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Home > Diagnosis: Bells Palsy

Diagnosis: Bells Palsy

January 16th, 2010 at 01:51 am

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.


11 Responses to “Diagnosis: Bells Palsy”

  1. janH Says:
    1263608770

    Oh wow. My thoughts go out to you and I hope that it clears up really soon. I'm so glad you got early treatment!

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1263610173

    It's great that you took care of yourself right away. I sure hope you feel better VERY soon. Take care.

  3. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1263610467

    Have you ever seen "Sewing with Nancy"? Nancy Zieman. It is on PBS here. I think she has permanent paralysis of Bell's Palsy. That show most have been on 25 years and she has had noticeable paralysis that whole time. There is a very high chance you will get over it. It can take the body a long time to whack a virus, even the less pesky ones.

  4. monkeymama Says:
    1263610800

    Is it something in the water??? I know exactly what that is because they thought initially it might be what my dh had (turned out to be brain tumor). Anyway, he is facing a lot of facial weakness/paralysis in his near future. His wasn't that bad - but could be after surgery next week. It's kind of the same in the end - nerve issues - lax side of the face, etc. Will probably get the eye patch and all that.

    I hope you feel better soon!!!

  5. wowitsawonderfullife Says:
    1263613683

    Hey there. Someone I know had this. It was difficult for a while then she recovered. It took less than 3 months but it scared the crap out of her. Have hope, she recovered fully and while it was strange she knew it was a short term infection! It was bell's palsy.

  6. NJDebbie Says:
    1263653503

    Sending wishes for a speedy recovery. Take care.

  7. lizajane Says:
    1263656625

    Scary! Thank goodness you sought quick treatment.

  8. Ima saver Says:
    1263658881

    I hope you get well very quickly!

  9. dmontngrey Says:
    1263661510

    I have a coworker that had this a couple years ago. It's amazing how little is known about the condition. Her father had it though. Our Fedex guy flat out asked her if she had it - he knew because he had it several years ago! Get well soon! Glad you got a quick diagnosis.

  10. whitestripe Says:
    1263679495

    my best friends sister has it. she just has 'episodes' like what you described - happens to her every couple of months or so (only a couple of times a year). my friend thought i had it because i have red veins in my right eye which are sometimes more noticeable than other times - apparently her sister gets a red eye a few days before the paralysis kicks in.
    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. Big Grin

  11. fern Says:
    1263688742

    I am so sorry you had to go thru that. It must've been very frightening.

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