Bell's Palsy?

[reflection]

I didn't know what it was before yesterday. I sure do now. Scared the bejeezus out of me.

Lost complete feeling in the left side of my face, can't close my left eye or move the left side of my lips. Thought for sure I had taken the express lane to a stroke even though it's confined to my face and not my limbs.

Doctor says it's Bells Palsy and I'm probably stuck this way for 4-6 weeks, drooling all over myself and taping my eye shut at night.

Has anyone else dealt with this? I hate to complain because it's relatively minor compared to what some people are going through. But boy is this some miserable stuff. I sound like a drunken W when I speak and also look like Dick Cheney with the curled lip and sneer. This is the most horrifying thing of all, I think.

[HopeHoops]

1. My boss was hit with that like 17 years ago. He recovered in about two months.

He said some people never do. It was pretty weird, but we all supported him and he kept his spirits up. Try to do the same.

[reflection]

2. 2 months sounds a bit longer than most.

So weird. I never really knew about this, but now that I have it, I'm shocked at the number of people who have had or knew someone who had it. Almost all of them said 4-6 weeks.

This morning I took a shower and went to dry my hair with a towel. I accidentally scraped the towel across my eyeball because it was wide open. Hurt like a SOB. Just one of those things that I take for granted that I've got to stay on guard for.

But yeah, the minute I start moping around I realize how lucky I am compared to many many others and I snap back to center again.

[HopeHoops]

5. Just hang in there. It almost always goes away but it ROYALLY sucks while you have it.

They didn't know what he had for a few days. That was a while ago. As far as I know, there isn't anything they can do to treat it. You just have to wait it out.

[reflection]

6. thanks

:hug:

[JCMach1]

3. My wife got it when pregnant with our second daughter

She was not a happy camper... But, it will go away in time!

[reflection]

4. Pregnancy is so hard on women

I can only imagine how miserable your wife was to have BP as well.

My heart broke both times when my wife was in the later stages of her two pregnancies. It was really hot and she looked so defeated most of the time. I can't imagine if she had to deal with this nonsense too.

I'm glad your wife got through it ok - she's probably able to laugh about it now, I suppose.

[JCMach1]

26. It hit her she had it when she was eating soup and it just started dribbling from the corner of her

[superduperfarleft]

7. My mom got it when she was pregnant with me.

I have no idea what treatments are like now, but back then, she couldn't be treated for it until she'd given birth. It pretty much permanently paralyzed the lower-right side of her face (she can blink, close her eyes, etc. but can't smile on that side). Funny, I've never seen her be able to do a full smile, so that half-smile she's always done looks totally normal to me.

One of the millions of reasons I'm staunchly pro-choice: pregnancy is, at its core, nothing more than a medical condition with numerous health risks, and a woman should have the right to terminate that risk at any time.

[alsame]

8. It happened to a good friend as a result of a tick bite. She had the

same symptoms you do, but fully recovered and there were no lasting effects. This was about 10 years ago and it never happened again. You'll be fine in a few weeks.

[reflection]

11. Thanks! n/t

[Phentex]

9. You can get therapy for it...

babies have it sometimes and an occupational therapist can help.

Healing vibes to you!

[reflection]

10. I'm learning all kinds of new stuff today. Thanks! n/t

[mentalsolstice]

12. George Clooney had it when he was young

Seems to have worked out well for him. Keep your chin and spirits up!

[reflection]

13. I'm not exactly George Clooney.

I have been told I have a face for radio. :D

[IMATB]

14. My sister has it

It appeared after a nasty viral infection. She was scared too. Her face was as you described. I can't recall if she takes anything for it other than just letting it go away itself. She has had three episodes since the first one and for some odd reason, they all came on during a time of extreme stress.

She takes pictures of her face when it happens. Other than that, she's healthy.

Don't worry too much. It comes and goes. Maybe you'll get lucky and not have another one. I can say this, none of my sister's other episodes were as bad as the first one.

