Bell's Palsy - North Richland Hills,TX

K., I had bells palsy almost 16 years ago following the birth of my first child. At first it was very scary. It was the entire right side of my face. I first really noticed it when I had trouble spitting after brushing my teeth. I don't remember exactly how long it lasted I know it was a few weeks. I did receive steroids but I also started physical therapy right away for it. It cleared up completely and I have never had it since. Good luck to you. S.

Hi K. My Mother and Youngest brother both had Bell Palsy and what your feeling is normal for Bell's palsy both of the recoverd with no problems that last after the bell's palsy went away, it takes time but be reasured you'll recover fine. It's a terrible experinces to go through. S. K

I had it recently while I was pregnant. It tends to be common in pregnant woman and those with diabetes. For me, I had the same symptoms and basically the whole left side of my face was paralyzed, but luckily it didn't cause my mouth or ey to droop, which can happen in more severe cases. It is temporary, so if you can bare with it, it will go away eventually. My eye would dry out frequently, so I had to use eye drops, but other than that and the odd feeling it caused when I spoke, I was lucky not to have too many problems with it. Mine went away after about two weeks and I didn't take any meds because of my pregnancy. I know it is uncomfortable and it makes it difficult to speak and you might think you "look funny", but it will go away, I promise! Best wishes and let me know if you have any questions you would like me to answer about it.

Hi K.,

I'm so sorry about this. My aunt had it for about 6 months when she was in her 40's and then it totally went away. She had diabetes and a lot of other health problems, so maybe this is another reason hers lasted so long. I will pray that you totally recover very soon. Best wishes...

Hi K., I've had it twice in my life. Once when I was 14 on the left side of my face and when I was 22 on the right side of my face. The left side of my face still has minor damage from it ( can't wink my eye and my smile is a bit lopsided)--I don't think these are things others notice--just me. The right side shows no permanent damage. So it just depends on how severe you have it.

My Dad had this. 100% recuperation. No ill affects.

My mother had it once when she was in her 40's. We had no idea what caused it but it went away within a couple of weeks completely and never returned with no permanent damage. I read recently that Lyme could cause this condition and for that matter many others.

Hi K.,
I had my first bout with Bell's Palsey about thirty years ago, and the medical community was not nearly as proficient at treatment. The entire left side of my face was paralyzed (think stroke victim) and recovery was about six months. Difficult thing for a young person.
A few years ago, I notice the symptoms once again (in this case, tears from one eye - because it wasn't blinking...) and immediately went to the emergency room for treatment similiar to yours. It only took 2-3 weeks for full recovery, so hang in there! I understand that it is caused by a virus which causes swelling, and pinches off the facial nerve.
Your doctor seems to know his stuff - prednisone and valtrex (which wasn't even available, I don't believe, when I first contracted the illness) is about the best they can do, and it was a relief to me to see the symptoms gradually diminish. The twitching and tingling you feel is, I believe, that nerve coming back to full function.
God bless,
Bob Sweeney
Registered Financial Consultant
Allstate Financial Services, L.L.C.
###-###-####
____@____.com

I have Bell's Palsy at this moment. Unfortunately, my whole left side lost all movement. I had to manually blink my eye, use eye drops, etc. And drinking, lol, had to use a straw to keep from dribbling down my chin. I'm also a nurse so I have a lot of references to look these things up and it can last from several weeks to several months. I've had mine since June. I was on prednisone and acyclovir ( similar to Valtrex) and lots of pain pills. Mine was very, very painful for several weeks. Most of that is gone. Now the good news. I can now close my eye, some of the movement has come back in my cheek and I can raise my eyebrow. Still a little problem drinking, but now too bad. I also have the tingling. So there is no set time as each individual is different. But it will get better. Take care

My little sister woke up with it one morning while she was in college. SHe said she was fine the evening before but woke up with the left side of her face drooping and unable to control it. She did go to the clinic on campus and I don't know what if anything they gave her but in about a week it was completely gone and it has not happened to her since. A few years after that my dad woke up with it. He wsa in his early fifites at the time while my sister was maybe twenty. Anyway, dad's left side was affected and he seemed to control of his lip and mouth however, to this day he still has minimal drooping but feels fine.

