Numb Chin Syndrome
Posted , 56 users are following.
So I have a small spot on the tip of my chin that is numb, like feeling like how it would feel if a dentist gave you anesthesia. Just numb. I thought maybe a shaved to close and cut it making it numb. Then after taking it for maybe a month or so, I decided to see what could be done about it. I instead found out about Numb Chin Syndrome. Everything I read is this is fatal within months due to cancer. Although I have read it can also be cause by diabetes neuropathy (I'm a type 1 diabetic for about 35 years now, so I'm praying to god that's what causing it, although I don't really have much other neuropathy in my body, so that kinda seems like a stretch), and I've also read anxiety can cause it (And of course I've had anxiety most of my life). Anyways, to the point, suddenly I'm starting to get TMJ symptoms, earaches when sleeping, dull headaches that last a few seconds and then go away... Should I go to the doctor and see about getting an MRI scan, knowing if it comes back positive for cancer of any kind, I'm probably going to die soon and have most of my remaining time spent in a hospital instead of out in the world living, as well as leaving behind my wife (who does think this all in my head) and 10 & 8 year old kids, which the thought of is pushing me towards depression. I'm at a complete loss for what to do here and scared and feel so lonely. Thank you in advance for anyone who has any advice...
2 likes, 260 replies
jacqueline09409 nate73255
Edited
Just wanted to thank you all for this thread, i started having tingling in my lower left chin a few days ago (it comes and goes) and thought nothing of it until I did a surface google search...oh man was that a bad idea! This is literally the only positive discussion I've seen online regarding this phenomenon (positive meaning some have had it a while now with no cancer progression/malignancy). Anyway I see my GP on Thursday but thank you for sharing your stories and tests you've gotten it gives my things to advocate for for myself. I do have TMJ as well as have many other symptoms consistent with either MS, Lupus, and/or vasculitis so I am hoping it is just another piece of that puzzle (or better just benign)
ka76550 jacqueline09409
Posted
Hey welcome. Just an update I've had bloods back and they're all clear, upped my vitamins especially b and have been free of tingly chin for two weeks. Also morning neck stretches and evening if I remember. I'll be back for comments and let u all know if it returns xx
fiona71381 ka76550
Posted
I found a lump just above my left breast near the armpit today while checking myself in the shower. It's about the size of a marble, feels hard and doesn't move and there isn't one in the same place on the other side. My partner was able to feel the lump too.
I'm feeling quite scared now 😦 It's been 2 months since the right side of my chin went numb and nearly 2 weeks since it spread over my whole chin. I hate going to my GP but if I still feel it tomorrow I'm going to have to phone them.
Hi Jacqueline, yeah Dr Google if frightening isn't it haha!! Goodluck with your appointment on Thursday, hopefully it goes well and your Dr has enough awareness to know to fully investigate it for you. Keep us posted with how you get on.
Thats great news! I bet you are so relieved!! Has your Dr referred you to neurology to be checked out? Hopefully that's it gone for good 😃)
fiona71381
Posted
Sorry, the last part was for you Kay 😃
fiona71381
Posted
I mean Ka.... I need coffee lol
kristen69526 fiona71381
Posted
i'll keep you in my prayers Fiona! hopefully your body is just fighting off a virus or something. big hugs and positive thoughts!
abbie52983 nate73255
Edited
Hey guys! I'm so glad I've found this thread! I'm very new to all this numb chin and lip. I had horrid toothache over the last 7 weeks or so which git worse and worse and due to the virus, i couldn't get seen. i finally got referred to emergency dentist 2weeks ago to get the tooth out as i was in absolute agony, with my tooth, jaw, spreading up to my ear and head, honestly the worst. i didn't have the numb chin and lip until the day before i was due to see the dentist to have my tooth out. I was just sat down and i got this tingle in my lip and it felt like I was getting a cold sore but i felt it spreading over my lower left lip and chin in a matter of 20 mins. Dentist said it will come back once the tooth is out. Had my tooth outs and had lots of relief from my toothache but i still had the numb chin/lip. Dentist wanted to see my in two weeks Which was yesterday. She was concerned as i and has now referred me to the hospital. She said it not my teeth causing the problem. I came home and Googled 😳 Of course i have exactly the right symptoms for NCS. I am a complete wreck and i am convinced i now have cancer. I have three young children and i keep crying thinking I'm not going to be around to see them grow up. I really cant shake this feeling. This thread is the only thing i found that's giving me a bit of comfort. I also suffer with health anxiety but i had never heard of this condition until recently so it not in my head, I've had it for two weeks and its constant. i just thought it was nerve damage due to my tooth. I really don't know what to do with myself and i have to was for my referral to co e through. I have no idea what's ahead but I'm definitely in a real bad way. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated! Sorry this is so long and probably doesn't make sense, I'm just writing this in a major panic. I hope you are all keeping well. xx
fiona71381 abbie52983
Posted
Thanks Kristen. Hi Abbie, i think we all know how you feel right now. I'm over 2 months now, started with the right side of my chin tingling, then went more numb, then spread to my whole chin. Now I've found a lump on my breast.
