Hi,

I tried EFT on my 81 year mother for sciatic type pain, although it
did not go immediately, it had gone by the next day.

While tapping for the sciatic pain, her face was very painful. For 6
years on and off she has suffered from trigeminal neuralgia.  It is a
burning electric shock pain that travels up by her nose. It is very
debilitating. It first started around 2001 when she was looking after my dad who
had Alzheimer’s disease ; he was very aggressive towards her, and he
finally went into a care home in late 2004. She felt frustrated,
abandoned by the lack of support for her, and even since he passed away
2 years ago she still gets this nerve pain.

Mum is diabetic (type 2 late onset), has lost a lot of weight, has
medication for high blood pressure and to keep her cholesterol low, and
is on water tablets.

Where can she tap, other than the face, to try to get rid of this
nerve pain? Has anyone had any success with stopping the pain from
trigeminal neuralgia?

Any help would be appreciated.

Hello Simon,

I would suggest that you NOT TAP on the points but rather just hold them with intent and focus. You can even rub them as though you were massaging them but even if this is irritating or painful at the moment you could forget them altogether and strickly work the other points until you gain some relief from these painful or uncomfortable points that are located on the face.

Typically when I work with elderly individuals I take the road of caution and gentleness and DO NOT tap the points but rather just work them with my mind [the focus and intent] and my feel / touch which will call for the energy to find it's way through the meridians and clear the blockages and allow for a better flow of energy throughout the body and the body's systems.

Have you worked on the emotions that were felt during the caregiving? I would also bring in 'LOTS OF HEALING LOVE AND LIGHT' as part of my phrasing and holding of points. Along with 'ACCEPTANCE & FORGIVENESS' and the other thing that is coming to me [my intuitive voice is telling me to bring this to your attention] is her own death that is imminent. Checking for any emotions that are tied to this uncoming event. The next thing that surfaced for me with regards to death is check any guilt that she may have about the death of her partner / husband ... like the fact that she may feel somehow responsible for his death and/or any pain or discomfort that he may have experienced while in her care. Like she didn't do good enough or enough or if she felt any emotions or had words such as 'I can't do this anymore ... I almost wish he would just die so I can be set free of this responsibility' make sense???

Wishing your mom a beautiful remaining experience on this Earth!!! Bring her peace and comfort and you can do this by simply holding the points and reiterating the words while her eyes are closed and surround her with lots of healing love and light and having her breathe deeply, slowing while taking in this warmth and love ...

I trust this will help. Peace, Kathleen

Hi Simon,

I am glad to hear that you have had success using EFT on your mother's sciatic pain.

In terms of working with trigeminal neuralgia, I haven't had any personal experience. You were asking about where to tap besides the face. My husband hates tapping, and with him we touch and breathe. Does it hurt your mother to touch her face? If her face can't be touched, I would tap on both sides of the body at the same time if possible:

• inner collar bone
• under arm
• liver point--on ribs below nipple
• wrist points along inside of wrists
• top of head (see how it is for her)

Also, I believe that it would be good to deal with the emotions that your mother probably has buried in her body. For one, the rage that she still has towards her husband who was aggresive towards her. I would encourage her to get it out:

• to be loud (yell at your father)
• to call him names (that maybe she didn't feel comfortable calling him when he was alive)
• to use fowl language (even to use words like pisses me off--instead of makes me angry)
• inhale and exhale deeply

Remember, you are helping your mother move energy that is stuck in her body. Also, if you can somehow get her laughing about the situation, it can really help move the energy.

I did a little research for you, and have included some links on the emofree website about people successfully treating Trigeminal Neuralgia. http://www.emofree.com/Pain-management/pain-trigeminal-neuralgia-hines.htm
http://www.emofree.com/articles/trigeminal-neuralgia.htm
http://www.emofree.com/pain-management/scaldpain.htm
http://www.emofree.com/Pain-management/pain-trigeminal-neuralgia-temple.htm (including some other accupressure points)

You might want to include:

• I forgive myself
• I was doing the best I could do even though it didn't seem quite good enough
• I can face the now moment

I hope that you find some of this helpful.