[old mark]

15. My sister had it many years ago. She got over it and has never had

any problems with it again.

It IS scarey, though.

You will recover - hang in.

mark

[denbot]

16. My B.I.L had it

He just woke up that way. It took him almost a year to recover completely, but hang in there and stay positive.

[gratuitous]

17. Sounds like demonic possession to me

Would you mind stepping over to this stake, please?

[reflection]

21. (stepping forward)

:evilfrown:

(that's the only demonic smilie I could find)

[Maine-ah]

18. I had it when I was 18

scary as all shit, right We thought I had a stroke or something! I recovered about 99% of the feeling in my face.

Good luck! I'm sorry that you're going through this. Not fun at all.

[nolabear]

19. Poor you! My father had it years ago. It did slowly go away

and it was as if it had never happened. Drove him a little nuts for a while, but apparently is benign.

[distantearlywarning]

20. Friend of mine had that once.

He did recover - took a month or so. I felt bad for him. :-( Good luck with a speedy recovery!

[reflection]

22. Thanks to everyone

I was pretty depressed yesterday and this morning but it makes me feel better to know that so many people had it and recovered. Thank you for letting me draw some strength from your stories. I am going to be positive about this.

[lunatica]

23. I think Amy Goodman got it for a while

She kept doing the Democracy Now show but had to explain what she had because so many people called and wrote in asking if she was OK. She's fine now.

[postulater]

24. Had it on my right side. Went to the chiropractor. 2 weeks.

[Bombero1956]

25. I've had it twice

first time was during a very hot summer day. I was driving around with the AC cranked and blowing right on my face. I stopped for some food and when I took a drink the soda dribbled all over my shirt. Then I noticed that my left eye was blinking. I went right to the doctor who told me it was Bells Palsy. I was put on Prednisone and had to wear an eyepatch. The worse part was not being able to eat without drooling. Doctor said it was caused by the cold air. IIRC Ralph Nader had it from falling asleep on a plane with his face against the window, whether that's true or not I'm not sure.

[reflection]

27. I was definitely standing in a icy breeze

thinking about how much my ears were hurting a few hours before it got me, but that's certainly not the first time I've done work outside in the cold.

Just another mystery of the human body... it's so amazingly complex, and in this case, maddening.

I'm doing a lot of sublingual B-12 and massaging my face and crossing my fingers. (and drooling)

[Iggo]

28. Had it when I was a kid.

Exactly as you described. Had to drink through a straw with my head tlited. Wowed the other kids with my ability to flare just one nostril. Cleared up overnight after a few weeks...I don't remember exactly how long. It was a long time ago.

Last year a coworker of mine had it. Again, cleared up after a few weeks.

As far as the slurring of words goes, try putting a hand against your cheek on the afflicted side when you speak. That's what my coworker did and it helped a lot.

[reflection]

29. I just tried the hand-to-cheek thing.

That really works! Thanks!

[Iggo]

30. Nice!

:fistbump:

[Posteritatis]

31. A friend of mine had that for a couple months

He fought a car and lost while crossing the street, but made a complete recovery afterwards. Was stuck kind of lopsided for about two months.

One of the prime ministers up here very obviously had it, but that was because of medical complications some time ago, when that sort of injury was much harder to address.

And relatively minor things are still worth complaining about given how jarring some of them can be. I had a nerve injury in one leg which completely rewired sensation in the limb in weird ways for about two months. Just sensation - I lost no strength or coordination or anything like that with it. Even after I got confirmation that it was just a pinch with odd side effects and not anything serious, it was very, very hard to concentrate on anything else for awhile.

[BlueJazz]

32. I had it. I was Playing Sax and Piano in a band at the time....Needless to say,...

...my Sax playing suffered something awful, BUT I got planty of rest and was fine in about 6 days. :)

[davsand]

33. Find an acupuncturist.

When my daughter was just shy of being a year old, I developed a spasm in one side of my face. My mouth was pulled up on one side and one eye was pulled down. Started out with a few muscle ticks in that eye and progressed to something my doc mentioned MIGHT be Bell's Palsy. He gave me a script for muscle relaxants and scheduled me for an appointment with a neurologist one month later (that was the earliest available appointment.)