I also have a few swollen lymph nodes on my neck and head and ears. I have been mostly grounded, looking at it being something simple, but with all this I find myself bursting into tears because it doesn't look good at all.
Has your dentist ruled out a dental cause? is the hospital appointment for the dental hospital?
I'm hoping my neurologist will see me this month. An urgent referral was made 2 or 3 weeks ago but with corona everything is put off.
The good thing you can take from this thread is that no one has been diagnosed with anything really bad and some have had the numbness and tingling for over 2 years. Hopefully the hospital get to the bottom of yours quickly.
Have you informed your GP? They will want to do blood tests to rule out other things, worth giving them a phone.
mandy1983 abbie52983
Edited
Hi Abbie! I’m so sorry you’re here worrying but just know you aren’t alone. I’m glad you found some comfort in this thread because I think all of us that came here needed it. The internet is terrifying when it come to NCS so it’s nice that there’s a place that you can go to that doesn’t just have a bunch of gloom and doom. It’s been over a year and a half for me with this numb lip and chin thing. I still have days that I get completely tore up. You can go back and see that in my posts. But the point is, it isn’t what the horrible articles we’ve all read says it is all the time. Some of us have never gotten answers. We may never. But the fact that we’re still here talking about it makes it a lot less scary for us.
I’m praying for you and everyone else on this post. It always makes me sad to see anyone come here afraid like we all were at one time or another.
mandy1983 fiona71381
Posted
Hi Fiona! I too found a lump right where you're describing but i had one smaller on the opposite side. I saw a breast on oncologist and she sent me for an ultrasound but they couldn't find the spot on the ultrasound. Very frustrating. Anyways, my mind always comes back to that when I have this tingling feeling. Like they're totally missing something and I really do have BC.
mandy1983 fiona71381
Posted
Also, I wanted to add that I have a swollen lymph node in my neck, and one on the same side in front of my ear. There's a sore spot right under my jawbone from time to time too. I have no idea if that's just coincidence or something to do with the numb chin thing. Just wanted to add these things in case anyone else has experienced the same.
fiona71381 mandy1983
Posted
Hi Mandy, sorry for the late reply. Have you been getting any more bother from the lump on your breast?
I had my ultrasound. Luckily it showed the lumps were just fatty lumps... just like me haha!
I finally spoke to a neurologist. Because of corona it was just a telephone consultation. He thinks my arm and leg numbness, headaches and flashes in my vision are migraines. He does not think they are related to the numb chin and was very interested to hear it had spread to the whole chin. He thinks something is pressing on my trigeminal nerve. I also told him about the lumps on the back of my neck which he thinks are swollen lymph nodes. Obviously he can't know for sure because he can't examine me. I have an MRI booked for Monday afternoon so hopefully it sheds a light on what is going on. How long roughly do the results take? I'm hoping it isn't weeks!
I get the jaw pain too! It's an achy pain, like I have toothache but I know I don't. I have also been getting stabbing pains in and around my ears and jaw joints, often followed by a dull ache. I hope I get to speak to the neurologist again as the phone call was so short I never got to ask about all these things.
I hope you are all keeping well.
mandy1983 nate73255
Posted
Does anyone else ever have pain in their collarbone? I get it quite often and wonder if it's something to do with all of this or something totally different. I have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but that normally just hurts in my fingers and sometimes my toes. I also have a mixed connective tissue disease but have been told that the whole numb chin thing wouldn't go along with that. I also still have the puffy gum that comes and goes on one the bottom teeth on the same side, so who knows. There are so many things it could be but my mind always seems to go to the big C because of what I read when this first started happening. I wish I could go back and un-read it!
james78430 nate73255
Posted
Hello Everyone,
So ive googled numb chin because thats what i have at the moment. From reading the replies on this thread, i assume that you read the same as me, man goes in hospital with numb chin, dies 5 weeks later.
Unfortunately because of Dr. Google, im now fraught with worry. I suffer from health anxiety for which i take medication but this latest googling has sent me into overdrive.
Ive had sinusitis for the past month or so which has also caused glue ear. I had some pain in my jaw which i associated the sinus problem with but 3 days ago i started to notice that my chin had a numb feeling.
Ive got a filling that has come loose so i assumed that was what was causing the pain in my jaw but as i said i googled numb chin, now im convinced i have an aggressive form of cancer.
I have some antibiotics if the tooth thing is an abscess.
What were some of your symptoms? Could you feel your chin when you poked it or was there no feeling at all? Did you feel unwell? I feel ok in myself, other than a runny nose and the glue ear.
My numbness seems to come and go and the more i think about it, the more numb it seems to be.
Sorry for the long message, just wanted to let people know the history.
