What Is Trigeminal Neuralgia? Disease Converted Boy's Facial Sensations Into Agonizing Pain

A 20-year-old Colorado man, who suffered from trigeminal neuralgia, recently shared his experience of battling “world’s most painful disease,” which made him feel like ice pricks were thrown at his face.

Jake Smith, from Colorado Springs, started suffering from incurable pain at the age of 15 after he sustained a concussion while playing basketball. The symptoms did not go away even after many months.

“After several months, it became apparent it wasn’t improving at all,” he said.

Doctors eventually discovered a small fracture on his skull that caused the pressure. A surgery was performed to repair it, however, the problem got worse. He suffered constant pain for several months and the doctors couldn’t figure out the reason.

“It was severe attacks on my face — felt more like an ice pick going through it," he said, ABC 7 reported. “It was the first time in my life that I had ever experienced a pain severe enough to actually understand why people would kill themselves because of the pain."

He was then diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, a disease that converts every sensation felt on his face into agonizing pain.

“Doctors call this suicide disease because they think it’s the most painful thing a human can experience and they estimate that 25 percent of people that have this disease end up killing themselves,” he said.

Smith then turned to his piano to help cope with the pain.

“I play piano. I didn’t sleep a lot and I would be in the basement on my keyboard playing piano all night long. Being able to use pain and turn it into art is one of the things humans are meant to do,” he said.

To forget the pain, he uploaded songs composed by him on his website. He also started taking personalized online requests from people suffering from the disorder and wrote melodies for them. By January this year, he had composed over 80 songs.

“If this music helped me get through my pain — if you’re in pain, this might help you get through yours. A lot of people say that when I write them a song and they listen to it, their pain is a little lessened ... So, I guess that’s why I keep doing it,” he said.

Later in January, Smith was told that he was ineligible for the surgery that would have helped ease his pain. Filled with despair, he then went to a special healing session at a local Catholic church.

“All they do at this healing service is lay their hands on you,” he said.

During the service, he fainted and according to Smith, this changed his life as he claimed his disorder was cured after that.

“I collapsed and someone caught me and while I was on the ground I felt this overwhelming, completely enveloped in this feeling of warmth, hope, freedom, joy... And that was the end of T.N,” he said.

Following this, he stopped the treatment, leaving his doctors in shock. He also hit his own cheek to prove that he was fine. Though he still had occasional headaches, he insists his life had transformed.

Trigeminal neuralgia affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries information to the brain from face. It initially starts with mild attacks and transforms into more-frequent bouts of agonizing pain. The pain might feel like an electric shock and is triggered by even touching the face or brushing teeth. There is no cure for the disorder but it can be managed by injections, medications and surgery.