Bells Palsy

[lilyflower1803]

Those of you who have had Bell's palsy, how did you symptoms progress? I think I have it, but it's very mild at the moment.

Left side of the face cannot smile, I can just about force the muscles into a smile if I try really hard. I can move my eyebrows and can shut my eye, it's just my lower face.

Began last night, no other symptoms but have just recovered from a nasty viral infection I had for almost a month (throat infection, ear infections)

It could also be Ramsay Hunt syndrome. You should get checked by a doctor.

She did.

In March.

Jesus h why can people not read all the OP updates ever on this bloody board.

Because there are too many to read on the app on a phone.

@JazzyBBBG how are you feeling today? I had BP at Christmas, my only advice is to rest rest rest. I didn’t really rest properly as it was Christmas, until about day 5 and I think that did delay my recovery.

I’m now 5 months down the line and up til a month ago I still had some lingering ‘slowness’ in the affected side- my eye would get a bit goopy and I felt like my blink reflex was slow, I kept getting things in my eye like dust and water splashes. When tired or coming down with something I felt like it was getting worse. I’ve since had some acupuncture, need another 3 sessions but the difference is really noticeable to me, my face feels normal and a lot more symmetrical. I would say seek out some acupuncture as soon as possible, it’s really made the difference. If you’re near Worcestershire I can recommend my lady.

@thenewaveragebear1983 thank you and yes I am near Worcestershire so would be keen to know! (North side).
I am ok but GP was unhappy with some concerns not being looked at so spent day back at hospital having a CT. Luckily all ok which is a big relief.

Evening all, I haven’t posted on here before but a friend pointed me to the chat forums as I suddenly developed Bells Palsy just short of three weeks ago. Reading about other people’s experiences was so helpful, so I wanted to share my own in the hope others might feel encouraged, too!

Three weeks ago, I returned from holiday with a viral infection and felt incredibly stressed. My blood pressure was dangerously high, too. I thought my sinuses were playing up, but suddenly the right side of my face started twitching and then it froze. I got a GP appointment 24 hours later, and due to my ‘atypical symptoms’, was sent to the hospital. There, they thought it might be Bell’s palsy but wanted to rule out a stroke, so I had a CT scan and ECG. It turns out it was Bell’s, so they started me on a week’s course of steroids.

I was fortunate in that I could still close my eye (though not as readily as usual), and my face didn’t really drop, rather it all seemed to tighten one side and my eyebrow wouldn’t raise. My mouth was the most significantly impacted, though, and talking made me so tired. The letters B, P, and F were not my friends (which made it even harder to say Bell’s palsy!).

During the first week, I honestly felt like my face would never look normal again, but after 2.5 weeks there has been such significant change that I am back at work and everyone is saying they can barely tell. I’ve been doing some facial massages and little exercises I found on YouTube, resting and staying calm, and my eyebrow is starting to raise again, my eye is much better, and my mouth is starting to regain movement.

Everyone’s journey is different, but I have discovered this is SO common, and everyone seems to know at least one person who has had it before. I’ve spoken to lots of people with first hand experience, and every single one of them has made a full recovery, even those with severe symptoms. The consultant at the hospital said in thirteen years of treating Bell’s patients, she has only seen one who didn’t make a complete recovery, and that was due to specific complications individual to that patient. Please be encouraged!

My advice would be, make the most of this time to reset, rest, relax, reorder your priorities, and trust that the human body is a marvellous creation, and it’s ability to regenerate is incredible. Also, if you are the praying kind, dig into your faith and cast your cares onto Him. The more anxious you are, the slower the recovery will be. The moment I stopped thinking about it alllllll the time, seems to be the very point I made the most progress.

Wishing you all well with your recovery. X