Any1 ever had Bell's Palsy?

PoohBEAR

PoohBEAR

Legendary Member
Joined
6 September 2002
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4,239
Location
Northern VA
Guys....I have this crap and hating it. Will I recover 100%? It has been 4 days now, and I still can taste anything. My taste budd is gone...and my lips is still numb. Doing Steriod treatment now...and antibotic and so forth. Did my MRI yesterday.............is this a sign of getting old?

Anyone?
 
One of my friends actually got it when she was like 17 or 18. The left side of her face went numb/limp. She's back to normal now. I don't remember how long it lasted. Maybe a month or more? It was pretty random why it happened, I don't know the actual reason if there was one. So I wouldn't say it's not a sign of getting old, could just be random like her case. What did the Dr. say regarding who normally gets it?
 
A close friend of mine had it a couple of years back. He's fully recovered now but it took months. He was going through a lot of stress at his job at the time, so this may have contributed to his long recovery. He was 20 when he had it so I don't think it's a sign of old age :D

Coincidentally, the week my friend was diagnosed Antoine Fuqua (along with Bruce Willis, Tom Skerritt, etc) was on our ship (USS Harry S Truman) to shoot some scenes for Tears of the Sun.

When he met us he noticed my friend's half-numb face and immediately recognized it as Bell's Palsy. Apparently he had had it as a child and he gave my friend some words of encouragement. He was a pretty good guy.


Anyway, I can pass on any questions you may have for him since he went through a pretty serious fight with Bell's Palsy. Just let me know :)
 
My doc says it stem out of the same virus that causes cold sores. After it came out of dormant stage, it attacks!!! My concern is my brain...so an MRI was done yesterday, and will definitely go back in on Tuesday. I hate eating thing without knowing what it tastes like. Maybe this is a good time to enter into "fear factor" show :D
 
Also, his case seems to have been triggered by stress. I don't know what usually causes it, but they made him drastically lighten his workload tried to help identify and reduce other stressors in his life.
 
Thanks Dave... I think stress could be a part of it. My main concern is for the recovery. I like to know how long this sucker will go away and will my taste budd be the same again.

dave22 said:
Also, his case seems to have been triggered by stress. I don't know what usually causes it, but they made him drastically lighten his workload tried to help identify and reduce other stressors in his life.
Click to expand...
 
Bell's Palsy is a paralysis of the nerves on one side of the face. It usually results in facial droop, slurred speech, drooling, and can affect blinking. It is believed to be caused by a virus and the typical treatment is antiviral medication such as Valtrex or acyclovir as well as steroids (prednisone). It usually resolves but can become permanent.

Unless your doctor is concerned about something else going on in your brain such as a stroke, tumor or aneurysm, the MRI is a waste of time and resources.
 
The MR was not a waste of time your physician is covering all bases because although most Bell's is caused by herpes virus or its cousins,as well as complications of diabeties,a tumor or mass can also cause compression of the facial nerve(typicaly at the level of the parotid gland) so he was justified doing the imaging.If anything I have written perplexes you look up the terms with google and a clearer picture of your condition will emerge.Good luck and be patient!
 
Thanks Doc, I have done my research on this sucker and doing everything I can and as suggested by my doctor. Just looking forward to getting normal again.

docjohn said:
The MR was not a waste of time your physician is covering all bases because although most Bell's is caused by herpes virus or its cousins,as well as complications of diabeties,a tumor or mass can also cause compression of the facial nerve(typicaly at the level of the parotid gland) so he was justified doing the imaging.If anything I have written perplexes you look up the terms with google and a clearer picture of your condition will emerge.Good luck and be patient!
Click to expand...
 
docjohn said:
The MR was not a waste of time your physician is covering all bases because although most Bell's is caused by herpes virus or its cousins,as well as complications of diabeties,a tumor or mass can also cause compression of the facial nerve(typicaly at the level of the parotid gland) so he was justified doing the imaging.If anything I have written perplexes you look up the terms with google and a clearer picture of your condition will emerge.Good luck and be patient!
Click to expand...

As I said, "unless your doctor is concerned that something else is going on...". I believe a tumor or mass causing compression of the facial nerve would qualify as "something else".
 
Wishing you the best; 2 of my friends went through this, both men approximately 50 at the time. They each recovered fully as far as I can tell when we are together. However, it did take them several months, up to 6 to recover. Have heart and patience and I am sure you will recover too.
 
My last lady friend had it with her first pregnancy. She has come along way but still you can tell, especially when she is tired. It never mattered to me, I feel in love with her for who she is. Too bad the feeling wasn't mutual.
Take care of yourself. Get all the tests done that you can. See another Doctor, Talk to people. Go for a walk tonite to blow off some stress. Make sure you look around you, notice the sky and clouds. Find a swing to sit on and just relax.
I hope the best for you.
tRev
 
Calvin,
Bell's usually comes from wind exposure. The typical scenario is sleeping with the windows open or going from warm room to a very cold.

Wind usually is associated with cold temperature, the cold enter nerves pathway and block the message goin to its source.

This is the way we see in the acupuncture world.

If you seek treatment right away from an acupuncturist, it should go away with about 2 weeks worth of treatment.

Danny
Chiropractor and acupuncturist to be.
 
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PoohBEAR, I hope your better this week.
I wanted to thank you for this thread, because I contacted Heather last Friday and we have seen each other everyday since. We had a lot to talk about and she listened to everything I had to share with her. I understand better why we grew apart and things are better now. Hopefully our friendship grows.
Thanks
tRev
 
my wife apparently has it, though its never kicked in to the point where her face droops. she just recently saw a neurologist about it, i love sleeping with the fan on, but the wind makes her face tingle and the dr. said no more fan :(.
 
Just so that wrong info dos'nt get passed on,viruses don't travell on the breezes,landing on us and causing infection.They are obligate intracellular bags of proteins.Certain bacteria and mold(fungi) spores do propagate by air.The herpes viruses are secreted from the nerve endings in the skin or mouth from vesicles(blister) of infected individuals and exist in the nerve cells themselves.
 
Last edited:
docjohn

Be it that you are right about virus don't travel by breeze. Not arguing with you there.

The way we see it in Chinese medicine, wind can and does cause such problem... Bell's Palsy.

We just have an easier and I guess "non scientific" way of seeing how things work. But when explained to a lay person they get it.

such as the example of sleeping with the fan on.
 

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