Trigeminal Neuralgia Induced Headache: A Case Report and Literature Review

A 51-year-old woman with a past medical history of migraine presented with severe headache for the last three weeks. The pain was intermittent and throbbing in nature. She has not experienced any headaches in the past several years. She took her migraine pills and over-the-counter analgesics, but the pain did not resolve. Initial evaluation including physical exam and neurological exam was normal. Her serum chemistry was unremarkable and CT scan of the brain was nonsignificant. The patient was diagnosed with possible trigeminal neuralgia and the pain resolved after being started on tegral (carbamazepine). Unilateral headache is a typical presentation of atypical trigeminal neuralgia and is rarely reported in literature.

Keywords: carbamazepine; headache; migraine; trigeminal neuralgia.