Sudden arm numbness - Should I go to the ER?

I was just in the middle of a little over an hour drive to have dinner with my girlfriend’s family when my right arm suddenly, within the span of a few seconds, became numb to the touch, rather stiff, and somewhat weak.

For the past week I have been experiencing dizziness and trouble balancing (though that seemed somewhat improved today) as well as periodic numbness and tingling and my right hand and fingers, all of which I figured was just due to the lyme and co., but the suddenness of my whole right arm going numb now seems much more concerning alongside those other symptoms. It was also accompanied by a brief head/neck ache on the right side as well.

Should I treat this as a sign of something serious and go to the ER? Or could sudden arm numbness be from lyme? This is an important dinner and I’d rather not have to go to the ER for something thats lyme-related which the doctors likely wouldn’t be able to do much for, but I don’t want to overlook the possibility of something more dangerous.

Go to the ER. Your entire arm suddenly going numb could be the result of a very serious acute medical problem. It may not be, but it's way better to be safe. No one will laugh at you for going to the ER for something like that. They'll probably rush you in.

Go to the ER and get it checked.



That was my first symptom - I woke up with excruciating pain from my left shoulder blade up the back of my neck...and my left arm was limp and numb.

They didn't check me out for heart issues though....jeez.

How are you doing now?

Thanks for the update! Glad you're ok.

You should go to ER but don't worry i have permanent numb in some parts of my body... but you must go to ER... it could be more serious or nothing caused by lyme...

In my case my numb is justified by polyneuropathy but i've had numb prior to it and tests didn't show anything.