I have been busy with work and house sitting and not had a lot of time to blog. Bt yesterday I eneded up in the Emergency Room.
The problem began yesterday when I could not keep a contact in my right eye wth out it drying up. I thought it was a bad box and opened another one. Finally got one to stay and went to work.
At about 3 pm I realized that contact was not staying wet with rewetting drops and took the contact out. It was then that I realized my eye was not closing all the way when I blinked. Then I noticed my right side of my face was a bit numb and weak and could not move very well kind of like being paralyzed.
One trip to the doctors who then sent me to the emergency room then to another emergency room when the first had a 14 hour wait and 42 patients in the lobby I found out I have Bells Palsy. It is caused by an inflamed set of nerves that connect to the face. It usually happens after a patient is getting over a virus within 2 to 4 weeks. I was sick at Christmas so I fit the time table. It feels a little bit like how a stroke patient would feel. The doctor was hopeful it will not progress to much because I came in less than 12 hours after the symptoms began.
It has caused me to not be able to blink my eye fully and I have to wear a patch over my eye for the next 10 days, have numbing and tingling, can’t really speak very well and I will be re-evaluated soon. If you have ever had Novocain at the dentist then you know a little about how this feels but it is not quite that potent and does not wear off. I am on steroids for about a week and I also had an acupuncture session this am. Some of the tingling is less and the eyes feels a little better but I can’t be sure yet.
It is a little scary to think I could face this for a long time as some times it lasts3-6 months and can be permanent in about 10% of cases.
If anyone has faced this, please drop me a note and let me know if there was anything that really worked for you.
I am hopeful the recovery will happen soon.
Diagnosis: Bells Palsy
January 16th, 2010 at 01:51 am
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I hope you feel better soon!!!
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January 16th, 2010 at 10:04 pm 1263679495
the first time i mentioned the redness in my eye, my friend reached over and touched my face, above my eye. i said 'WHAT are you DOING???' and she asked me if i could feel it. 'Um... you are touching my face, of course I can feel it' I said. And then she explained about her sister and bells palsy.
January 17th, 2010 at 12:39 am 1263688742