Thanks for reading. James.
mandy1983 james78430
Posted
Hi James! I'm sorry you're here but goad you found us. Yes, I'm pretty sure we've all read the same articles. They're the worst. But people here are living proof that those articles are wrong.
My numbness seems to come and go and also feels worse the more I think about it. Like today, I was going about my day not thinking about it too much and then I ran my hand over my lip/chin and the down the spiral I went. I have little zapping and buzzing feelings on my lip, chin, and face at times too. This is all really puzzling to anyone I mention it to. Sometimes I'll go for a couple of days without thinking about it. At one point I went a few weeks without it. It was great! But it always comes back. I'm not sure if it's due to health anxiety or if it's really as bad as I think it is.
Hang in there. Go to your dentist and see what he thinks it might be. It could have something to do with your loose filling. Keep us posted!
james78430 mandy1983
Posted
Hi Mandy, thanks for taking time out of your day to reply to me.
I made an appointment with my Dr today and explained my concerns. He did a few neurological tests and checked my jaw for operation but ultimately, he thinks the reason for the numb feeling is my tooth. An infection would press down on the mental nerve causing irritation. He said that if the problem still persists after the course of antibiotics, then the dentist will have a good idea and able to tell me more. He also said that my anxiety is not helping things. He said its very, very unlikely to be cancer. He seemed shocked that i even suggested it.
It's weird because if i don't think about the numbness, it goes away too. I too have little sharp pains in my lips that come and go and in my cheek. I've also noticed since leaving the doctors that i have pain at the top of my jaw on the left side and a headache.
Arrrgh!! i just hate it all!! Anxiety is the worst!!
abbie52983 james78430
Posted
Hi james and thanks Fiona and Mandy for my last reply. Im 4 weeks in now with my numb/chin. I have been fast tracked to javr a MRI scan on my head and neck next week also and have had bloods taken. I am absolutely terrified by why they will find and im convinced I'm dying. I too James thought it was related to my toothache that i had for weeks and weeks ending in having my tooth out.m but the numbess is still there. They said it nothing to do with my tooth now and thats why i am being sent for all these tests. it's literally Mani me feel sick 24/7 and i can't take my mind off of it. Mine feels like pins and needles in the lower left chin and lip and the corner of my mouth is the worst. its not completely numb, i can still feel it, it feels swollen but it isnt. I have also been getting minor headache on the sane side and every now and then i get a sharp stabbing pain shoot over my head on the same side.
Fiona and Mandy? how you getting on since finding a lump? you mention about having jaw pain and a pain in the collarbone..i do get this and my glands under my armpit feel swollen. i suffer bad with health anxiety bit this is real. I keep hoping it's my anxiety tricking me but it really isn't, its there! just yesterday i have noticed a on the side of my left baby finger has a numb/tingling feeling too. i am just driving myself mad with worry. There is so much more i could write but my mind has gone blank now Sorry about my long post, i just dont know what to to with myself. im so glad i found this group though. xx
Colesy james78430
Posted
Hi James/Everyone
I'm pretty much in the same position as you.
Toothache on and off for a few months no other health concerns. It was last weekend I had really bad toothache and late Saturday evening my lip went numb and so did my lower jaw and chin on the left side. Managed to see a dentist on Monday who 'thinks' it's an infection as nothing on the x-ray shows an obvious sign for the numbness. There's no clear sign of an abscess nor obvious tooth decay though it's been painful to bite down on.
Dentist prescribed amoxycillin for five days to clear the infection. Chin and lip still the same.
Of course, I googled numb chin and lower lip and have been worried sick since then. i seem to tick every box of a worse case scenario without even trying.
I'm not a worrier about health (not in a stereotypical macho way!) but this has NCS has genuinely knocked me for six and for 72 hours my mental stress has reached breaking point. I'm 43 years old though the worry has added another 15.
I'm seeing my dentist again today and I'll be referencing NCS and case studies, not because I know more but because I'd like to be informed and get them thinking about it.
I found this forum this morning and it's the only positive thing I've found on NCS symptoms so far.
I'll update later after my dentist visit
Colesy
Posted
Just a an update...
Just got back from the dentist and explained that whilst possibly irrational to her, I've been worried sick after reading about Numb Chin Syndrome. In fairness she listened to all my concerns but in her "30 years dental experience" she's 99.9% certain it's to do with the toothache.
I mentioned MRI's, whilst apologising that I'm not a 72hr Phd doctor, and she stated that she'd need to remove what she believe was the cause of the problem - either a root canal or extraction which is scheduled for the 21st. Then I could be referred if the problem persists. In her own words my numbness is down to the tooth and I can still feel sharp sensations on the affected area.
She highlighted what she believed to be the infection and why there was nothing else to suggest anything sinister. I responded that NCS is often missed as the x-ray isn't enough. He did take this on board but asked me to trust her experience and medical judgement.
I'm still worried, more down to the wait but I'll let everyone know how I get on.