Megan, I feel for you having this terrible condition on both sides of your face. Mine was just on the right side and I remember all to well, the pain and struggles of living with the condition.
Carbamazepine was the first med I was put on (of about 5 all together) but I came out in a rash which meant I had to stop. I found it was very effective in keeping the pain away, but I was on such a high dose that I was very spaced out a lot of the time. It was over the recommended maximum, but my neurologist said that as long as I could withstand the side effects, each individual has their own tolerance and there is of course other problems that can occur from having too much.... It was a while ago but I'm sure it was 15 ml, 3 times a day! (5ml is 100mg).
He said I was one of the worst cases he had come across. From what I understand, these anticonvulsant drugs eventually become ineffective over time anyway, so surgery may be inevitable. I was put on gabapentin, pregabalin, phenytoin and I'm sure there were more they tried but I can't remember now.. A combination of two at one point as this can also work for some people. It's all very much experimental, unfortunately.
Turned out my TN was caused by arrested hydrocephalus (trapped fluid on the brain) which had caused, somehow, stretching of the second branch of the nerve which they saw from the MRI scans i had. This caused the nerve to misfire and send the excruciating pain signals, which I first started to get at the age of 28, despite the fact I would have been born with hydrocephalus... Strange I know...
I had surgery to remove the fluid on my brain (endoscopic third ventriculostomy) and have not since, had anything like the old TN pains I used to get.
A couple months after the surgery and I was almost back to normal. I could eat and drink without fear of an attack. Such a relief! I have since developed tinnitus, which I've been told is not related to the operation I had, but I would've taken tinnitus instead of TN any day, even if it was!
Ask about surgery, as I honestly believe it's the best way to help against this horrible condition. There's a few which you've no doubt looked into yourself and you'll be advised as to which would suit you best.
All the best with your journey to becoming pain free!