numbness and tingling
 

Hi all. This is my first post here.
I have been experiencing episodes of tingling and numbness. It started in my right hand fingers, then moved to my left hand finger, then to the back of my right leg and left toes. I have slight numbness in my face and lips also. I have been extremely stressed and anxious for well over 4 months so my go thinks it's all stress related. I now have a head ache that I have had for a month and won't go away. I am basically at my wit's end now. Just feel like curling up and crying. I am 35 years old and should be in my prime. Instead, I find myself depressed and lonely.
Do you think that these symptoms could be attributed to stress and anxiety. It seams it all started when the stress and anxiety started.

Hi lei9h and welcome to NeuroTalk.

I am sorry you are feeling so bad emotionally and having physical symptoms :hug:

You answered your own question:

I would like to gently suggest you see a Mental Health Professional (Psychiatrist) who is a MD and can prescribe medication and/or a Psychotherapist who can help you through a difficult time with "talk therapy."

It can get better :hug:

Dear Lei9h: I'm new here, so I'm not sure what to do. The tingling and numbness you are experiencing can go with several conditions. It seems to me that you might benefit from seeing a neurologist. Please don't write it all off to stress. Did your GP suggest an antidepressant? There are several antidepressants that are also on label for pain and tingling. I take Cymbalta, which helps. Hugs, ElaineD

My gp did refare me to see a neurologist but they wanted more info from my gp. The info was not sent so they declined to see me. I have had loads of bloods taken and my blood sugar has come back as slightly high twice. I know that diabetes can cause all of my symptoms. I have to have a fasting glucose blood test now so I will wait to see what happens.
Just want to feel normal again.

Well, its been a while since last here. Still no closer to finding an answer to my symptoms. Had loads of bloods taken. Ct scan of my sinus. All clear. Been back to the docs and asked for a ct scan of my head but they are still writing it all off as stress and anxiety. Managed to get them to refare me again to neurologist. Have to wait again now. For how long I don't know.

lei9h, some types of migraines can cause episodic numbness and tingling sensations in various parts of the body.

Hey lei9h :)
 

I agree w/ St. George...hang in there, and don't give up on trying to find answers.

I'm 27 years old and I've spent the last 3 to 4 years experiencing a slow progression of symptoms like (if not exactly the same as) those you're describing and yet only to get responses from my doctors and a few specialists like you have. The hardest part for me has been that thought too: 'I'm young and should be in my prime, not sick.' And it's definitely frustrating when you know your body is telling you something is really wrong and yet doctors keep coming back saying its anxiety or stress, etc.

I gave up about a year or so trying to persuade doctors that something more serious was going on with me than just 'stress'/anxiety, etc, after tons of blood tests and MRI's, etc all showed up clean. It wasn't until just a few months ago that I finally tried again, and lo and behold, now they've discovered stuff in my brain and I'm just now, after 3 to 4 years, starting to get some answers and assurances that it's not just stress and anxiety but something more serious that's causing the numbness and tingling, the headaches, etc.

That said, just hang in there and keep fighting, and don't give up on trying to get answers. Be open to what the doctors say. Whether or not there is something causing your symptoms of stress/anxiety, it's clear that the doctors have at least recognized that you do have anxiety/stress. ANYONE suffering or experiencing unnerving symptoms like what you've described would have stress and anxiety. In the past, I found myself best off when I fought for myself mentally, in spite of having no answers form the doctors. I'd remind/tell myself that 'yes...im anxious and stressed...but just because the doctors can't find a real 'cause', doesn't mean that there isnt a 'real' cause.

Again, hang in there!

All my sysmptoms started last june when i got really stressed out over a mole on my arm. Then i got a cough that has not gone away.
I am still having the tingling in my finger tips. not so much in my feet anymore, think most of the feet and leg feeling is due to a bad lower back as i do suffer with that.
have strange feeling in right temple and around my right ear. can only describe the ear pain as a low grade ear ache and what would be described as tinitus. (ringing occasionally and sensitive to high pitched sounds)
i also get a fullness on my right cheek bone/muscle that feels like sinus pressure and pain around my eye and bridge of nose that also feels like sinus pressure. As i mentioned in previous post, sinus scan is all clear.
Now the only thing i can link to all this pain that the docs say is due to stress and anxiety is that i clench my jaw shut and/or push it forward chleching my front teet together, i also grimmace a lot. (tense my face up) When i do these things, i feel the tension in my face and temple area. These muscles must be getting over used and causeing at least some of the feelings i am getting. I catch my self doing this a lot so there must be countless occasions where i am doing this and not aware of it.
i dont feel sick at all, just tired as i dont sleep well. i get about 3-4 hours each night. i have no trouble getting off to sleep, i just have trouble staying asleep. This must also be putting stress upon my body and brain.

I am starting to feel like a bit of a hypo.
i have had countless tests,
bloods, ct of chest, nasal endoscopy, ct of sinus, lung function tests. Everything has come back normal.

I have phoned the neuro office and i am booked in for a routine appointment in 6 to 8 weeks. Hopefully they will find nothing at all wrong with me and confirm it is just stress and anxiety.

Hi,

Just wondering if you have had your vitamin B12 checked. Don't assume that the Drs are correct if they tell you your numbers are normal. Always get the lab report. Some drs are now treating B12 deficiency at numbers lower than 400, where the standard line in the UK is to treat below 200. Big difference!

