Bells Palsy at 34 weeks

[hecklephone]

I've just been diagnosed today with Bells Palsy - the right side of my face is affected. Can't blink properly and have a bit of a wonky smile. I've also lost some sense of taste and everything feels a bit waxy in my mouth. I've since discovered this isn't unusual in pregnancy - in fact you're 3 times more likely to get it while pregnant. So just wondered if anyone out there has experience of this or any advice?

The doctor's prescribed a course of steroid treatment, which I'm taking, even though I hate taking medications while PG. I guess I just really want this to clear up quickly - especially before baby (DD2) arrives.

I'm thankful it's not worse and certainly not affecting the LO but it's annoying to think of this thing affecting me in these last few weeks of the PG when I just want to focus on preparing for baby and enjoying some one-on-one with DD1, so any tips or reassurances will be gratefully received.

Cheers H

My sympathies to you Heckle, I didn't know Bells was more common in pregnancy - surprsied I haven't been afflicted (still a few weeks left though?!).

I've had this twice whilst not pregnant, both times after having the flu, it was painless, just looked a bit funny and was a bit awkward to talk - with steroids, it went within a week. Hope it does for you too.

No experience of it in pregnancy but my Dad had it a few years ago.

It took about a week before we started to see an improvement and then all of a sudden it was gone. He hasnt had it since and they dont know what caused it.

We researched it a lot and found this there are some other sites as well.

I hope the steroids start working for you soon

Hi

this is probably not much use but my Mum had it when she was pregnant with me ( ahem -40 years ago) she didn't get any steroid treatment and it just sorted itself out over a month or so. The doctors told her then that it was common in pregnancy. She has never had it again. Hope it goes soon.

Thanks for the comments, guys. From what I've read on MN so far I've been encouraged to find that a lot of folks have had a fairly quick recovery with treatment, so my fingers are very firmly crossed that I'll be in that camp.

Still feeling quite sorry for myself this morning though - my childminder came round to pick up DD and I fell to bits as soon as she'd gone - I felt so self-conscious. I guess I'll get used to it soon - need to sit down and give myself a good 'pull yourself together, woman' chat!

I know this is an old post, but experiencing this now and wondered if you made a full recovery and how long it took for you to recover?

@hecklephone I know this is an old thread, but would you please give some updates? Did you fully recover? May I ask how long it took you? I have been diagnosed with BP too :(

Hi @cmeiix , sorry to hear about your diagnosis, I hope you're doing ok. When I originally posted this BP was suspected, but it actually turned out to be Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. It's a fairly rare condition caused by the same virus as chicken pox so I was quite unwell with it for a while - as well as the facial paralysis, I had vertigo, headaches and was really exhausted. Thankfully the worst of it was over by the time DD2 was born. It's not very well known but weirdly Justin Bieber was diagnosed with this quite recently!

So I'm afraid I can't offer much help with Bell's Palsy advice. I do hope it's short-lived. I rested a lot and probably avoided a lot of social contact for a while during my paralysis, and I remember having to tape my eye shut at night, and using some really good, thick eye drops (Viscotears) so do ask for help from a health professional if you find you have issues there.

@Debra12344 I'm sorry, I only just saw your post today when the alert for this previous one came in - I hope you are fully recovered by now x

Weirdly I commented on this in 2010 about my dad having Bp.

I actually got it myself in 2014 but it was because of Lyme disease. Mine cleared up once the steroids kicked in but my face hasn’t been straight since. I still have a twitchy mouth and eye occasionally but that’s it x

@Piscesmumma1978 how long did it take you to recover?

I was off work for two weeks and know I went back when my face wasn’t paralysed anymore. I was swollen from until steroids though.

It’s a strange thing to have. I couldn’t close my eye so saw an eye specialist. I also had a ct scan I think to check my brain.

The worst thing was not knowing how long it would last. The highlight of my day one day was that I could whistle!! I knew I was getting better then xx