facial numbness from vaping

[redrock]

Hi all,

Looking for anyone who may have experienced any facial numbness from vaping. It feels like Novocain wearing off. I have been vaping for 4 yrs approx. with no issues. About a yr ago I had a tingle in my lip which has increased to full frontal facial numbness and tip of the tounge. Now my eyes burn and have pressure behind them. I have been to every Dr and specialist and all tests come back perfect. I stopped vaping for a few days and didn't feel any better. Would it take weeks or months maybe? Just so frustrated and would love to hear from anyone who has had this or similar experience.

Thanks...

 

[AndriaD]

I've never experienced anything like that. Have they tested you for allergies? Also, something called "Bell's Palsy" springs to mind; I knew a girl with that, in high school, and it affected her whole face, but mostly around her mouth; apparently the tissue was numb, which resulted in virtual paralysis of the affected part of her face -- she always seemed to be sneering at everything, though she was in fact a lovely, charming person who didn't have the attitude of sneering at anything.

The thing is, it might have nothing at all to do with vaping -- the fact that you've been vaping for 4 yrs, but this just began about a year ago, would seem to suggest either that, or that it's an allergy which is progressively becoming more sensitive.

Andria

 

[Lori2014]

Have you been for allergy testing? It might not be vaping related. I had something similar from the nicotine patch, but it stopped when I stopped the patch.

 

[salemgold]

I have been vaping for 5 years and have never experienced anything like that from vaping. Have you been to a Neurologist? Could it be some type of pinched nerve/ nerve damage? I am not a doc but have had nerve issues that cause similar to what you are describing. Nerves are strange in that you could have compressed nerve in a totally different area causing numbness in your face.

Good luck to you.

 

[redrock]

Thanks for your responses. Yes have been to 2 different neurologists, rhuemotologists, allergists/immunologists, endocrinologists, even the ER twice. They are clueless and its driving me slowly insane. I did read that pg can in extreme cases cause facial numbness, but when I stopped vaping for those few days I felt no better. I'm wondering if it takes awhile to leave the body before I would notice lessening of the symptoms.

 

[bman1977]

See a doctor.

 

[Baditude]

Bell's Palsy came to my mind, too.

I question whether your symptoms are vape related. You'd already been vaping for four years before the symptoms appeared. And the symptoms persisted even after you stopped vaping for several days.

Sorry that you've developed these symptoms. I'm sorry that I can't offer more help.

 

[bman1977]

Thanks for your responses. Yes have been to 2 different neurologists, rhuemotologists, allergists/immunologists, endocrinologists, even the ER twice. They are clueless and its driving me slowly insane. I did read that pg can in extreme cases cause facial numbness, but when I stopped vaping for those few days I felt no better. I'm wondering if it takes awhile to leave the body before I would notice lessening of the symptoms.

Find better doctors.

 

[Completely Average]

Hi all,

Looking for anyone who may have experienced any facial numbness from vaping. It feels like Novocain wearing off. I have been vaping for 4 yrs approx. with no issues. About a yr ago I had a tingle in my lip which has increased to full frontal facial numbness and tip of the tounge. Now my eyes burn and have pressure behind them. I have been to every Dr and specialist and all tests come back perfect. I stopped vaping for a few days and didn't feel any better. Would it take weeks or months maybe? Just so frustrated and would love to hear from anyone who has had this or similar experience.

Thanks...

It sounds like a mild case or start of Bell's Palsy to me. (I've had bilateral Bells Palsy before) Have someone look at your eyes. Close your eyes (normally, not tight) and have that person see if you're eyelids are fully closed. If they aren't 100% closed without you trying to squeeze them closed then you've almost certainly got Bell's Palsy.

Bell's Palsy wouldn't show up on a test, and if it's affecting both sides of your face it's probably not something your normal doctor would even consider checking for. It's damage to your 7th cranial nerve causing paralysis or partial paralysis of the face. The cause is unknown but it can be treated with steroids which usually results in a full to almost full recovery. Normally it only affects half the face, but in very rare cases such as mine, it is bilateral, affecting both sides of the face.

