What is Bells Palsy
Bell's palsy (facial palsy) is characterised by facial drooping on the affected half, due to malfunction of the facial nerve (VII cranial nerve), which controls the muscles of the ...
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does this ever end????
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Hi, I am on day 9 of this weird and creepy disease. I have paralysis on my left side. Until day 7 my face felt like your foot does when it falls asleep, tingly all over with no real feeling. I had a bit of pain behind my ear. The pain was not so bad until yesterday( day 8). I woke of feeling like someone had hit the left side of my face over and over with a brick. It is sore and tender to touch. It feels like the whole thing is bruised, yet there is no a bruise. I wonder if this is normal? On a plus side, if there is such a thing, I have normal feeling in my entire face. No more tingling, just no muscle control. On day 3 I could close my eye again but the sensitivity to light remains and the constant watering. On day five a chiropractor that comes into my work came in and asked me "Hey, what's wrong with your face?" First thought was "geez! Have a little tact!" It was at that point that I started feeling like a mutant. Anyway I told him I had BP and he asked me come around the counter. He sat me down in a chair and proceeded to crack my neck to right and then to the left. At first the pain was crippling then I started getting a very warm tingling sensation on the left side of my face. I thanked him not knowing really what for and went back to work. Within five minutes I was having sensation on my face, the cheek bone area under my eye was twitching violently, as was my upper lip and eyebrow. I still have these twitches and "feelings". Is this a good sign or did I get my hopes up? I have noticed a huge increase my need to rest. I am tired all the time. I don't know what that as to do with it but it may be linked. I have not used the steroid treatments, but I do use a heating pad whenever I can lay down for a few minutes and i regularly massage my face. That's how I found out that it hurt so bad! I was told that BP is brought on by stress and that if you should try to relax as much as possible. My question is "How do you do that with three kids and a job?" When I ask my son for a kiss my three year old tells me "Mom, turn your other face cuz this one is all jacked up" He is frightened by the fact that I can't move my face or pucker my lips to kiss him. His words don't bother me, I am more concerned by how bad he is bothered by my appearance. I kind of just went off on a tangent, but honestly, if anyone has advice or just encouragement it would be welcome. I want to know how long I have to feel like a mutant!!
Posted on 10/08/08, 03:10 pm |
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Unfortuneately there is no time limit with Belle's Palsy. I've had it 3 times now, the frist two were within 2 weeks on each other on different sides of my face. The first side lasted approx 9 weeks, the second lasted about 15 weeks. My most recent however only lasted about 6 weeks and never got as bad as the first two.
I too felt the need for more rest--that's normal and will hopefully help you heal. I have been warned by my ENT not to massage the affected side as it is inflamed and could lead to permanent nerve damage once healed. People are truly just rude in general--I feel for you, and I completely understand. I had someone ask me what happend to my face and I countered it with "You first"...shut him up pretty quick and it gave me something to smile about at a time I did not feel much like smiling. Most friends, families as well as coworkers embraced me though. I made it a habit of just telling people before they had a chance to ask--I guess that was my vain side showing!! CHin up--it's not going to last forever--take your med's and heaven forbid sleep if you feel like sleeping!! My Best, Mare 
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Hopefully, it will end for you. They say that only 5% of Bell's Palsy patients are affected permenately. At 31 YEARS (yes, YEARS) with this condition, I would have to say I'm in that 5%. I'm pretty functional now tho, and it's mostly cometics that bother me... still the crooked smile, still can't wrinkle my forhead or pucker my lips. The only real pain I have is if I cry, my jaw cramps up on that side like you wouldn't believe.
To be honest, I can't remember the tiredness that many people here talk of. If I did have it, I'm sure it went away... only thing that tires me now is plain old age LOL! People are rude, you can't help that. I don't even let it offend me any more. This is the face God has chosen for me, so be it. Like I said, 95% of patients return to normal, and even if, God forbid, you don't, I've always felt like if I HAD to have some weird disease, at least it's not one that ties me to a wheelchair or worse. I woke up with this one morning at 24 years of age, no warning, no idea what caused it. There were really no treatments back then for it except shock therapy. But I have still gone on to have a wonderful life, enjoying my kids and grandkids, and truly it hasn't affected my quality of life. I can't remember if it frightened my son at first (cuz it was so long ago), but when my grandkids have questioned it, I just simply and honestly explained it to them being sure to stress, that no.. Grammie's face does not hurt.
