AboutDina Q Goldin, Ph.D. Expertise Information and advice for Acoustic Neuroma patients who would like honest patient-to-patient interaction about their symptoms or about treatments and related medical procedures. If you are unsure if your experience is "normal", or are wondering whether your information is complete, feel free to ask.
Experience I am an Acoustic Neuroma patient and the founding editor
of the Acoustic Neuroma Patient Archive (http://www.ANarchive.org).
Question I'm a 45-year-old female. About a week ago, I started having excruciating
pain in my left ear to the point where I have been taking a dose of 3 200 mg
ibuprofen tablets to control it every 5 hours or so. The pain feels like a sharp
instrument being plunged into my ear. About the same time as the ear pain
began, I started having numbness around my left ear, up into my scalp, down
my neck into my arm and really bad in my left hand, with a constant pins and
needles feeling. I'm having trouble controlling my hand and arm -- not sure if
it's from the numbness alone or if there's some weakness. I'm also numb
down my side, my hip and into my leg.
I have a history of migraines, but never have had any numbness associated
with them in the past. My only medical condition is a slight case of
hypothyroidism, which is controlled with medication. I have a strong family
history on both sides of arterial disease. However, I've never had any
indicaton that I have any problem with it.
I've just returned from living overseas in the UK, so I don't have a local
doctor. Before these symptoms began, I arranged to see an ENT to get an Rx
for my thyroid medication. He's out on vacation until my appointment in mid-
June. As long as my condition doesn't worsen, should I be ok waiting until I
get into to see this doctor? I'm hoping this is something minor, but the longer
it persists, the more concerned I'm becoming.
Thanks for any help and advice.
Answer Your symptoms sound very serious, especially the fact that you are having trouble controlling your left hand and arm. On the small chance that whatever is impinging on your nerves is fast-growing, I would not wait till mid-June to have it discovered. My recommendation is to treat your symptoms as an emergency, and to have an MRI to find out their cause.