Gratefully yours,

JoAnn

Hi Simon,

JoAnn, thank you so much for the research!  When I was working to get rid of my own migraines, I developed a certain degree of this type of pain.  It was quite unpleasant.  I did continue to tap through it though, on and off, sometimes only very gently.  It stayed with me for a while, but I would use hot and cold compresses to help "settle down" the energy movement.  The recommendation for tapping some of the additional points that were mentioned is also very good. 

At one point, I experienced a deep shock sensation that seemed to split my face from about the inner cheekbone --  through my front teeth, and palate all the way back to my last molar on the right side.  Quite strange I thought at the time.  After that, the burning pain around my eyes & face lessened, but it still lingered for quite a while.  I still tap for it occassionally if I feel any hint of it becoming present -- but now just a few taps releases it entirely, and I don't have migraines at all anymore.  

On a forum about EFT for pain, I expected a response to the question posed about how to assist a person in pain where the face points were painful to tap, not a forecast about a passing. I was shocked by the response I received, and you have caused me great distress. I think this forum ought to be wary of straying away from advice on techniques and into areas that are best left alone.  You cannot possibly know my mother and you are not God.

Hi,

Thank you for the helpful links and advice. Unfortunately my mother is now on medicine from her doctor as the pain was too much.  I will keep trying.   

Simon

Hi Simon,

My mother is 88, and if someone told me that she was going to pass, I would feel shocked, too. I agree that we need to be careful about what we put out into the forum, and that we need to stay on topic. I am sorry for any distress that you are feeling from reading the posts.

I know for myself, that I am sharing from my heart, and can imagine that is where everyone else is coming from, too.

I am glad to hear that you are continuing to do EFT--even though your mother is having to take medicine.

Are you tapping on yourself? I think that could be helpful. You could tap on the feelings that are coming up for you about your mother's condition; your fears, etc.

Again, I am sorry, and we are humans trying to be helpful.

Light and Love,

JoAnn

Dear JoAnn

Aplogies for the delay, things have been hectic as an extension to the house is nearing completion ready for mum to move into, and there has been a lot to do. I think I am going to contact a local EFT practitioner as I am not getting results tapping on myself.

The top of my mum's head was sensitive - it created pain in her face when tapping gently. The key emotions and phrases to access them are proving to be elusive at the moment.

 Simon

Simon,

I think seeing a local EFT practitioner is a great idea!!!

You were saying that tapping even gently on the top of your mother's head increased pain. Two options:

• don't even tap the top of the head
• don't tap (even lightly)--my husband hates tapping, so we touch lightly and breathe in and out

Good luck on completing the addition for your mother.

Gratefully yours,

JoAnn

Hi Simon,

I have been dealing with this nerve/facial pain for 4+ years and just in the last month was able to put a name to it. Before putting a name to it I used EFT and it has been helpful in reducing it. I use to tell my doctors if you took an ax and chopped down the center of my head and just took the right side away, I would feel great. It was to the point the pain was daily 24/7 (instead of spuratic) and the only thing I could do to eleviate it was to lay down and just go to sleep. Fortunately, not much can keep me from sleeping, including pain:):) I did a lot of sleeping!!!!  Since using EFT on my nearalgia my pain is back to spuradic and less intense. I know I still have some work to do but hopefully this will give you hope. Since I didn't have the information and didn't know it could be trigger by touch, eating, sitting still, or what ever else, I went ahead and tapped away on even the sensative points. I am much younger than your mom, so I wouldn't recommend her doing it. Our minds are a powerful thing and simply focusing in on the tapping points may be helpful. I am not an EFT expert, just an EFT user that has gained much comfort in many areas of my life, including releaving pain. Good luck to you and your mom!

 Jackey