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Yes this will go away. I had BP from Aug.26, 2008 till Jan. 2009. I am almost 100% I can now blink my eye, drink and eat normal. I hope and pray that I am still recovering, b/c I can still see what the BP did to me in my lips and eye. Although if you never met me before you would never know that I had BP. I can tell but nobody else can, my friends even say that I am crazy, they can't see a thing. So any way what I am trying to tell you is what everybody else on Daily Strength told me IT WILL GO AWAY. Don't stress and take lots of bubble baths,even make some jokes about it. The jokes really helped me get through this horrible event in my life. BP will no doubt make you a stronger person. Hang in there you will get better. Oh before I go... I have 2 boys myself and they were a bit bothered by it but I tried so hard to make it not a big deal, I kept doing and living life like I always did. I did not hide out inside, I went to all of their football games and practices and just lived my life. And they are fine. As far as how do you relax not sure on that answer other than lots of sleep and warm baths with a cold beer. You said you work during the day so you need to make sure that when you get home, get the kids ready for bed early and you get yourself ready for bed early so when 8pm rolls around everybody is ready bed. And ask for help. I sure did. In fact I even worked it a little. Let someone else do some things for you and enjoy it b/c when your BP goes away so does all of the help. (LOL)
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wow your story is my story only almost exacley a year later, it would be great if you could let me know if yours is gone or not:)
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I had BP almost exactly two years ago. One day I woke up and couldn't feel the right side of my face, I was 22. I too remember the so called, dead side, feeling very sore. I was given some kind of medicine but I cant remember what it was. Then I had shock treatment. I cant say that I got completely better, but something is better than nothing. Now every time I close my right eye it pulls the right side of my mouth or if I try to smile, it closes my right eye. It is noticeable but it doesn't bother me anymore, this has not been the worst of my health problems as I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis when I was 18 and about two weeks after getting BP I was diagnosed with kidney stones after suffering through the pain of having to pass one. All this while I was in school. I do tend to complaint about all my issues but I always manage to talk my self out of negative thinking and tell myself that there are others out there who have to deal with something much worse and that with God looking out for me, things will get better. I know that it feels like it doesn't right now, but have faith that it will.
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Well, I just woke up yesterday with the shock of my life. I'm 44yrs. old and went to brush my teeth and felt the toothpaste run down my face.
It all started with me a few weeks ago with my two moler teeth aching, it went away and then a few days ago I got pain going up my nect and into my ear (all on the leftside), We went to Disneyand and I felt dizzy as if I was on a boat and kinda lightheaded. I thought that maybe I had a ear infection that was causing all this and promised to go to the doctors the next day. Well that day was yesterday and from the shock in the mirror, I rushed to the doctor. My symptons are: headaches and pain on the backside of my leftside brain, neck and ear pain, an eye that waters every second and doesn't close, loss of taste, dropy lips, tired and dizzy. What was perscribed was: Prednisone and Acyclovir, Thera Tears eye drops and ointment to put in my eye at night and eye gauze and patch to wear at night. Now that I'm finishing day one the headaches are disapating as well as the neck/ear pain, taste is slowing coming back. Main problem is the eye problems, tiredness and droopy smile and eyebrow. It's not to notinoticable if I don't smile but it is if you get close. The only advice I have is get the rest in when you can and try to find ways to decrease your stress, pick the battles and let the other "stuff" go and take one day at a time. I'm still in shock and upset and wondering how long this will last. One day at a time and sometimes one minute at a time is als I can take on. I'm kinda glad I'm not alone and that others are going thru the same thing!!! Oh and yes, we are a busy, busy family!! Marriend and have an eleven year old. We volunteer and participate and taxi our child to Boyscouts, theater practice and a few other activites and to top it off I was laid off at work!!!! I'm the one that does it all and the glue to the family and can see how things are already falling apart!!!! I'm gonna have to let go and just focus on me and only the big stuff. Hang in there and know you aren't alon!e and each day we are closer to recovery!!!!
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From what I am reading my case is a little off as it took about two days for me to really notice that something was wrong and it wasn't on the side that I noticed not being right in the first place. It took about 4 days from the time that something seemed weird with my right eye and BP setting in on the LEFT side of my face.
I remember ear pain during the onset of it and a lot of eye and lip twitching when it started to dissipate. For me when it started going away was when the pain started. The first day that it really hurt my lip and eye were twitching like crazy and my ear and right behind my ear hurt like crazy for about hour long stretches. This happened again and I noticed some minor improvements and every time I would hurt something would move again or more. I was happy about being in pain before, or since, but I sure did start to look forward to hurting because it meant something else was going to work when the pain went away. All in all it took about 4 or 5 weeks for the BP to disappear, for the most part. For me it seems as though that side of my mouth is still a little droopy and my tongue still seems to get FAT sometimes and makes me feel like I am not talking properly. My wife doesn't agree with either of those statements so I am not sure if it is just me or if she just doesn't see it. In short there is hope for most and hopefully you or another can take some from my story. Good luck and keep your spirits up and keep on like you were before BP as anyone that feels uncomfortable with it, well, that is their problem that they need to deal with now isn't it. robere
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