I too have a loss of sensation on the left side of my face. Like most of my symptoms, it comes & goes. I get tingles & buzzing at various times and various parts of my body too. I should say that I am not diagnosed, but I am in the "probable MS" category at this time. I have 1 lesion in the corpus callosum and numerous symptoms.
To test for small fiber neuropathy, they take a small sample from your hip & ankle and analyze (I am not sure how) to see if there is a problem with the nerves. I had this test done in January - it is all a part of ruling out the MS mimics.
Good luck,
Chrisy
Karen, are you diagnosed with MS? Or still in limbo-land?
Paresthesia and loss of sensation are very common in MS. One of my first symptoms was buzzing and numbness in my chin and lip. Now quite a lot of my skin is numb to the touch, and there's a couple of places that have lost pain sensation as well.
I'm really so far from knowledgeable here, so don't take what I say as gospel. It might be a starting point for research, though.
As best I understand it, small fiber neuropathy is a kind of peripheral neuropathy that is not detectable using EMG and similar tests. It affects the sensory nerves close to the skin, and is often found in hands and feet. Decreased sensation in the affected areas is common.
Apparently this is a rule-out diagnosis, so in that sense it's somewhat like MS.
Good luck with getting to the bottom of this.
ess