Facing Neuralgia
By Wendy Evans
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About this ebook
Wendy Evans
Wendy Evans is the Head of Library at the University of St. Mark and St John, UK. She has published and lectured in the field of electronic journal and database usage, access versus ownership of journals, and has already co-edited and co-authored four books with David Baker.
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Facing Neuralgia - Wendy Evans
therapies.
The Onset of Symptoms
We all take our health for granted; that is, until something goes wrong. For me, it went frightfully wrong. I became a teacher who could no longer teach, a singer who could no longer sing. I had lost my way in life – my career had been cruelly cut short, and my talent for singing was lost.
This was all due to a very rare nerve disease called glossopharyngeal neuralgia
(GPN). However, this diagnosis was only considered after eighteen long months of disbelief and opposition from the medical profession. It was an extremely frustrating time for my family and myself.
In March 2000 I developed laryngitis as a result of using my voice excessively in both teaching and singing. I had suffered from laryngitis twice in the past, and consequently I was aware of how important it was to rest my voice. After several weeks my voice improved, but did not fully recover. I continued to teach and sing, which, in hindsight, was a huge mistake.
In July 2000 I suffered a second bout of laryngitis; however, this time I lost my voice fully for about a week. It was a further two weeks before I could speak again, but my voice remained very weak and I knew I needed to see a doctor.
My GP arranged a consultation with an ear, nose and throat (ENT) Specialist, Dr Bayliss, who performed an endoscopy. He assured me that my vocal cords were fine, but a little strained, and suggested voice therapy. I attended weekly voice therapy sessions for approximately eight months and, although my voice improved, I still found it very uncomfortable and difficult to talk. My voice remained weak, and I had then developed a problem with swallowing on the right side of my throat. There was persistent discomfort – as though something was lodged in my throat.
I decided to seek a second opinion, so my GP arranged for me to see another ENT consultant, Mr Preece. I underwent another endoscopy, and was told that my vocal cords were fine, and that I should continue with voice therapy. He explained that the uncomfortable, foreign body sensation in my throat was a condition called globus, and that it would settle down in time. I trusted Mr Preece implicitly, and hoped that, in time, my throat problems would improve. Alas, they did not. In fact, by December 2000 my health had deteriorated rapidly. I was suffering from horrific throat pain, I felt fatigued, and large yellowish stones emanated from my tonsils. My mother suggested the possibility of tonsillitis and insisted I ask the doctor whether this was the reason behind my symptoms.
I attended a follow-up appointment with Dr Bayliss and asked him if I could be suffering from tonsillitis. Once more, he assured me that there was nothing wrong. However, due to the intensity and unrelenting nature of the pain I insisted upon another appointment with Dr Bayliss. My father accompanied me this time, in the hope that we could finally get to the bottom of my continued health problems. But, yet again, I was told there was nothing wrong with me, and that my tonsils were fine.
During the consultation, Dr Bayliss became impatient with me and insisted that there was nothing wrong with my throat. He asked to speak to my father alone, and told him that I was suffering from stress, and advised him to persuade me to attend a stress-counselling course. My father, thankfully, disagreed with Dr Bayliss, and insisted that further tests were carried out to fully investigate my throat pain. In the end, Dr Bayliss agreed to organise a barium swallow test, in order to rule out acid reflux.
I was relieved to be notified that a barium swallow test had been arranged, but completely horrified to find out that it would be ten weeks later. The pain was unbearable, and I could not understand why I felt so fatigued. I was also aware of heaviness down the right side of my body, which left me apathetic and completely drained. To make matters worse, by March 2001 I had developed sharp, stabbing pains, which radiated from my throat to my ears.
The barium swallow test results came up normal – there was no acid reflux causing pain or soreness to my throat. I was relieved that this was ruled out, but still perplexed as to what the problem could be. Therefore, I attended a further consultation with Mr Preece. My GP assured me that if anyone could sort out my throat problems once and for all, it would be Mr Preece. I trusted his judgement, and attended a second consultation.
During this consultation, I explained to Mr Preece that my continued throat pain had not improved, and that the foreign body sensation was in fact worse, particularly on the right side of my throat. I described to him how I was continually tired, and that the sharp shooting pains were persistent, particularly in my right ear. In addition, I told him about the