So I have Bell's Palsy

[ivol07]

I found out last week that I have Bell's Palsy. For those who don't know what this is, half of my face is totally paralyzed. Well, I should say half of my head. Because my neck and ear are pretty much dead too. Luckily I don't think I have to serious of a case because I can still swallow okay, and I can partially blink my eye. I'm "lucky". But boy this sucks. And the worst part is that there is no way to know how long it will last. Two weeks, two years? Who knows. And thats pretty much what the doctors tell me too. The doctor was supposed to refer me to a neurologist, but when I called today the nurse said that they didn't consider it urgent so maybe by the end of the week I'll find out if I even got approved for the referal. Man, I hate HMOs.

Has anyone ever had this? If so, how long did it last. Not that it really makes a difference because everyone is different in their recovery time. But hey, it's worth asking.

Bell's Palsy Info

 

[Viper GTS]

My sister had it when she was young.

Lasted a few weeks, IIRC she had to wear goggles to keep one eye from drying out when she was outside (since she wasn't blinking it).

Viper GTS

 

[Nocturnal]

I hope you recover fast. You'll be in my prayers.

 

[Amused]

That's really wierd. My GF's cousin just found out she has Bell's Palsy too.

 

[Looney]

Ah, so it's only temporary? What causes it?

 

[teddymines]

I hope it either goes away soon, or you make progress with a neurologist. How long have you had the symptoms?

 

[newbiepcuser]

One day my friend just woke up and half his face was numb. It slowly overy time got a little bit better. Some people never get better and some people over time has a full recovery.

JR from the WWE has Bell's Palsy. His face has gotten better over time. But its still noticeable.

 

[SALvation]

My mother in law had it when she was young for almost a year. She fully recovered though.

 

[IamBusby]

I had it about a year ago.

Lasted for around 1 month.

Your symptons sound pretty much exactly the same as mine except I couldn't close my lft eyelid at all.

Did you find youself worrying as the symptons arose? I know I did

The Doctor put me on Steroids for about 6 weeks and it seemed to work.

Boy did I look silly while I had it. I remember My mates calling me that bloke of the goones

 

[Stealth1024]

I had that about 8 year ago.

I was on steroids for some time. But when I first went to a doctor they sent me to the ER and thought I had a stroke - no fun!

But it was straightened out after a ton of specialists... I was in elementary school at the time

 

[loup garou]

My sister had it, lasted about 3 months.

 

[ivol07]

-----------------------
The cause of Bell's palsy is unknown, and its development isn't well understood. The prevalent theory is that the facial nerve becomes swollen and injured, perhaps by a viral infection.

Each facial nerve controls all muscles on one side of your face, except for muscles involved in chewing. Impairment of electrical impulses directed to your facial muscles by the damaged nerve results in the weakness or paralysis of these muscles.
----------------------

Mine came up slowly. On April 16th my tongue started feeling tingly. Nothing major, I figured I burned my tongue or something. Then Saturday night I noticed that while brushing my teeth I couldn't hold water in my mouth. My lips were numbing up. Being hard headed I figured it would go away. The next day it pretty much just spread up my face. But I still waited till Monday to go see a doctor. Whats scaring me is all these jackass doctors aren't giving me steroids. Seems 99% of people get prescribed steroids when this happens. Well, I'm pretty sure the only thing I can do is just wait it out.

Hey, at least it's not my legs!

 

[ivol07]

Originally posted by: IamBusby
I had it about a year ago.

Lasted for around 1 month.

Your symptons sound pretty much exactly the same as mine except I couldn't close my lft eyelid at all.

Did you find youself worrying as the symptons arose? I know I did

The Doctor put me on Steroids for about 6 weeks and it seemed to work.

Boy did I look silly while I had it. I remember My mates calling me that bloke of the goones

Did you do anything in particular that you found helped your symptoms? When you began to heal did you feel twitching? Or did it suddenly just come back? Thanks.

 

[GTaudiophile]

My dad has it. He's okay.

 

[TallBill]

man.. theres some weird diseases out there.. hope ya get better quick..

 

[AmerDoux]

Brothers g/f had it at the age of 38, causing paralysis of 1/2 her face.
If I remember correctly, most of the s/s disappeared after the first couple of weeks. It was barely noticeable. Full recovery in 3 months.

 

[0roo0roo]

i bet u can do an awesome stalone impression now

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i bet u can do an awesome stalone impression now

hehe...when my sister had it, her friends called her Elvis because whenever she smiled, she'd get the lip curl.

 

[dullard]

My dad had it a few years ago. His visible symptoms disappeared in 3-4 weeks. He says he felt perfect after 2 months. Make sure you take lots of pictures - they are great to look at years down the line.

 

[trmiv]

My dad had it a few years ago. His face was all droopy and he was drooling for a few weeks, but it went away. He's perfectly fine now.

 

[OutHouse]

my dad has it now. Going on 7 weeks.

 

[Hankerton]

My Dad had it as well, and he said there is a definite trick. He said every night when he would go to bed, he would put a heating pad under his pillow to keep that part of the face warm. He said after a little over a week it was completely gone. It's not a proven remedy, but he heard it from a friend who had it, so he tried it, and they both had successful recoveries in a very short period of time. My x-roommate had it as well, and he did nothing about it......it lasted a looong time, and even after a year it was still noticable when he would smile or frown. Best of luck.....I can only imagine.