I have a history of trigeminal neuralgia having had shin surgery in 2004.  For four years I was pain-free.  April 22, 2008 I had a shingles shot; by May 1, 2008 my trigeminal neuralgia was back; this time with a vengeance.  Since shingles is a nerve disease and the vaccine is live I am exploring whether there is a relation between the two events.  8/19/08 Reviewed hospital medical records of 7/2-7/3/2008 FINAL DX: right trigeminal neuralgia Records reveal patient experienced recent severe worsening of sharp right facial pain w/occasional right tongue numbness.  Had foreign travel approx 6 wks prior & had presyncopal episode preceded by viral illness w/fevers, chills & significant diarrhea.  Resolved completely.  Admitted for percutanous balloon compression of right trigeminal nerve.  Did well postoperatively & d/c to home w/numbness across right distribution of trigeminal nerve w/o sharp pain as preoperative.  No difficulty swallowing & temporal & masseter muscles were intact. Follow-up: To whom it may concern, I am 70 years old. In July 2004 I under went micro vascular decompression surgery to relieve cranial pain due to trigeminal neuralgia. The pain was excruciating to the extent that I didn't know if I really wanted to continue the daily battle to endure this pain. My mental condition was that I would not let this pain rob me of everything that I hold so dearly; such as, my family, friends and pleasures of life that I really enjoy. Dr. performed the micro vascular decompression surgery. The surgery was a total success!! The pain was gone!! Recovery was pain free and soon I was back playing golf and really appreciating life. My family and friends were very supporting. In April 2008 my wife and I went on a trip; however, we needed various shots for disease prevention in this foreign country. I decided to have an additional vacciantion for 'shingles' as several of my friends had, somehow, gotten this disease. We arrived in late April 2008. We continued our trip to the next city on our tour. It was about May 3rd or the 4th that I started to feel symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). This was mild, quick, electrical 'shots' associated with my upper teeth on the right side of the face. At times these penetrating 'shots' went to my right ear and toward the right temporal are. I kept this condition a secret from my wife and friends until I returned. Because of my past TN experiences I immediately contacted my Neurologist. After diagnostic evaluation Dr. sent me to Neurosurgeon. After discussions with Dr. I elected to have the percutaneous balloon compression of the trigeminal nerve procedure because it is less invasive that the procedure I had in 2004. I suffer from some numbness to the right side of the face and am experiencing some problems with chewing my food!! Small price to pay for the relief from the TN pain. I began asking myself why this condition recurred when it seemed to be gone, completely. I asked myself, what changed in my life? The only significant event was that I got several vaccinations. I don't know if this caused or contributed to the recurrence of TN, or not. I did read, that people with shingles could suffer from the pain associated with nerve abrasion of the myelin sheath around the nerve. Therefore, I asked myself, could the shingles vaccination exacerbated a latent TN condition or brought about a recurrence of the TN pain. At this point I decided to contact the NIH. Now, I am NOT looking to file a lawsuit against anyone! Period!! I just want someone to make a microbiolgical, or pharmacological evaluation as to what I propose may have occurred. If there is some creditability to my assumptions then other, with the same TN history should be made aware of the potential side effects of having the shingles vaccination. That is it, pure and simple!! Thank you for reviewing my concerns. If you require further information contact me.