Facial numbness, 50 years ago. DXed 13 years later.

When u say facial numbness, was it the whole face? One side? Or just a line down the face?


Sometimes I get the sensation that a spider web is on my face from my eye to cheek. Does not happen often though

Hi Midori, that's actually not a simple question in my case.

Probably my first symptom was an area of numbness, maybe 1.5" in diameter, around my upper lip/cheek/nose on the right side. It was diagnosed as a mild neuritis, it went away after a week or two, and it never occurred to me that it was a symptom of something else.

A few months later I had what was diagnosed as mild trigeminal neuralgia. Again, it only lasted several days, and neither I nor my doctor connected the two, though he said he'd refer me to a neurologist if I wanted, or if it persisted.

When I went back to the doctor two or three years later, my concerning symptoms were extreme fatigue and "slow-motion brain". The earlier neuritis and TN never crossed my mind as being related.

In retrospect, I had balance issues, fatigue, muscle spasms years earlier. Were they symptoms of MS? Or just stuff that's common to most people? I'll never know.

I was diagnosed maybe four years after the neuritis, give or take.

Gosh, I had symptoms back when I was in my 20's (I'm 52 now). Had no idea what it was but they went away so I ignored them.

Dizziness and balance issues were first. Tripping over nothing. Then twenty years (or more) later both my legs went numb. I could still walk just felt like my legs were asleep.

The final straw was a severe case of double vision. That's what got me to the Neuro and ultimately got me the MS diagnosis.

It cleared up after several months and I haven't had it again but I have had ON and my balance/walking issues have gotten much worse.

A really bizarre type of dizziness, off balance feeling in 1989.
Diagnosis in 2002

Symptoms since childhood, was not seen by a Doctor and thought what I experienced was normal.

That was until I had my first exacerbation at the age of 24...Diagnosed at that time with MS. Numerous symptoms.

My legs constantly felt heavy and dropping stuff.