I finally had my appointment with Dr. Oh at VCU on Thursday the 8th. It happened to be very good timing as I had just gotten over an episode of trigeminal neuralgia and this would be the first time I can discuss it with him. He did apologize and said that he couldn’t vbelieve I’ve been going through this for 5 years. Anyway, he pulled up my last MRI taken in 2023 and looked at it with me. He pointed out the trigeminal nerve and said that it showed a lesion, (which I didn’t see). He said it was not touching the vein. This is bad news in the way that I can’t have the procedure used to separate the vein from the nerve.
For treatment he suggested another MRI that would focus more on that part of my face and a blood test that can show progression of my MS that shows things the MRI can’t. I said I would like to have the specialized MRI. He suggested the blood test first, which I agreed to. He thought it important, for now, to treat the trigeminal neuralgia with the medication he had provided, Oxcarbazepine 150 mg. He said this is a low dose and if I needed, he could up the milligrams. I am disappointed that he didn’t want to do the MRI, he said later this year. I am scheduled for the blood test.
I am fond of Dr. Oh. I find him extremely knowledgeable and he answers all of my questions. He is very thorough and spends a lot of time with me. This is not an MS Center, he just treats MS patients. I am frustrated by how long it takes to get an appointment and then have it cancelled, to be scheduled another 6 months later.
As an end note I was weighed upon arrival and my weight was 141 lbs. that is fully dressed with sneakers, I’m thrilled, I trust his scale better than mine!