Ursula suffers from a rare condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia. As a result of this she experiences daily, excruciating headaches that are so painful she feels as if her head is exploding. Here is her true life story.
Five years ago I had some wisdom teeth taken out at the dentist.
During the procedure, the dentist broke the teeth away from their roots and left the roots in my gums as they were deformed.
After my dodgy dental work I started suffering from sore teeth and gums and regularly experienced terrible headaches.
I went to see my doctor who prescribed me antibiotics for a gum infection.
But the pain didn’t get any better and my unpredictable headaches got worse and worse – sometimes they would last for hours at a time.
When a headache comes on, my whole head is in complete agony.
The only way that I can describe the level of pain is to compare it to my whole skull being crushed and my eyes being forced out of my head.
It’s like someone smacking me in the face with a frying pan.
During the headache I have terrible stabbing pains all over my face like electric shocks.
As well as a terrible headache, I have earache and toothache all at the same time.
It feels like someone is twisting a knife around my head from side to side.
I’m in so much pain that I rock from side to side and pace the room to try and alleviate it.
My eyes will start watering and I couldn’t touch my head as it was so sensitive and tender.
For a whole year, I could barely sleep at night as I’d often wake up with a burning headache that would rip me apart.
I went back and forth between different doctors and specialists numerous times to try and get help.
But doctors just told me that I had tooth ache and gum infections and was suffering from tooth ache and fobbed me off with antibiotics.
I had different scans and an MRI scan but nothing showed up.
Doctors treated me like I was over-reacting and wasting their time.
One specialist even told me that my pain was “not as bad as all that.”
But deep down I knew that this was much more than a gum infection.
Frustrated that no-one would take me seriously I tried desperately to find someone that would help me.
On one occasion, during an excruciating headache, I went to the Casualty department at my local hospital.
I saw a doctor, described my symptoms to him, and begged him to give me something to make the pain stop.
But as soon as the words were out of my mouth I could see how he was looking at me.
Far from being a respectable mum of two with a serious medical condition, he thought that I was a drug addict seeking relief.
The doctor folded his arms.
“I suppose you want morphine then,” he sneered.
“Well we can’t give it to you so go home.”
But I refused to give up – there had to be someone out there who would be able to help me.
Finally, in July 2009, after five years of unbelievable agony, I was diagnosed with a trigeminal neuralgia, as well as cluster headaches - collectively known as Cluster-Tic Syndrome.
Trigeminal Neuralgia is provoked by a blood vessel pressing on the trigeminal nerve.
This nerve has three branches that originate at the base of the brain and conduct sensations from the upper, middle and lower portions of the face, including the mouth, lips, teeth, eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, and the jaw region.
Pressure on it causes wearing away of the protective coating around the nerve - resulting in extreme pain.
It can often be misdiagnosed, as mine was, as toothache, as there are no specific tests for it.
But what makes my condition even more painful is that I also suffer from chronic Cluster Headaches.
Cluster Headaches can last for several hours at a time and usually occur in clusters – a number of attacks of pain over a period of days or weeks.
But mine are chronic, which means I suffer from them all the time – and for long periods of time.
My conditions are linked. One of my conditions brings on the other.
Doctors believe that my problems were all caused by my dental trauma five years ago.
Even though I’m relieved to have been properly diagnosed, I still suffer from about 14 horrific headaches a week that can often last for a couple of hours a time.
There’s no permanent cure for my condition but I’m on a cocktail of medication, including nine different tablets.
I also have pain relief injections that I inject myself at the beginning of a headache as well as an oxygen cylinder that I keep in my bedroom.
I’ve been assigned a ‘headache nurse’, someone who I can ring between doctor’s appointments for help.
And despite my condition I try to lead as normal a life as possible.
I hold down a full-time job as a museum attendant and I have two fantastic children who keep me busy.
Trigeminal Neuralgia has been described as one of the worst pains that a human can experience – and some sufferers have been driven to suicide.
And Cluster Headaches are often referred to as ‘suicide headaches’.
I’d rather give birth fifteen times with no anaesthetic than suffer from one of my headaches.
During a headache I often feel like banging my head against a wall in sheer pain.
But I won’t let myself feel suicidal and be a statistic – I won’t let this beat me.
I try to keep myself as positive as possible and I’ve accepted that I will probably always have this condition.
I have a loving family and great kids who need their mum - and that’s worth living for.