Numb/ heaviness left side of face

[19rach19]

Hi, I don’t know if anyone can help me but I’m being a stress pot over here!!

On Sunday (it’s now the following Saturday) I was out and got a sudden stabbing pain in my head, only lasting a few seconds then going and it done this a few times throughout the rest of the day. An hour after it initially started, in the car, I notice that the left side of my face felt sort of numb (I can feel it but that sensation) / heavy/ tingly but I put it down to that I must be getting migraine. As the day went on the sensation was still there and no migraine but the weird sensations I was starting to feel in my left arm.

On Monday it was no better and by Tuesday I was really concerned and rang the doctor who was “well it just sounds like a headache” not taking account for the odd sensation felt in the side of my face and arm. I asked how long until I should contact them and they said “well it’s hard to put a time frame on it. If you get new symptoms then you can”

From then I thought it might’ve been getting better, my head wasn’t really sore and the sensation was still there but not as much. But the Friday (yesterday) I was sitting on my phone and felt an intense pressure in my head lasting about 10 seconds, this happened twice and then the facial feeling and arm feeling got stronger, and then I got the feeling along the back of my neck and shoulder area as well and it hasn’t left. My head has also been more sore since this has happened.

The numbness on my face isn’t actually a numb feeling but more like a sensation. I can feel it to touch. Also, it’s from beside/below my eye down to my jaw area, and the from the bottom of my head down my beck to my shoulder blade and then across to my shoulder and down my arm.

Anyone any ideas on what this could be or how I can help it? I’m going to ring my GP on Monday but I can’t help googling and worrying constantly about it, especially because I’ve got two under two so I am petrified or something happening.

Could it be nerve pain? Do you think it’s a type of headache or worse?

You need to get straight to A and E NOW. These are symtoms of strokes. It may not be that but if it is seeking immediate treatment makes a huge difference to recovery.

That sounds really scary. I would at least ring 111 today for advice.
I hope you feel better soon.

As a medical receptionist if you called M-F I would be booking you a f2f same day appointment.
As it's a Saturday call NHS 111

You need checking for stroke and heart attack, call 111 or go to A&E. How old are you ?

At minimum ring 111

I wouldn’t waste time with 111.

You need A&E. Yes, it could be anything - but you have described the symptoms of a stroke.

I’m appalled that you had no more urgent or holistic response from your GP.

Please, please get someone to take you to hospital today. (I want to say immediately but don’t want to add to your stress.)

This sounds like a stroke, you would be classed as FAST positive. You need to go to hospital. Have you checked your blood pressure recently?

I would call 111 and get seen, but don’t panic. This is how new Covid is presenting in some people. It’s inflaming the facial nerves and causing a numb, heavy, burning feeling, plus a headache that goes on for days. feeling dizzy and spaced out. It takes over a week to develop into classic Covid symptoms of runny nose and sore throat.

I had it recently and it was completely one sided. One side of my face burned and felt weird, one nostril ran, one side of my throat was sore, one side of my head ached.

Definitely get checked but it could just be Covid.

Thanks for all the replies! I have rang the out of hours, in in NI so we don’t have 111 and I’m trying to get my partner to come home from work so I can get up to A&E cause it’s lasted too long these symptoms.

You can't wait for your partner to come home just go with the kids if necessary and get him to meet you there.

If you don’t have anyone who can look after the children in an emergency, family or friend from toddler group then just take the kids with you. Take plenty of snacks, doesn’t need to be healthy and your phone/tablet. Take a charger too.

Also ring your husband and/or his work and tell him your going to A and E and he needs to collect his children.

Go to A&E now it could be a stroke

I hope the OP isn’t considering driving - especially with her children in the car.

She needs to be taken there by someone else. At worst a taxi.

Im just off the phone with an out of hours doctor and they don’t think it’s a stroke or anything too concerning given that it’s been 5/6 days of this and I don’t have a floor dropping headache so I don’t know what to think now… they said if it goes on for a month that’s when I go back to the doctor but it doesn’t warrant an A&E visit.

The doctor went over a series of questions such as if I had eye disturbances, speech slur, pounding head, loss of balance, rash etc which I don’t. Apparently the odd sensation in feeling could be a strange type of migraine or sinitis?

If it doesn’t settle down by lunch time I’m going to A&E, but my partner is now home thankfully.

Thanks for all the advice!

Good luck - really hope you get it seen to soon. And that it’s not too serious.

Have a look at hemiplegic migraine - I get very similar symptoms with those. Do you have triptans for your usual migraine to take?

You need to go to A&E, I went with similar but milder symptoms and was put straight onto the stroke pathway, I'd had a full brain MRI within the hour and they took it very seriously.

Mine turned out to be Bells Palsy but I didn't have the associated head pain, you should definitely get checked.

That’s what I initially thought it was because when I usually get migraines I would eye auras before hand but no I’ve not had any medication for them for about 3 years as I have been pregnant and they took me off the ones I was on.

Try to keep a journal of how the pain is, where it is, what other symptoms, what time of day and anything else that you think might be relevant. Then return to your GP and ask for a referral. Sounds like maybe this could be a migraine related or post viral. Or, it might be related to auto immune response or to a change in hormones. Seeing someone more specialist than a GP is essential though if this becomes painful to try to work out what treatment you could have. Or just go straight to A&E if it gets really painful.

OP if it helps, my similar symptoms took 2.5 weeks to turn into traditional Covid with a cough and runny nose. I also saw the doctor and was told migraine etc, thought I was having a stroke. It was trigeminal neuralgia caused by Covid which had inflamed my facial nerves.

If you look up Bell's Palsy, are any of your symptoms similar?

I had strange feelings like this last week and then my face suddenly drooped, I went to A&E and have just been diagnosed with Bells Palsy. I was worried about another stroke as I had one 3 weeks ago during surgery. You have nothing to lose by going.

My face still feels off but slightly better, but my head is more sore so I think it must be some sort of bad migraine? Hopefully anyway! Going to ring the gp on Monday and see if we can get to the root of it

Yes I’ve looked into it but my face/ eye isn’t droopy and hasn’t been in the last week. It’s just a odd heavy/numb/full sensation