Facial numbness/Eye Pain/Blurred Vision

[amycollier88]

I am a semi-healthy 23 year old female. Two nights ago I experienced prolonged facial/neck numbness that lasted approx 4 hours, with sporadic eyelid twitching in both eyes. All of these symptoms worsened if I layed on my back. I have had instances of this happening before but only 5-10 minutes and ONLY in my face and without eye twitching. I called and talked to the on call doctor finally at 4am and she wanted me to come to the ER and I couldnt but set me up an MRI for tomorrow. The numbness was MAINLY left sided on my face but I did have it in my right cheek and eye and my entire neck.

I have a history of Rathke's Cleft Cyst which they found when I was 16 during a routine MRI for my migranes. They determined it was not growing after 3 MRI's but it has not been checked in 7 years and is extremely close to my optical nerve. I I have a Hypothyroidism which is well controlled and Migranes which are also well controlled and had no headache at the time of the numbness.

Now two days later, since it happened I have had constant eye pain (in both eyes) and have been seeing occasional white floaters. Maybe this isnt related? Maybe the floaters are from stress or maybe they are being caused by the same thing??

Please help! Wont be able to talk to my doctor for at least another week!!

Ps. I take Topamax 200mg. Levoxyl 112mcg and Pristiq 50mg.

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

One-sided numbness of the body is most commonly due to a problem in the brain (as opposed to other areas of the central nervous system such as the spinal cord or peripheral nerves). Many possibilities exist, and depend somewhat on your age, your risk factors, and the nature of your symptoms (whether or not the numbness started suddenly or gradually, whether it is a complete loss of sensation or a tingling, whether it is an objective finding on examination or it is only a feeling that you have etc)

The most concerning cause of numbness on one side of the body is a stroke, but given your age and stereotypical nature of the numbness, this seems to be less likely. However, strokes can occur in any age. If your numbness was due to a stroke, it would start somewhat suddenly (over minutes) and would likely persist without significant improvement.

Other potential causes include multiple sclerosis, a brain tumor, a vascular malformation and others. Transient one-sided body numbness (lasting for example for minutes up to 30 minutes then resolving) could be due to a migraine (the aura of migraine, in which case following the numbness, a headache occurs) or seizures. Also, given your history of hypothyroidism, you may need to have your thyroid function checked since this can lead to abnormal sensations.

You would benefit from evaluation by a neurologist. You would benefit from an MRI of the brain with and without contrast. You may also need an EEG. Lastly, you should have a basic metabolic workup to ensure that your blood chemistry is normal.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.

[amycollier88]

ETA: i did not experience any paralysis.