After about a week on the muscle relaxants, I had no improvement, so I decided to try some of the alternative things out there. I called my chiropractor who also did acupuncture. Two days later I went in to see her. She thought that she could help and started feeling my face. Down on the jaw line in the chin she found one spot that was really sore-kinda like the knot you get in a muscle that is tense. It was (according to her) some special nerve intersection (that is how I describe it years later, but her description was more detailed...) Anyhow, she put a couple three needles in there and I jumped at the sensation! The next day the spasm had released and I was able to feel that side of my face. Two days later I was fine.

I kept the appointment with the neurologist and I told her what had happened. Her response has stayed with me all this time: "We don't know why it works, but it does work..."

Good luck to you. This is creepy stuff.



Laura

[reflection]

34. I am going to do this.

I have been reading voraciously on this (since I am an interested party now) and a lot of people are swearing by acupuncture. I'll try anything. I think I am creeping out my daughters pretty good. They say my eyes are tracking independently of each other. I do have a pretty sore spot under my cheekbone and I am going to point that out to the acupuncturist. In the interim I guess I will keep moist heat on it and massage it with my fingertips.

Thanks again for everyone's great advice. It really means a lot to me.

[Orrex]

35. Might as well consult a nephrologist while you're at it, too.

My understanding is that, if left untreated, Bell's Palsy starts to clear up in about a month.

With acupuncture, you can cut that down to about 30 days.


Happily, the prognosis is pretty good. Best of luck to you for a speedy recovery.

[dgibby]

36. My grandfather had it.

He had a lot of pain whenever he tried to eat ice cream or anything cold, so you might want to stay away from temp. extremes until you're better. Good luck. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[reflection]

38. The only thing that hurts me is noise

Loud noises are unbearable. Super sensitive hearing. Haven't tried ice cream... to be honest, eating is such a pain in the rear I haven't done a great deal of it. Thanks.

[coyotespaw]

37. A friend of mine came down with that

about a year and a half ago. I saw her about a couple months ago, and she's doing all right now. Also, professional wrestling play-by-play man Jim Ross also had it happen to him. It sucks to deal with it, but it will pass; and if you're lucky you'll be no worse for the wear. I hope you get better soon.

[CC]

39. I had it years ago

and was tested for everything since I also had no reflex action to test. (?) It did go away within a couple months so they stopped testing. I guess there are residual effects because a very observant doctor will ask me if the left side of my face was ever paralyzed. They do have to be very, very, very observant though. Has become a good way to choose doctors these days. My nephew also had it but his was a side effect of Lyme disease. I would ask to be tested for Lyme and if it is negative ask for a couple weeks of antibiotics then a retest. Sometimes the retest after antibiotics is needed to be sure. Beats getting a spinal tap. Beyond that it just takes time to heal. good luck and keep in mind it is better than a stroke. :hug:



Edit-the antibiotics are cheap, even with out insurance.

[quickesst]

40. It will be alright....

..I had it about 15 years ago. my bro-in-law and I were driving home from work, stopped for a doctor pepper, and when I took the first drink, it just ran down the right side of my face. Thought it was a stroke since we had been working outside in ninety degree weather. Funny thing is, I have a lifelong side effect in that my right eye has a very visible droop to it now. I'm an older guy, close to sixty and have cataracts. Got the right eye done, and can see pretty well now. The left eye is starting to get pretty bad, but if you look at me, my right eye which I had fixed looks like the messed up eye when in reality the eye that looks relatively normal is like looking through frosted glass. Long story, but bottom line? You'll get over it. Sucks while going through it, but it will get better. Good luck to you. Thanks.
quickesst