Kyle Ayers is a well-known comedian, famous for his podcast 'Never Seen It' in which comedians re-write a scene from a show or movie they've never seen. Kyle is also living with a severe chronic pain condition called trigeminal neuralgia. When he was first diagnosed with this condition he was initially happy, having finally found an explanation for the severe right temple pain that had been plaguing him for the past three years, a pain that had confounded doctor after doctor. But when Kyle began to research trigeminal neuralgia and discovered that people online were calling it the 'suicide disease,' his relief at getting a diagnosis was short-lived.

Doctors don't know what triggers the trigeminal nerve in the face to start jumping around, causing the electric shock-like sensations that are typical in trigeminal neuralgia. Unfortunately, when this condition is triggered it is remarkably difficult to manage. There is a procedure called microvascular decompression that can be helpful, but as Kyle learned first-hand this relief can be temporary.

https://youtube.com/shorts/9Z6Ywc8XpCg

In this clip, Kyle Ayers describes what trigeminal neuralgia feels like.

In this episode of the Major Pain podcast, Kyle talks us through his journey with trigeminal neuralgia. He discusses the difficulty in getting a diagnosis, his experience with microvascular decompression and the medications he has tried. One of his coping mechanisms is performing comedy, and he has recently been working on a new stand-up show that centers around his experiences with trigeminal neuralgia, which he will be performing at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Check out Kyle's podcast and other work on his website: http://kyleayers.com/