Radiating, pain-like feeling in arm; numb lips

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This Monday morning I woke up, after less than three hours of sleep, with a radiating, pain-like feeling in my left arm, and possibly a bit in my left leg, too. However, the feeling actually wasn't truly painful - just extremely uncomfortable, to put it lightly. I also had a slight numbness in my lips. It then got a bit milder, and I managed to fall asleep, again. A bit later (don't know how long), I woke up without it, but I still felt some discomfort on my left side. I fell asleep, again, but then woke up, some unknown time afterwards, but this time it was even worse than the first time - I actually thought I might have gotten a stroke, as my lips now were almost completely numb, and my feet also were a slight bit numb, and the radiating feeling now was even worse, despite that I even had slept on my right side, after the first time, just in case it maybe was a nerve (even though I know that that doesn't feel anything like it).

Could this be signs of an impending stroke, or whatever else could it possibly be? Heart problem, maybe? Could it be some vitamin or mineral deficiency? I have been eating rather little, for quite some time, now. Or could I maybe have developed some sort of aspartame intolerance? I have heard it can lead to aches, later in life (even if I can't quite classify what I had as a normal type of ache). I had had a bit over three decilitres of Pepsi Max, before going to bed, then - however, I have had more than that, afterwards, with no negative results - only had this experience on Monday. Maybe a tumour? I have had some strange, mostly mild headaches, for quite some time, on the left front side of my head, especially. As it may be relevant, I am male, thirty years old, not using any type of medicines or drugs (except alcohol, but hadn't had it for almost a week, then). I also have used a small amount of kava kava, recently, but that was too long ago to be a likely reason... I also doubt it was the anti-anxiety drug promethazine hydrochloride (irrelevant information, but it doesn't work for me), as I hadn't used it for a couple days before this happened, but I may be wrong... it's also a strong anti-histamine, if that is relevant.

I kind of wonder if I may be dying, soon, due to this. O.o I have never experienced a thing like this in my life, ever.

Last edited by Beauty_pact on 11 Jan 2012, 4:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

A pinched nerve in your spine comes to mind. Certain mineral imbalances can also cause tingling, usually in the extremities. You should see a doctor.

It wasn't a tingling feeling, though... still, what minerals would that be?

Would a pinched nerve lead to numb lips, too?

Ugh, I don't really want to see a doctor. =_= It smells so horrible in that hospital. -_-;

I could not tell you which specific minerals. It's advisable that you see a doctor.

You should go to your doctor.

Please go to the Doctor!

I third the advise to go and see a doctor. But in addition, you could try a mixture of electrolytes, glucose and minerals that is sold in pharmacies and drugstores. I occasionally take this in a glass of water when I can't eat much due to my Crohn's and feel truly awful, and it always helps a lot.

Speaking of water, make sure that you drink enough. Dehydration can also cause circulatory problems with symptoms like numbness of extremities. But if you're suffering from an electrolyte and/or mineral imbalance, drinking pure water is ill advised. Better mix it with some apple juice.

Based on the fact that the pain/discomfort is radiating down only one side of your body, my first thought was that it could be something orthopedic-related, like Chronos suggested. I had something similar on my right side, after being rear-ended in a traffic accident and winding up with a neck injury.

You should see a doctor and they will probably want to take some x-rays or an MRI to help them determine a diagnosis. Chances are that the news you'll get will not be as scary as you think; sometimes knowing what's actually going on is much better than worrying about the unknown.