Connect with others who understand.

  •   Learn from expert-reviewed resources
  •   Real advice from people who’ve been there
  •   People who understand what you’re going through
Sign Up Log In
All Resources Treatments A-Z Personal Assistant Help Center Crisis
Powered By
Real members of MyMigraineTeam have posted questions and answers that support our community guidelines, and should not be taken as medical advice. Looking for the latest medically reviewed content by doctors and experts? Visit our resource section.

My Question is I've was diagnosed with Tri-geminal Neuralgia, the symptoms described sound very similar....

A MyMigraineTeam Subscriber asked a question 💭

I get pain in one temple, it will last for days
I also get the pain in my jaw, nose and ear, lasts for day.
The Neuralgia was primarily on just the left side. I do take a migraine med for the ones that affect my frontal lobe, Sumatriptan, it takes care of it pretty quickly, but I will get it for about 4 days, and then I'm fine. I seem to get all types of migraines, squiggle lights with blind spot, and ice picks. Is this normal to have all of them.

October 24
 · 
Be the first to react
What Is an Intractable Migraine? 7 Facts To Know Read Article...
MyMigraineTeam

It's completely understandable why you're connecting the dots between your symptoms and both conditions — they really do overlap in confusing ways. Both involve the trigeminal nerve, which has three branches covering the forehead, cheeks/sinuses, and jaw areas, which explains why pain can show up in the temple, jaw, nose Show Full Answer

It's completely understandable why you're connecting the dots between your symptoms and both conditions — they really do overlap in confusing ways. Both involve the trigeminal nerve, which has three branches covering the forehead, cheeks/sinuses, and jaw areas, which explains why pain can show up in the temple, jaw, nose, and ear, often on just one side.

The key difference is that trigeminal neuralgia pain tends to be brief (seconds to minutes), sharp, and electric shock-like, while migraine pain typically lasts hours to days and comes with other symptoms like nausea, light sensitivity, or aura.

Your 4-day pattern and the fact that Sumatriptan helps actually points more toward migraine behavior. As for experiencing multiple migraine types — yes, it absolutely can happen! Many people experience more than one type. The "squiggle lights with blind spot" sounds like migraine with aura, and "ice pick" describes those sudden, stabbing head pains that can also be migraine-related.

It's really worth having a detailed conversation with your neurologist about all of these symptom patterns together, especially since:

- Your pain lasts days (more migraine-like)
- Sumatriptan is helping
- You're experiencing multiple migraine presentations
- Your symptoms span several trigeminal nerve branches

Getting clarity on whether it's one condition, the other, or both will help ensure your treatment plan is covering everything properly.

October 24

Related Questions

View All

Is Occipital neuralgia a migraine headache

A MyMigraineTeam Member asked a question 💭
October 4

is Burning Mouth Syndrome caused by this trigeminal nerve?

A MyMigraineTeam Member asked a question 💭
Waterford, MI
January 5

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
By joining, you accept our Terms of Use, and acknowledge our collection, sharing, and use of your data in accordance with our Health Data and Privacy policies.
Already a member? Log In