Let me be the first to tell you all about my trigeminal neuralgia, the worst pain you will ever experience (if you are unlucky enough to develop it.) Mine was caused by my AN growing just enough to squash an artery, which in turn offended the nerve. When I had it removed I also asked for an MVD (Microvascular decompression) wherein the surgeon inserts pieces of teflon between the offending artery and the nerve.
For years I took the gold standard drug for TN, namely tegretol (also known as carbamazapine.) When the pain grew so intense that the tegretol wasn't doing the trick, I asked for Lyrica, having read about it on my TN support group site. I didn't want to take it because a VERY common side effect is weight gain. But I took it anyway. It did not help; on the bright side, I didn't gain weight, probably because eating was too painful!
But your case is entirely different. I'm a bit curious--usually steroids are prescribed for swelling. Lyrica is a nerve medication and I'm wondering why it would be prescribed instead of tegretol, which does pretty much the same thing only in a more specified locale. Tegretol is processed through the liver, whereas Lyrica is not, so that might be a consideration for you. Also, tegretol can make you drowsy at first, but then so can Lyrica. I've never heard of taking either drug prophylactically.
Ask Schwartz. I'd trust him more than Bahama doctor.
