Small Fiber Neuropathy and Face?

Posted by chayre @chayre, May 28, 2023

I have SFN in both feet/lower legs. Could it be the cause of numbness in one hand and one side of face?

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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?

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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,

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