery and two small brain lesions removed I Thank God everyday .. that was 6 years ago and am still pain free lost some hearing in left ear because the nerve is so close to the eardrum am really grateful.

Dawn Monarch We light up teal to bring awareness, and to help find a cure, not just something that MIGHT work for awhile, not something with all kinds of side effects. Trigeminal, Neuralgia is known as the worst pain known to man, with electric currents running through your face for who knows how long at any given time or when, then you add burning, boring, aching throbbing, stabbing ,vice griping pain on top, the list of symptoms can go on, IT'S NERVE PAIN IN YOUR FACE,AND HEAD IT CAN DO ANYTHING AT ANY TIME,AFTER HEARING JUST A SMALL PART OF WHAT WE GO THROUGH,DO WE NOT DESERVE A CURE SOON.​

Here are a few links:

EndTN
​​Facial Pain Research Foundation FB page
Facial Pain Association FB Page
LivingwithFacialPain Web-site
TNAC Trigeminal Neuralgia Association of Canada
Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK Facing Pain Together
Trigeminal Neuralgia Association Australia
​Trigeminal Neuralgia Support New Zealand
CaTNA Canadian Trigeminal Neuralgia Association
Association Quebecois De La Douleur Chronigue
​​Ireland Support Group
​Teens with Trigeminal Neuralgia 
Alaska Trigeminal Neuralgia