Doctors are very likely to miss or misdiagnose bilateral Bell's Palsy because it's so rare. It only affects about 400 people per year in the US and most doctors have never seen a case.

The first signs are a tingling and/or numbness of the nose and mouth area and tongue, followed by a loss of taste or things start having a strange, almost brackish taste. Eyelids won't fully close (I had to use eyedrops and tape my eyelids closed at night). As it progresses and becomes more severe the person will get full facial paralysis and be unable to move their facial features at all, and the muscles may begin to droop.

Like I said. Have someone watch your eyes as you close your eyelids normally. If they aren't closing fully then you'll probably need to go to an emergency room, tell them that you suspect Bell's Palsy, and they'll refer you to a neurologist. If that's what it is then you'll want to be seen and start treatment as soon as possible. The faster you start treatment the more likely you are to have a full recovery.

 

[redrock]

Have you been to a neurologist?

It sounds like a mild case or start of Bell's Palsy to me. (I've had bilateral Bells Palsy before) Have someone look at your eyes. Close your eyes (normally, not tight) and have that person see if you're eyelids are fully closed. If they aren't then you've almost certainly got Bell's Palsy.

Bell's Palsy wouldn't show up on a test, and if it's affecting both sides of your face it's probably not something your normal doctor would even consider. It's damage to your 7th cranial nerve causing paralysis or partial paralysis of the face. The cause is unknown but it can be treated with steroids which usually results in a full to almost full recovery. Normally it only affects half the face, but in very rare cases such as mine, it is bilateral, affecting both sides of the face. The first signs are a tingling of the nose and mouth area and tongue, and a loss of taste or things start having a strange, almost brackish taste. Eyelids won't fully close (I had to use eyedrops and tape my eyelids closed at night). As it progresses and becomes more severe the person will get full facial paralysis and be unable to move their facial features at all, and the muscles may begin to droop.

Like I said. Have someone watch your eyes as you close your eyelids normally. If they aren't closing fully then you'll probably need to go to an emergency room, tell them that you suspect Bell's Palsy, and they'll refer you to a neurologist. If that's what it is then you'll want to be seen and start treatment as soon as possible. The faster you start treatment the more likely you are to have a full recovery.

Thanks for the suggestion,

They have ruled bells palsy out, along with MS, tumors, strokes, vit & mineral deficiencies, also ruled out Lyme disease, and hormone deficiency.

Just sucks not knowing if I'm causing all this to myself by vaping every day. May just have to quit for a few weeks or a month to be sure. Going to be harder than quitting analogs as I absolutely love vaping.

 

[AndriaD]

Thanks for your responses. Yes have been to 2 different neurologists, rhuemotologists, allergists/immunologists, endocrinologists, even the ER twice. They are clueless and its driving me slowly insane. I did read that pg can in extreme cases cause facial numbness, but when I stopped vaping for those few days I felt no better. I'm wondering if it takes awhile to leave the body before I would notice lessening of the symptoms.

As to how long... I guess it would really depend on the person, and the type of reaction. I do know that when I tried vaping higher VG, using 67PG/33VG instead of 80PG/20VG, when I discovered that that much more VG was making me breathless and feeling like I had a hairball in my windpipe and so went back to 80/20 or 85/15, I had a *little* relief after just a few days, but it took over a week for the ill effects of the VG to really go completely away.

But that's only if the symptoms are related to vaping; they *could* be, of course, since it is a *relatively* new thing to your body, but really the long lag between onset of vaping and onset of symptoms does seem to make vaping a somewhat unlikely causation.

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Thanks for the suggestion,

They have ruled bells palsy out, along with MS, tumors, strokes, vit & mineral deficiencies, also ruled out Lyme disease, and hormone deficiency.

Just sucks not knowing if I'm causing all this to myself by vaping every day. May just have to quit for a few weeks or a month to be sure. Going to be harder than quitting analogs as I absolutely love vaping.

What about shingles? It's a neurological problem, caused by a virus.

Andria

 

[Completely Average]

How exactly did they rule out Bell's Palsy?