ok - after reading some of the more severe responses below, I felt obligated to post a bit more. How this affects you emotionally is really up to how you choose to internalize it. I had it in my early twenties and I felt like everyone was looking at me. But rather than wallowing in self pity, which I could have easily done, I took it as a TEMPORARY lesson in humility. God didn't make us to be who we look like, he made us to grow into beautiful, kind people in how we behave with each other. I don't regret having this disorder to this day and I don't believe that I ever will. Although, don't get me wrong I certainly wouldn't be happy if I got it again. I'm just saying that it isn't the end of the world. And it can bring on opportunities that weren't possible before. God Bless, K.

Prior Post--
I had it several years ago and the main thing that I can share is that you want to get on to steroids as quickly as possible to treat it. That will shorten the duration and lessen any long term effects. Mine lasted a few months, but everyone is different. I also heard that it was stress related, but I dont' know if that is still the current medical belief.

I have not had that diorder but I have been on prednisone before and it made me very psychotic. It could be the side effects of the drugs.

Dear K.,

I personally don't know what you are going through, but my husband just recently recovered from Bell's. I know it was very h*** o* him - sent him into depression and everything. I would try to keep the mood light about it, but he just wanted to be miserable. There were times when it would be SO painful for him. It was a horrible time.

Not to scare you or anything - I am sorry if the above paragraph did scare you! I guess I'm just trying to tell you that it is very difficult on your loved ones as well - so please don't feel like you are alone in emotions when it comes to your bells.

Okay - some good news? Like yourself, he took those medications very early after onset. He was almost fully recovered after a month. But I will tell ya - when you can start to see some improvement (about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks for my husband), celebrate it! It feels like a very, very long journey, so you just have to celebrate the little victories!

It has been about 3 months now since the onset, and there is still a LITTLE bit of effect on the side of his face. If you didn't know him, you would never notice it. In fact, I barely notice it in my hubby unless he is tired. He still has SOME twitching from time to time.

One thing you should know is that the doctors don't know a whole lot about this yet. There are "common" symptoms, but they don't acknowledge the "uncommon" ones. Like my husband had intense "headaches" in his neck. There was no other reason for this except the bells, but the doctors would not relate the two. You will find a lot of support online, but please don't get wrapped up in some of those message groups! There are, unfortunately, people on there who have been dealing with this for years. That is so very uncommon, and you need to surround yourself with positive thoughts! You can find some great message boards, but stay away from the ones that make you feel bad!

Here is what we did:
1. the meds early like yourself
2. unbleached/uncolored flannel, soaked in castor oil. This goes directly on the affected side of your face, warmed up, and put aluminum foil over it. Let it set for 30 minutes for 4 nights in a row. (we have no idea if this actually worked or not, but after the 4th night is when he started seeing some improvement)
3. facial exercises
4. visualize it getting back to "normal". (my hubby is NOT a visualizer by any means, but he actually did it with this.)
5. tylenol for the pain.
6. after the 4th night of castor oil, we started using alternate heat / cold compresses on his face.
7. Waited. Waited. and Waited.

I know this can be a very tough time. If you would like to hear from my hubby personally, send him a letter through PM. I will have him reply. (He won't mind!)

I changed this to a personal message to you.

Hi K., I had Bell's Palsy a couple of years ago and I was on medication for a while I had to take 3 tablets for 3 days and then 2 tablets for 3 days and 1 tablet for 3 days and 1/2 for 3 days and I was off that and at the same time I had to take blood pressure tablets as I had high blood pressure and the tablets I had to take for Bell's Palsy increased it as well. I had it on my right side of my face and it was numb for a few weeks and it took me a couple of months to get back to normal and I find that in times of stress my right eye will water even after all this time. It does give one a fright as I wasn't sure what was happening as I knew I wasn't having a heart attack, but thought I might be having or had a stroke and was relieved when it was only Bell's Palsy. Every person has their own time as to how long it takes to get over Bell's Palsy and you may still have a side effect as I do and most of the time it doesn't effect me at all only when I get stressed and from what I can figure out its caused by stress. I hope that this is helpful for you. Regards Ed