My name is Kitty. I am a 52 year old female. Approximately 16 years ago I started to experience a little numbness above my upper lip and below my right eye (soft tissue area). I went to a doctor (neurologist), who did an MRI on my head, and found nothing wrong. He told me his wife has numbness and it will go away.

A few years later, it had spread to the entire right side of my face, including the inside of my mouth., (I can't feel my gums, or tast most foods - not even salt). I also cannot feel my eyes. The numbness increases when I have trouble with my sinuses., feeling very numb around the sinus areas of the forehead, and cheek/nose area.

It has now been approximately 16 years, (and 3 MRI's later - with the same results, nothing wrong). My entire head is numb from the front to the back and side to side (not being able to feel my ears - makes it hard to talk on the phone when I can't feel where the phone should be). The numbness has now gone down my neck, making me feel like I have a hangmans noose around my throat. When I yawn, my vocal cords freeze, and the muscles in my throat also freeze up, making my speech slurred (mostly in the afternoon, when I'm tired). I also have trouble with the back of my neck, pinching off nerves (possibly), because when I look up for any length of time, I get queezie, light headed and hot., until I sit down and put my head down.

The numbness has increased to where I have to sleep sitting up because I drool, (I also dribble if I don't pay attention to my speech, and swallow when necessary). I also don't know when I'm swallowing so I tend to choke when drinking liquids.

It's an embarrassment to eat out any more, my job is hard to cope with, as I can't talk on the phone (which is what I do for a living - call center). I'm at my wits end at what this is, and what to do.

Does anyone have an idea what is wrong, or what type of test I need?

Any ideas would be helpful, as I'm at a stand still, and wish I were dead !

Thanks for listening....K

--but I don't know how many responses you'll get here; meralgia parasthetica is a condition of the thigh area, and I don't how many people will see the post.

You're probably better off copying it to the General Health Conditions part of the Forum, where many people with varied experties will see it.

Hi Idahomskitty,
I'm new here myself and you're listed right above me on the members list. So naturally I clicked on your name and it led me to your post where I found I have similar symptoms as you. I'll be 50 this Aug. and I will have been married 31 years (this Aug as well). So were close in age & marital status too! My name isn't Ida but I used that because my moms name is Ida. Also my initials are das, so it was fitting.
In 2004 I was working in my garden when I noticed the right side of my face felt numb. Like someone just injected me with novacane. My heart started pumping really fast and I became dizzy and faint. By the time I arrived in the ER my whole right side was numb. They took C-scan etc. and couldn't find anything wrong with me either. After seeing several Doctors, I was finally referred to Loma Linda Hospital where they took special MRI's they called T-weighted and low resonance type (they injected some kind of dye in me to light up my veins on the film) . That's how they diagnosed me with these Veinous tumors or brain leisions. Yes, I get choked easily, and with a numb right arm, I have about knocked myself out with the phone reciever several times. Coincidentally, in the news today, the Secretary of Commerce in Hong Kong was just diagnosed with these leisions as well. So anyway, I would suggest you ask your Dr's about the possibility of you having a brain Liesion or Angioma (as they're called). And you should see a NeuroSurgeon not just a Neurologist, for some reason they are better informed. All my best to you, let me know what they say.
Will talk to you again in Cyber Space.
Idas