There's not a test for Bell's Palsy. Especially bilateral Bell's Palsy. It's usually diagnosed through process of elimination. When all other possibilities are eliminated through testing you're diagnosed with Bell's. It would be extremely unusual for them to rule that out without having another known cause. In fact it would be virtually impossible to rule it out without another known cause.

It's possible that your symptoms were so mild that they ruled it out simply because it wasn't extreme enough for them to tell that nerve damage was the issue. Usually people with Bells have severe cases where half the face is completely paralyzed. They may have ruled it out simply because your case wasn't that extreme. Also, like I said, Bell's almost always effects only half the face and if you're showing symptoms on both sides they may have overlooked the possibility that it was bilateral.

But your symptoms are nearly identical to what mine were at the onset. Tingling feeling at the nose and mouth along with a slight feeling of numbness, and eye irritation as well as a feeling of pressure on the eyeballs. The eye irritation was because my eyelids weren't closing completely and the eyeball was drying out. That's exactly what I felt.

Has your sense of smell and/or sense of taste changed at all? Do you seem to be more sensitive to bright lights than normal? If you look at yourself in the mirror and make faces (Smiling, grimace, frown, angry) do you notice any reduction in the movement? Are both sides of your face moving equally?

And have you tried the eye test? That's going to be the tell-all. Even if the other symptoms aren't very progressed, if you're eyelids aren't shutting completely on their own then you've certainly got nerve damage. It was the first thing that tipped off the doctors with my problem. I saw the doctor soon enough that I still had full facial movement, and even my wife didn't notice anything unusual, but the doctor asked me to close my eyes and immediately noticed that both of my eyelids stopped closing with about a half mm gap still opened. Just a tiny slit, but enough they could see the eyelids weren't fully closed.

 

[redrock]

I'm not sure why they ruled it out. They told me that all facial movement was normal and equal on both sides. I am going to a very reputable neurologist in a week for another option, and will bring up what you have been through to get his take. Maybe this will help with a possible diagnosis.
I do remember the one Dr saying that bells palsy will clear on its own normally and that the symptoms come and go. Mine have been getting worse for note than a year. The symptoms are with me 24\7 365. I just want an answer at this point no matter how bad or serious as not knowing is driving me nuts.

Anyway, thanks for all the good responses, its greatly appreciated.

 

[Mimikim1234]

I had some weird lip tingling about a week ago (it lasted 2 days, on and off). It felt like my lip was vibrating at first, then it felt a little numb. At first I thought I overdid the nicotine, and then I thought it was my device (it happened usually as I was pulling the vapor into my mouth, and would sometimes last for a few minutes after).

I never did figure out what caused it. It seems to be gone now, and I'm still using the same devices and juices that coincided with the tingling.

 

[bacc.vap]

I had some weird lip tingling about a week ago (it lasted 2 days, on and off). It felt like my lip was vibrating at first, then it felt a little numb. At first I thought I overdid the nicotine, and then I thought it was my device (it happened usually as I was pulling the vapor into my mouth, and would sometimes last for a few minutes after).

I never did figure out what caused it. It seems to be gone now, and I'm still using the same devices and juices that coincided with the tingling.

I've had a similar situation with lip tingling and it was definitely caused by one particular stainless steel rba mouthpiece. It would happen every time I used it. Eventually the symptoms went away, but it was surely either the steel or some contamination from the manufacturing process that eventually got washed off.

 

[Asbestos4004]

I'm sorry this is happening to you. You seem quite convinced its from vaping. If thats the case, you should stop vaping.
You've been given some excellent advice and suggestions here....but you're in an internet forum. If your face is going numb, you need to stay on the doctors until they figure it out. I could say "facial numbness? Yep....gotta boil your driptips in white vinegar and stop using nichrome...." But I would be wrong. Seek advice from the professionals. Its your face we're talking about.....not whether vapor stains curtains.

 

[AndriaD]

Could be a nickel ally in the steel; apparently nickel is one of the most allergenic metals to humans. 10k gold, if alloyed with nickel, makes my skin turn black and itch.

Andria