Small Fiber Neuropathy and Face?

Welcome @chayre, From what I've read, numbness on one side of the face can be serious.

"Why is half my face numb?
Facial numbness can be alarming. It's a symptom that can occur with neurological problems that affect the brain or the trigeminal nerve (the nerve that controls sensations of the face). It can also happen with dental or mouth problems, after facial trauma, or as an effect of medications or toxins."
--- Numb Face: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment: https://www.verywellhealth.com/numb-face-6374292.

Have you contacted your doctor and discussed the symptoms?

The left side of my face is numb. I had an MRI to check for acoustic neuroma but cannot have contrast. To be honest, I just decided to live with it and not explore causes, because causes seem to shift around from loud noises to neck or shoulder issues to contact with pillow to sun exposure. Trigeminal neuralgia was suggested but I doubt it. I had an occipital nerve block that hit a nerve and causes extreme pain: don't consent to that without ultrasound guidance. I cannot tolerate any of the meds offered. As long as I don't have a tumor, I just accept it. BioFreeze on my neck sometimes helps, as does Ben Gay. Oddly massage of my upper back/shoulder blade stimulates facial numbness as well!

ps it can be a sign of MS but I don't pursue that because I don't want the meds, but I would pursue actively if things got worse; I had Lyme and also have very high auto-antibodies (ANA), with lupus diagnosis and possible sclermoderma with positive anti-centromere antibodies. You could ask for an ANA with reflex,

Hello windy shores. Any update on your condition? I have similar issues since June still trying to get a diagnosis.

Hello @figa1001. How are you doing? What are you doing to pursue a diagnosis and what kind of doctor?

I had a burst of trying to get help (PCP, ENT, rheumatologist, neuro) . I see my neurologist (have seen him for 23 years) next week and will let you know.

I had a worsening of pain and numbness (the pain was 9/10) at a condo I bought in late August, due to the hum of an AC fan in the unit below me. It has become clear that noise is a strong trigger.

Getting medical answers is so tedious, energy-draining and often without answers but I am going to do an MRI or maybe two: brain/ear area and neck. With contrast at low dose, hopefully, since I have kidney disease. I am scared the MRI will worsen my tinnitus and the dye may worsen my kidneys but I need answers.

The auditory/cranial nerve/cervical nerve/brain stem system, both in terms of those nerves and the blood vessels around them, is very complex and there are a lot of connections.

Since I have many pain and numbness issues on left side, especially neck/arm, it is reasonable to think that those sensations may extend up to my face from my neck..

However, there are times when my neck is bad and my face is fine. Noise is a huge trigger, so how does that connect to my neck? I have tinnitus and dizziness as well which all point to acoustic neuroma.

So neck, brain, auditory system, facial nerves may all be having a synergistic effect. An acoustic neuroma would be the simplest answer! But I doubt it.

I had to abandon my condo due to noise at quite a loss financially. That is how bad the pain and numbness are. I am living in a safe, quiet place and the symptoms have gotten a lot better unless a leaf blower goes by!

Today my face is numb. I may have slept on that side. But it is not painful. So even the pain and numbness appear separately! I have a cold that makes tinnitus worse so maybe that is triggering the numbness.

Sorry so long! I have gone on forums for trigeminal neuralgia, hyperacusis, tinnitus, cervical stenosis and don't see the particular combination of symptoms I have. Keep in touch as will I!

Hi windy.

I have a neuro apt in March but I’m looking for sooner options.

Since around last June I’ve had odd loss of sensation/less sensation in right side of my face. Mostly chin but also cheek lower lip right nostril. The less sensation goes all the way up my cheek bone to about ear level. No pain anywhere on my face. Also my gums and inside of mouth on that same right side feel odd with lesser sensation. Thought it might have been a dental issue but dentist and 2 gum doctors say they are fine minus some recession.

I do suffer from anxiety (15+ years) and last spring I was dealing with multiple issues that made me very anxious. Martial, drinking, sick child who was diagnosed with Chrons disease, money issue. My mind is constantly anxious so
I thought it was from that. But since my fave issue hasn’t gone away in a few months I went to a Dr. and got blood work and a brain MRI in October and both came back clean.

I went back again in December and he got me this neuro consult in March I also go put on anxiety meds and Doxyclinie for 21 days to see if it is from Lyme Disease which I didn’t have a recent positive test for but I had 15 years ago that caused Bells Palsy in this same right side of my face. I’ve been on that a week and it hasn’t help.

So that’s where I’m at still very anxious and hoping my face issues are from anxiety and stress but I’ve had it for 7-8 months so it has to be a different problem which is unfortunate. Hopeful the neuro can steer me in the right direction.

You are the first person ever that has a similar situation as me. I have all the same symptoms, even had Bells Palsy two times on the same side. I have never considered that maybe this is caused from anxiety, for two reasons. It has never been mentioned and I am a huge worrier but I don’t think that’s the same as anxiety, not sure. Glad to hear you are seeing a Neurologist, I would love to know what he thinks,. My Neuro. And Rheumatologist feel this is a complication to my auto immune condition. The first Neuro. I ever saw said he had a patient that had the facial numbness and he didn’t have any experience with this condition so he sent him to a Rheumatologist and they discovered he had an autoimmune condition he wasn’t even aware of, You may want to mention this to your Neurologist when you go if he’s not sure of the cause. I would be interested in seeing what he thinks, we could compare notes. Good luck, I hope you get a diagnosis and not a run around. Take Care

Hi Joan. When u search numb face/loss of feeling in face ALOT of stuff comes up
On Reddit under anxiety. That’s why I had thought oh this could be it. Because I had had social anxiety for 20 years and in my teens suffered very badly and actually had a few panic attacks. But like I said it hasn’t gone away some months later now. I say “numb” but if I put cold/hot water on my face I can feel it the sensation is just much less. So it’s more desensitized mostly in chin but also lip nose cheek up to ear. But yes I will Mention auto immune disease thank you.

I recently came across trigeminal neuropathy which from what I read is trigeminal neuralgia like
But without the pain. I have no pain but my Loss of feeling in my face follows those same nerve branches from my chin to cheek to nose are all on that nerve branch. So I lm going to mention that to them as well. Also on a facebook forum I mentioned my symptoms and a couple people comment “I had similar symptoms” and they both had SFN Small fiber neuropathy. Unsure what that is but it looked to be just damaged nerves for whatever reason. I’m very hopeful for a good diagnosis u search numb chin on google and the results are not friendly. But from what I’ve read the fact that my loss of sensation in my cheek and nose points towards things that’s might not be AS bad. I will defiantly update in hopeful to get into a neurologist sooner than March but they all seem so booked!

I have numbness/little knives in my mouth…….feels like wearing dentures that zap me. Neurologist says Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia, but after unsuccessful Trigeminal Nerve Blocks and SPG blocks, he’s told me to go to pain management……he can’t figure it out. I also have neuropathy in my feet, and when they get worse, the mouth gets worse……the docs think I’m nuts! This is so challenging; just putting up with the pain and not knowing what to do about it.