What happened to me at Gröna Lund?

April 23, 2007 7:53 PM

In 1987 I visited a friend in Sweden and we went to the amusement island Gröna Lund. As he shopped at a kiosk, I leaned in to hear the pitch, and began suffering an odd symptom.

The lower half of my face began to tingle and go numb. I had no tearing or nasal symptoms that I can remember.
The experience was limited to a very distinct numbness accompanied with what felt like tiny pins and needles,
kinda like how you feel after you touch fiberglass, perhaps? It was pretty extreme, and lasted over 30 minutes.
I remember thinking that perhaps I had been maced inadvertently, except wouldn't there have been tearing and
other mucosal issues? No breathing problems, either. Just a very disconcerting physiognomical experience.

Later, we saw The Bangles. As disturbing as that is, I suspect that it has no real bearing on the question of what I might have experienced.

posted by thebrokedown to grab bag (10 comments total)

IANAD, but the symptoms are in line with partial (and temporary) paralysis of the facial nerve.

http://www.medicinenet.com/facial_nerve_problems/page2.htm
posted by pmbuko at 8:10 PM on April 23, 2007

ball's palsy ?
posted by dawdle at 10:00 PM on April 23, 2007

It happened 20 years ago, with no recurrence? I'd read about Bell's Palsy, and not worry too much.
posted by jpmack at 10:18 PM on April 23, 2007

Maybe your body was reacting directly to a new and enjoyable experience--in this case something playful and fun. Others didn't experience it, only you; and sensitivity can indicate a need for more of something, such as a need for exercise. Rather than something to be afraid of, the unknown variables are what make travel stimulating and worthwhile.
posted by kapec at 10:33 PM on April 23, 2007

Bell palsy lasts weeks and is primarily a motor phenomenon; the sensory accompaniment takes a back seat.

The poster's describing a complex migraine aura or a transient ischemic attack (TIA). In general, symptoms like this in young healthy people are migraines; in older people, or in people with a history of severe diabetes or high blood pressure, it's a TIA or stroke.

I am so sorry that you had to hear the Bangles.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:50 PM on April 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

Huh, that sounds like what I experienced the one time I had a panic attack. I definitely also had breathing problems going on, though.
posted by crinklebat at 1:01 AM on April 24, 2007

That sounds similar to what used to happened to me when I got severe migraines (a few years ago now). But it would start on the right hand side of my body, in my foot, and travel up through my arm and then reach my face. My entire jaw, mouth, tongue would freeze up, it would be uncomfortable to swallow/breathe and be quite distressing. It would also last for a similar amount of time, at the end of which, I'd vomit. What you've explained sounds similar, especially in terms of the sensation of numbness/tiny pins and needles but on a lesser scale - IANAD, but maybe there was something nearby that triggered the same part of the brain? Noises/lights tend to be an irritant for migraines.
posted by saturnine at 1:42 AM on April 24, 2007

I miss ikkyu2's post, so also what he said. I never had a diagnosis, so now I finally get to google what happened to me! Thankyou!
posted by saturnine at 1:45 AM on April 24, 2007

Did you go on any of the amusment park rides before this happened?

It seems plausible to me that a roller-coaster or a tilt-a-whirl or such could have caused your brain to move around inside your skull enough to, say, pull a nerve through one of the bony channels, then when you leaned forward afterward, the nerve kinked or bulged against the opening, giving rise to your symptoms.
posted by jamjam at 8:40 AM on April 24, 2007

Had you taken any medications in the previous 24hrs? A milder version of what you describe sometimes happens to me when I take naproxen. Almost like I've just gotten out of the dentist's chair after novacaine. Usually very localised around the lower lips and chin, and goes away within about, I dunno, 3hrs?
posted by cocoagirl at 10:36 AM on April 24, 2007