Expert: Gerald Anzalone, D.C. - 8/19/2009

Question
For the past two to three weeks I have been experiencing a very strange tingling feeling on the back left side of my head kind of near the top. The tingling feels sort of like a numbness, or like something stimulating my hair follicles. It also sometimes feels sort of warm in the same spot. In the past I had some pretty bad migraines and was prescribed a daily medication to prevent the headaches. The medication worked and I eventually stopped taking it. Since then I have not experienced any migraines, but recently have this weird feeling. I am beginning to get worried and I'm not exactly sure what to do. I hit my head a while back, but nothing seemed to be any different until recently. I have also been having  weird clicking feeling in the left side of my chest. This mostly happens when I am laying down and is usually accompanied by very minor chest pains. The clicking feels like something is out of place and it is moving back into place. I don't know if this is related, but should I go see my doctor? Or could this be muscles in my neck and around my jaw, or perhaps something to do with anxiety or nerves? Please help me.

Answer
Caitlin,

I can't diagnose your condition through the Internet, but in general, numbness in the head and chest pain that worsens when laying down are two symptoms that warrant further evaluation by your medical physician. For example, numbness in the head might be a sign of a neurological problem such as occipital neuralgia, which may be best diagnosed by a neurologist; chest pain that worsens at rest might be a sign of a type of angina (decreased blood supply to the heart) such as Prinzmetal's angina. There could be many other causes of these symptoms, so seeing your regular medical physician for further evaluation would be a good idea.