1 hr 18 min
Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Musician Cranks Up the Heat on Facial Pain Painopolis
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- Medicine
Can’t sleep because of chronic pain? (And wondering if weed might help?) Get our new book, Cannabis Lullaby: A Painsomniac’s Quest for a Good Night’s Sleep. Available in print, ebook, and audiobook, it’s brimming with real-world, evidence-based answers. The author is Painopolis co-host David Sharp, an award-winning health journalist who nipped his pain-fueled insomnia in the bud. Buy a copy today at: painopolis.com/cannabis-lullaby/
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Can a do-it-yourself treatment involving capsaicin—a chemical in hot peppers—stop severe facial pain? A Nashville-based singer-songwriter decided to find out.
Previously on Painopolis, we brought you the jaw-dropping story of an Australian scientist named Hugh Spencer. He’s come up with daring, do-it-yourself method for treating one of the worst types of pain imaginable: that of trigeminal neuralgia.
“After the ailment took hold, Ruggieri found himself buffeted by more than 200 excruciating jolts of pain in his face every day. It got to where he could barely talk, much less sing.”
Through trial and error, Spencer figured out a way to cure himself of this difficult-to-treat disorder, caused by a facial nerve gone rogue. His secret weapon: capsaicin, the chemical in hot peppers that produces the spicy, burning sensation when you eat them. A neurobiologist by training, Spencer argues that capsaicin can deaden the pain receptors that provoke trigeminal neuralgia while leaving other nerve fibers and healthy tissues intact. Consequently, he insists, capsaicin can relieve the suffering without causing facial numbness or other complications sometimes associated with conventional treatments.
It’s been known for decades that capsaicin applied topically to the skin can help relieve certain types of chronic pain. But Spencer added a daunting new twist: instead of smearing the oily substance on his face, he put it directly inside his mouth on the location of the pain and held it there for 20 minutes before rinsing it out. He then repeated this protocol once a day for a week. After that, his pain was gone. That was more than a dozen years ago, and it’s never come back. Not even a twinge.
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As word spread, trigeminal pain sufferers worldwide contacted Spencer to find out more about his treatment. And of the hundreds of people who’ve tried it and reported back, he says, about half of them found relief.
That got my attention. But I wanted to get an independent assessment about this approach from a trigeminal patient who’s used Spencer’s method and could tell me whether it helped.
To do that, I’d need to find somebody who’s either brave or desperate. That’s because the capsaicin recommended by Spencer is 300 times hotter than Sriracha sauce. In fact, it approaches the intensity of law-enforcement-grade pepper spray....
Can’t sleep because of chronic pain? (And wondering if weed might help?) Get our new book, Cannabis Lullaby: A Painsomniac’s Quest for a Good Night’s Sleep. Available in print, ebook, and audiobook, it’s brimming with real-world, evidence-based answers. The author is Painopolis co-host David Sharp, an award-winning health journalist who nipped his pain-fueled insomnia in the bud. Buy a copy today at: painopolis.com/cannabis-lullaby/
Our toolbox:
Check out the following sponsored services we use and love.
Please support Painopolis:
Did you find this episode worth hearing? If so, kindly donate to Painopolis.
We appreciate it! Your donation allows us to keep bringing you great stories, strategies, and insights.
_____________________
Can a do-it-yourself treatment involving capsaicin—a chemical in hot peppers—stop severe facial pain? A Nashville-based singer-songwriter decided to find out.
Previously on Painopolis, we brought you the jaw-dropping story of an Australian scientist named Hugh Spencer. He’s come up with daring, do-it-yourself method for treating one of the worst types of pain imaginable: that of trigeminal neuralgia.
“After the ailment took hold, Ruggieri found himself buffeted by more than 200 excruciating jolts of pain in his face every day. It got to where he could barely talk, much less sing.”
Through trial and error, Spencer figured out a way to cure himself of this difficult-to-treat disorder, caused by a facial nerve gone rogue. His secret weapon: capsaicin, the chemical in hot peppers that produces the spicy, burning sensation when you eat them. A neurobiologist by training, Spencer argues that capsaicin can deaden the pain receptors that provoke trigeminal neuralgia while leaving other nerve fibers and healthy tissues intact. Consequently, he insists, capsaicin can relieve the suffering without causing facial numbness or other complications sometimes associated with conventional treatments.
It’s been known for decades that capsaicin applied topically to the skin can help relieve certain types of chronic pain. But Spencer added a daunting new twist: instead of smearing the oily substance on his face, he put it directly inside his mouth on the location of the pain and held it there for 20 minutes before rinsing it out. He then repeated this protocol once a day for a week. After that, his pain was gone. That was more than a dozen years ago, and it’s never come back. Not even a twinge.
Did you find this episode worth hearing? Kindly leave a tip. We really appreciate it. Thanks!
As word spread, trigeminal pain sufferers worldwide contacted Spencer to find out more about his treatment. And of the hundreds of people who’ve tried it and reported back, he says, about half of them found relief.
That got my attention. But I wanted to get an independent assessment about this approach from a trigeminal patient who’s used Spencer’s method and could tell me whether it helped.
To do that, I’d need to find somebody who’s either brave or desperate. That’s because the capsaicin recommended by Spencer is 300 times hotter than Sriracha sauce. In fact, it approaches the intensity of law-enforcement-grade pepper spray....
1 hr 18 min