bells palsy

[ivanawee]

I've just been diagnosed with bells palsy has any one else suffered with this

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Had a few friends suffer from this :(

One quite severely about 8years ago and her smile / lips are still a little droopy

Another friend a few months ago and still having problems

Another one fine after a few weeks but she had a mild case

It will knock you out and you will feel weak and tired so take things easy and practice facial expressions to strengthen muscles and rely on your friends if you need help - and take your steroids

Hopefully you will have a speedy recovery :)

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

My mother was diagnosed with this quite swiftly after onset of symptoms (she initially had inner ear ache).

She had to take an awful lot of tablets per day for a few days but she has gone onto make a full recovery.

We found this website helpful:-

//www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/b/bells-palsy

[wonderwooman]

I had it when I was 17 (so over 20 years ago now) as the result of a 'cold sore' on my ear & the virus affected the nerves on that side of my face (can't even remember which side now!).

We were living abroad at the time & I was hospitalised, given Zovirax intravenously for a couple of days followed by lots of facial physio.

No noticeable affects now, although when I'm tired one eye partially closes of its own accord - but that may not be attributable to the virus.

Hope your recovery is swift

[deepbreath]

I've had Bells Palsy too. If you caught it early enough, your doctor may have given you antiviral medication as well as the usual mild steroids and some eye drops/lacrilube if your eye won't fully close or if you can't blink normally. It's really important to use the eye stuff because my eye went a bit dry and I managed to scratch the surface of my eyeball with my own eyelid!

Get as much rest as you possibly can. And you might feel a bit sore when the feeling comes back to your face. I had some pain in my neck and shoulder too, but nothing that normal painkillers didn't sort out.

Hope you make a speedy recovery.