Bell's Palsy Support Group

I have had CT scans and MRI's of brain and spine and my doctor confirmed that I have an ongoing viral infection in my face.I can tell when things start to feel different in my face and several months ago when I mentioned this to my doctor he told me he wanted me to take 2 Valtrex in AM and PM for one day only...as soon as I first feel the changes.I will have some progress and then I will feel things like my eye gets weak.I can close it but it's slow to blink.My lip will feel numb or I will feel the beginnings of a cold sore.My nose will feel swollen inside on the one side...hard to breathe through that nostril.When I take the Valtrex for that one day,these feelings go away.I too have been so tired of this but I started writing everything down for months and that's when I discovered the same things were happening over and over.Wind seems to trigger these episodes or if I get really tired I want to just sleep all the time.Sure enough,within a couple of days,all these feelings in my face begin to happen.I forgot to add that my ear will feel like it's stopped up or it sounds and feels like there's water in it.I don't know if this has helped but you might mention the treatment plan my doctor has put me on for the past 3 months and see if you notice a difference.He said no pred.as this lowers the immune system and we don't need that.My MRI's showed nothing,the CT scan showed nothing abnormal.My neurologist was going to then do a spinal tap but concluded that all of this was an ongoing viral infection which will probably stay with me for the rest of my life.The Valtrex has helped and I take B12 shots once every 2 weeks.I call it my GO JUICE and I don't feel so tired.I hope you will at least see if your doctor will let you try this treatment as you will never know if you don't try.I know it seems like a really big dose all in one day but it has helped me.Good luck with your progress and keep us posted.

Thanx alot that sounds like good advice, i will have to talk to my doctor, the bp is already showing signs of improvement after only a couple of days, i think i caught it in the nick of time. My blood work came back fine and i go for an mri tomorrow which i'm sure will be fine. I wish I had put 2 and 2 together acouple of days sooner like the clogged ear,and part of my tongue being numb then i could of done the anti-viral med. thanx again for the advice.

Melaridge,
Yes, I forgot to mention also that the one side of my tongue begins to feel numb too. Hope the results of your MRI prove nothing more serious. I'm sure they will turn out fine but it always helps to rule out anything.

My heart goes out to you! I have a couple family members with BP. We all have flare ups when we're worn out or stressed...so it is multiple times for all of us. I have flare ups 1-2 a year! As soon as I feel the "sensation" on my left side, I change my lifestyle. I make sure to get 8-10 hrs of sleep, pound the Vitamin B, eat blueberries & take control of my stress. Within a few days I can feel it starting to go away. I have never been one to take meds if possible, so I'm happy with the results I get from doing the above. Dont ask me what blueberries have to do with it, but adding them to the mix seems to work:) I too used to get frustrated, but with as many outbreaks as I get, I have embraced the fact that it will be a part of my life. Best of luck to you!!

My heart goes out to you! I have a couple family members with BP. We all have flare ups when we're worn out or stressed...so it is multiple times for all of us. I have flare ups 1-2 a year! As soon as I feel the "sensation" on my left side, I change my lifestyle. I make sure to get 8-10 hrs of sleep, pound the Vitamin B, eat blueberries & take control of my stress. Within a few days I can feel it starting to go away. I have never been one to take meds if possible, so I'm happy with the results I get from doing the above. Dont ask me what blueberries have to do with it, but adding them to the mix seems to work:) I too used to get frustrated, but with as many outbreaks as I get, I have embraced the fact that it will be a part of my life. Best of luck to you!!

Guys thank you so much. I also feel the stress-induced flare-ups and change my lifestyle including dumping a couple of boyfriends. I have really been feeling wiped out can't get enough good sleep, lots of eye twitching and ear issues. I also find that sometimes noises are distorted and I can't discern if they are from the left or right. I had BP twice but never any fatigue. I am stressed and a take a multivitamin but too pooped to exercise longer than 10 minutes. I have a Doc appt next week, I'll discuss the B-12. In the meantime, I'll keep on trying to take deep relaxing breaths.

I have had it 3 times as well in my life. Now that I look back at it, they were all stressful times. Is BP related to Lime's at all?

Im on my second bout with BP. This was no worse than the first one. i just hope it goes back to normal again in a few days