Facial Numb feeling + Symptom History?

[Mercfh]

So I have a quick question about numbness and my face has been doing some stuff that's got me worried.

Basically (since 2 weeks ago almost) I started to feel a weird sensation on my left cheek/under my left eye. I thought it was sinuses (as that day I was getting outdoor allergies really bad) but it's sorta kept up with me the past 2 weeks.
It feels almost like something is lightly touching my face just barely. I also feel pressure around the ridge of my nose and right between my eyebrows. Im not really having any current congestion issues (well barely I am) but my allergies come and go when I go outside.

Thing is, it doesn't hurt. I know Trigeminal neuralgia is a symptom of MS but this is mainly under my left side of my face and it doesn't ever hurt. Sometimes it'll feel "burning" almost, but I think thats because I keep scratching my face (normally it doesn't burn). It almost feels like tight skin and I need to sort of stretch out my face. I also feel a sense of pressure around my eyes and forehead. Also I do not have any facial weakness of any sort. it just feels....odd...
Also I know Transverse Myelitis (which is a symptom of MS) doesn't affect your face (since it affects your spine and your face isn't controlled by your spine) so I don't think it's that. It came on pretty suddenly and it comes and goes (like 2 days ago I didn't feel it at all for 2 days, then it came back again).

Also this "numbness" isn't really even numb on my face, as I can touch my face and feel it.


With MS....do symptoms act like this? (IE: Come and Go) or is basically constant? And would it appear suddenly?

I've actually had this feeling before like 6-7 years ago, when I went to the Neuro with a finger twitch (that I still have, and it has not gone away or gotten worse, my neuro says it's essential tremor....which does match up with what ET is). My Neuro explained that this weird "cloth over your face" feeling is actually a migraine in your face. For reference I had 2 MRI's during that period long ago with no issues. I've also had a CT scan (for a concussion (mild) about 2 years ago and nothing was found in my brain).

I've looked and looked at MS symptoms and I can't really find any that fit my description. Transverse Myelitis is usually the cause for people feeling Numbess/Tingling/etc.. in hands/limbs/etc...right? I don't feel that at all, I have no weakness in any body parts or spacisity. The only "pain" i really have is sometimes when I sit and drive for awhile my left upper thigh will feel sore, but it'll be fine once I change positions (I think this may be some nerve pain due to my poor posture since Im a software developer). And my finger tremor (which is constant and doesn't come and go but also hasn't gotten worse. I have no eye problems either (which i've heard is common), nor do hot baths bother me (and I take them VERY hot)

Does this sound like MS at all? The only other thing going on right is I have an eyelid twitch (myokymia) which I get a lot due to starting at a screen /lack of sleep but I know thats 99.999% benign. Im wondering if this is worth investigating at all.


Sidenote: I have had blood work done 3 months ago for something unrelated and my TSH was 5.0 something (which is above the range)...so maybe this is a Thyroid Issue (Whats weird is my TSH was fine 6 months ago)

[centenarian100]

Some random thought:

MS symptoms can sometimes be intermittent. they are not necessarily constant. Trigeminal neuralgia is a painful condition which is usually severe and described as an electric shock. Your description of symptoms is not consistent with this diagnosis

Not everyone with multiple sclerosis has transverse myelitis

Multiple sclerosis with a completely normal MRI of the brain is rare, and people with MS usually developed asymptomatic lesions years before they develop symptoms

The eyelid twitching is probably nothing significant; this is a common benign symptom

[jimmylegs]

i ran a search on serum magnesium and essential tremor. not a huge pile of relevant lit but did come up with this case study.

Dilemma in the emergency setting: hypomagnesemia mimicking acute stroke (2016)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4910610/
"Blood test revealed magnesium 0.10 mmol/L (0.66–0.99)" wow.
"She also had macular degeneration, depression, fibromyalgia, essential tremor..." from other research i would definitely consider depression and fibro conditions that merit a closer look into mag status.

interesting excerpt from the discussion:
"...hypomagnesemia has been associated with a variety of neurological symptoms, including reversible mental status changes, seizures, and movement disorders.9 Among the focal manifestations, the most reported are cerebellar symptoms due to endothelial malfunction, presenting with reversible abnormalities on neuroimaging similar to those of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome.9–11 .."

"After correcting the metabolic alterations with intravenous and oral supplemental magnesium, the patient was discharged asymptomatic. No further episodes have been registered to date."

i don't imagine they mean the comorbidities also vanished, but it could be worth taking a look at magnesium considering the neurological implications of deficit.

my brother used to get facial tics and heart palpitations when things got busy at work. i told him to up the magnesium intake and both issues disappeared.

[Mercfh]

I guess the facial feeling is the most worrysome. And the MRI was from 6-7 years ago I haven't had one currently. But I really don't have ANY symptoms besides this face feeling (like a cloth is over my face). I know "facial numbness" is one of the most common first symptoms according to this: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Sympto ... s/Numbness

But i can touch my face and feel it and like it doesn't feel numb like "novacaine" or something, like where your biting your mouth accidentally, just feels like an odd cloth like or tingly feeling (but not quite pins and needless). "Tightness" is really the best way I can describe it or like it's slightly wet on that area of my cheek. I mean I can run a pin or something accross my face and feel it so it's not like quite that, it feels more like it's on the top of my skin or something. Touching the part of my face almost makes it feel like it's gone weirdly enough. Maybe it's not really numbness? (since the link describes people biting their mouth/cheek/tongue and stuff)

I don't have any facial weakness though, im able to use all the muscles in my face like normal. I guess im just worried because I know Facial numbness is an MS symptom...but maybe what im feeling isn't numbness.

