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Brain issue or medicine side effect?
For the past 3 days I’ve had heaviness + quick fatigue in my R hand — I can hold my phone but after some time it gets heavy/painful and I must put it down.
Mild intermittent numbness on the Right cheek and dizziness/“out of it” feeling. R leg is normal, and there is no actual loss of strength — all activities on the R side can still be done normally.
I have OCD meds were stopped for 4–5 days, then restarted; Zolpidem increased to 10–12.5 mg ( now sustained release.. Symptoms began after this. I had a similar episode last year; MRI brain then was normal.
Want to know if this is med/anxiety-related or needs neuro eval.
Hi,
The pattern you describe- heaviness and quick fatigue in the right hand, intermittent cheek numbness, and a disconnected/dizzy feeling without true weakness- is less suggestive of a structural neurological disorder and more consistent with medication-related effects or anxiety-related sensory symptoms.
Several points support this:
A. Your strength and function are preserved, which is reassuring.
B. Symptoms began soon after restarting your OCD medications and increasing Zolpidem, which can cause dizziness, muscle fatigue, sensory changes, and dissociation-like feelings, especially at higher or sustained-release doses.
C. You’ve had a similar episode in the past with a normal MRI, reducing the likelihood of an acute neurological disease.
D. Anxiety can produce limb heaviness, paresthesias (numbness/tingling), and altered body sensation- especially when medications are changing.
However, while this picture is reassuring, any new neurological symptom still deserves a careful review by a clinician.
Next Steps
1. Contact your prescribing psychiatrist to review recent medication changes- dose adjustments, timing, or switching formulations may reduce these sensations.
2. Monitor for red flag symptoms: progressive weakness, facial drooping, slurred speech, difficulty walking, or worsening numbness. If any appear, seek urgent medical attention.
3. If symptoms persist beyond a few days or worsen despite medication review, consider a neurology opinion, but repeat MRI is usually not required unless new deficits appear.
4. Maintain hydration, regular sleep, and avoid over-monitoring the sensations- anxiety feedback loops can intensify physical symptoms.
5. If anxiety is high, grounding or breathing techniques may reduce the “out-of-it” feeling.
Health Tips
For more queries, Reach out for an online or in-person consultation:
📞 NEURONAL FIX CLINIC, RAMPRASTHA COLONY, Ghaziabad, (near Shreshtha Vihar, Delhi)- +91- 74XX52XX97XX67XX61
Answered
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