[cruzin4us]

Hi,
I find myself almost on a daily basis getting facial tingling/numbing primarily on my right side of my face.  This has been going on off and on for over 2 years.

I've had an MRI & CAT scan to make sure there wasn't a brain tumor....  I've tried PAXIL for a 4 months but that didn't seem to help.  I did some self medicating, and found that Klonopin seems to help (I take a half of a 0.5 mg tablet, if I take more it makes me too sleepy) usually, within 10 minutes I notice the tingling seems to disappear.  

Has anyone else ever heard of treating something like this??  

Am I just having mild panic attacks on a daily basis?  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Laurie

[Ylide]

Are you having any other symptoms of anxiety besides the tingling?  I had issues with anxiety attacks a while back and had some tingling/numbness in my extremities but that was by far the least of the problems...  

Klonopin and drugs in that class work by potentiating GABA binding to its receptors on presynaptic neurons.  GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system...benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and alcohol all stimulate the binding of GABA to GABA-A receptors, inhibiting all kinds of biochemical activations, including things like your facial tingling.  

To put it shortly, it may or may not be anxiety.  It's good that you had some tests done...if your only symptom is the facial tingling I don't know that it's worth risking a benzo addiction to treat it.  See a neurologist to rule out anything serious.  



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