B12 will cause the numbness and tingling you are describing a good site to visit is www.B12d.org this explains the multitude of symptoms being low in B12 can cause.

OK with the sinus pain have you ever heard of a sinus migraine? It gives you awful sinus pain but there is no infection and a CT scan would show up clear as there is nothing wrong with your sinuses. Google sinus pain migraine and you will come up with lots of info on this condition. Many patients are wrongly diagnosed with sinus problems / dry sinuses when actually they are experiencing a sinus migraine.

I hope this info helps you. Don't give up you will get answers.

Rach x

hi, yes i have had my b vitamin levels checked a couple times, had fasting blood tests and the like. think iv'e had pretty much every blood test going. all normal. glucose has come back abnormal couple of times but then had fasting blood tests and these were normal.
really worried

Well I've Sean the neurologist and he says it is migraines. Asked him about the tingling and other symptoms like ears popping and nasal mucus.
He says that they all check out as symptoms of migraines. I find it strange that a migraine can cause all these symptoms. Anyway. Reared me for An mri in a couple of weeks.

lei9h - look at my recent posting on the dental thread here. I have so many of your symptoms and am also searching for answers! By any chance do you have a dental implant? Root canalled tooth? Please try to read my thread and hopefully, we will both get some answers soon. Take good care!:)

Hi Leigh,

While I'm not a doctor, I've had atypical migraines that have stumped most doctors for some time. I've done a fair amount of reading about them, and I can confirm that those symptoms can be associated with migraines. One problem is figuring out what kind of migraine—there are so many kinds—and how to treat them.

migraine symptoms

Another problem—as I see it—is that your symptoms also fit a lot of other scenarios, only some of which have been mentioned (anxiety/stress, diabetes, sleep disorder, vitamin deficiency), not to mention the possibility of two or several different things going on concomitantly. There may also be the specter of a vicious cycle at work.

vicious cycle insomnia anxiety depression

This kind of situation stumps doctors as well. Medicine, despite what we all think and would like it to be, is really still in its infancy. Physicians have been treating patients for thousands of years, yet its only in the last 150 years or so that they've even figured out that there are such things as bacteria and viruses, that they can cause disease, and that sterilization is a good idea.

With anything more difficult than the obvious, we may have to help our doctors help us. Here are some things I've learned along the way in helping solve my own medical conundrums...

1. Keep an open mind; listen, ask lots of questions, read, and learn.
2. Listen to your body; symptoms are the body's way of trying to tell us things.
3. Keep a medical diary/journal/log to track symptoms, triggers, and other possible clues.
4. Google is our friend (It's all in the search criteria/terms). As little as twenty years ago, if you wanted to learn about anything medical, you had to spend countless hours in a medical library—IF you could find/access one. Today we have close to the sum total of human knowledge available at our fingertips. Presumably that's how you came to find this site. It still takes time, and some common sense filtering must be done (there's a lot of static/garbage out there too). I couldn't tell you how many people have found answers and clues to helping themselves from something they came across on the web. Have you gotten any clues/ideas from symptom checkers?
5. If it can't hurt to try it, then it can't hurt to try it. Some things, like the possibilty of B12 deficiency, can be easily tried without risk (The same cannot be said for ALL vitamins, supplements, and/or OTC meds). For those that you can determine are safe to try, there's no harm in trying them.
6. Always keep your doctor in the loop. IME, doctors seem more motivated to help patients who take a sincere interest in trying to help themselves.
7. Assemble the right team of doctors for you. In many ways, this can be the most challenging and time-consuming task, but is the most worthwhile. Remember that half of all doctors are below average. ;)
   
   assembling the right team of doctors

This site is good as a part of your support network; each part has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Keep us informed on how the MRI goes.

Doc

Got my mri appointment for tomorrow. I won't post again until I get the my results. Absolutely bricking it

Ok, I had to look that one up. :Ponder:

Is there any way I can convince you that worry serves no useful purpose, and the stress only exacerbates your symptoms?

Doc

Well hello again. The news is very good. Mri of brain is normal. They say that my symptoms are migraines and are probably due to all the stress and anxiety I have been under for the past 12 months. Going to take thier Dx now and try to calm down and hopefully these symptoms will dissipate.
Booking a holiday tonight. Nice week in Turkey or egypt on the cards.

I have had similar symptoms.

For some weeks, I have suffered a sharp stabbing pain in both big toes, especially at night, or when tying my shoelaces (??).

Two days ago, I noticed my right arm felt extremely weak and aching, for no obvious reason. Yesterday I was fine. This morning, however, I was awakened by a strong numbness and tingling sensation in my right hand at about 5am. I assumed I had been lying in an awkward position, so I moved my arm a bit, but it didn't go away. That was five hours ago, and my hand is still tingling like mad and numb.

Unlike the original poster, I do not have any major stress at the moment. I have made an appointment with my doc for later today, but I was wondering if what I have is paresthesia.

Bisonex

Hi Bisonex,
Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

Hopefully if it was paresthesia, it was transient.
I think that transient paresthesias are quite common.
The problem would be if it persisted.

Let us know how you got on at the Doctor's visit.

i still have all these things going on. i am just happy to know that i don't have a brain tumor or any signs of ms going on. Hopefully these symptoms will start to go away as my stress levels decrease. If anything is bothering you, you need to get it checked out. I have had many tests and scans and all have come up normal. I think all my symptoms are stress and anxiety related.