I just don't know what else it could be...the fact that im having some pressure around my nose/forehead (and occasionally it'll feel like pressure under my eyes (upper cheek region)) that it maybe is migraines? The fact that I felt this before when I had an MRI mean it's prolly nothing.

Also I feel no real fatigue (except when I havent' slept) but I 99% of the time am pretty active and staying up late/etc... , isn't fatigue like REALLY common with MS.

Do people with MS usually present at least with more than 1 symptom typically?

Multiple sclerosis with a completely normal MRI of the brain is rare, and people with MS usually developed asymptomatic lesions years before they develop symptoms

- That does make me feel better, since it was clean 6 years ago and I was having similar issues.


Edit: jimmylegs I saw your post, My magnesium i need to check, I did have a blood workup 6 months ago and everything was fine but my TSH was 5.010 with the reference range from .45-4.5

[jimmylegs]

study on correlation between thyroid function and electrolytes suggests that the high tsh is not related to low mag even if the other issues are http://bit.ly/2q97AxR "Serum calcium and magnesium correlated significantly with TSH (p <0.05)"

[jimmylegs]

in this study numbness was a symptom in ~10% of patients with low magnesium:

The most frequent clinical finding in patients with hypomagnesemia was personality change (32.7%), followed by depression and tachycardia (22.4%), stupor (20.4%), convulsion, nausea and vomiting, and anorexia (14.3% each), dementia and hallucination, disorientation, tremor, abdominal pain, sweating, numbness, and malaise (10.2% each), articulation disorders, diarrhea, constipation, and ataxia (8.2% each), muscle weakness and dizziness (6.1%), muscle pain and muscular rigidity (4.1%), and muscle twitch and increased tendon reflex, sensory disturbances, and facial flushing (2%)

[jimmylegs]

fyi with serum mag, as with many other essential nutrients, deficiency symptoms occur within the normal range. high normal is the better place to be and hopefully your lab's upper end goes to 1.1 mmol/L.

re nutrients associated with thyroid health i'm seeing iodine (duh) vit d3 selenium and vit b12.

when i had transient numbness before dx it was reversible with b12 supplements. mind you it also started in my feet and never went anywhere near my face. i just let it drag on too long not taking care of myself and presto, permanent damage.

[Mercfh]

It's very possible I have some deficiency. Im more just anxious about this face thing.

Does any of what I describe really sound like MS? this doesn't even really seem like "numbness" it more seems like some sort of Dysesthesia or something.....but thats really the only "new" symptom I have.

[jimmylegs]

i'm thinking why not rule out a deficiency as possible cause of face thing.

numbness or something close to it could be any number of things. re ms, there are about 90 things to be ruled out before anyone could arrive at that dx. b12 deficiency is on the list.

if you don't already have a high quality multivitamin/mineral in the daily routine why not try that out and see what happens.

related chats by others with facial numbness https://healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk/po ... l-numbness

think just because my own numbness from b12 deficiency didn't show up in the face, doesn't mean it can't..

[Mercfh]

Well im getting my TSH checked again (since it was high) so that'll be something I can also get checked. Im just trying to get some reassurance that it doesnt' "sound" like MS......since this past 2 weeks has been driving me crazy.

Although from everything im reading about "numbness" this doesn't really sound like it, sounds like more like Dysesthesia or some sort of Peripheral neuropathy. I would think if I had some sort of MS i'd have more symptoms. Either way i'll make sure to get mag checked.

[jimmylegs]

if you can, since the thyroid is acting up consider testing the d3, b12 and selenium too. when searching dysaesthesia with deficiency in particular, b12 comes up first (and i am seeing some reference to copper as well).

if you do follow up on the multi idea, just make sure you wash out (take some days off) before any tests.

[Jaded]

Hi
It might be Bells Palsy.

I had that twice - see your doc and they should give you meds if that's what it is.

Wishing you luck

J x

[jimmylegs]

interesting; found this:

"Two hundred sixty-nine patients affected by BP with a maximum delay of 48 hours from the onset were enrolled in the study. The evolution of the facial paresis expressed as House-Brackmann grade in the first 10 days and its correlation with symptoms were analyzed. At the onset, 136 patients presented postauricular pain, 114 were affected by dry eye, and 94 reported dysgeusia."

definitely specific nutrients associated w dysgeusia (b vits again and zinc), although it was only reported in 35% of bp patients.

[Jaded]

I would agree that BP could be an issue with B vitamin deficiencies JL......and I am sure you are right about the zinc. It's all nerve-based.

I would see someone soon though - I did but wasn't given any meds......Although I didn't see or sense any issues with my facial movement, I do have asymmetry - a slight droop on one side.

Life sucks, but we know that.

J.