Bells Palsy

[spioraid]

So I woke up yesterday morning with my lip feeling a little funny. Pretty much no different from any morning, everybody's face feels a little funny after waking up.

Come lunch time my lip still is feeling funny and someone notices that left eye is blinking slower than the right. 5 minutes later I'm in the car on the way to the Emergency Care Center to make sure I'm not having a stroke.

Doc says I've got Bell's Palsy, but wants me to hit the ER to get blood tests and a CT scan to make sure. Few hours later I'm out of the ER with Bells Palsy and a crapload of medicine.

For those who don't know (I didn't a few days ago) Bells Palsy is when the triagemic nerve on one side of your face gets swollen and blocks the electronic signals to your muscles to cause them to move. Thankfully it's only a temporary condition that fades within a few weeks. No side effects save half of my face not working.

Naturally I've got a musical theatre performance on Tuesday in which I'm the main diction leader for the songs. Than plan is currently in the trash since I can barely articulate the alphabet.

Fan-fwickn-tathtic.

 

[grywolf627]

Dude...sorry to hear that! And bizarre...my wife's mother (back in Europe) just came down with this the other week. Her's is going to take much more than a few weeks. It seems like you got to the doctor early enough...she was stubborn and had to be convinced to go. My wife has done all kinds of research on this to give tips to her mother (because the doctors aren't always too helpful in Romania). She is telling you to chew gum. But seriously...no joke...you need to work those nerves and muscles. Good luck dude!

 

[-J-]

sounds like a big fucking pain in the ass. if it's not the power going out for 17 hours, the a.c. getting broke, my wife's gums needing $8,000 worth of grafting, it's bells fuckin' palsy. feel for ya. glad to see it's temporary, but of course it comes on the eve of your diction thingy. I'm convinced that these things are what cro-magnon man called Satan. basically Murphy's Law and entropy at work.

 

[Metaltastic]

Holy crap dude, that must've been pretty freaky! As has been said, my sympathies, and I'm glad its only temporary!

 

[grywolf627]

If you want some more info on it, here is a site my wife just found. A guy going through this himself made this site. Lot's of info, plus, his own experiences.
http://home.ix.netcom.com/~jscheer1/history.html

Also, if the doctors give you any kind of treatments or exercises, please let me know so maybe I can pass the information along to my mother-in-law. Thanks.

 

[AudioPhile777]

Thats weird... My ex recently came down with this... 3 weeks later her face is fine, but her vision is still blurry out of one eye when she tries to use her peripheral on one side...

We figured it was stress induced... cause she stressed like crazy lately...

you should be good to go in about 2-3 weeks... could take up to 7 weeks or so... and in some rare cases it could be permanent.

Doctors usual remedy for this is antibiotics and steroids...

good luck.

 

[spioraid]

Yep, I'm on 60mg of steroids which ironically I just got off of a few weeks ago from a non-related incident and 2g, yes, 2 whole grams of an anti-viral. Freaking horse pills, those suckers are huge.

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement, it's well taken. I haven't been told anything else that would help except staying on the meds and taping my eye shut at night so it doesn't dry out. It's just a waiting game at this point.

And I know all about Murphy's Law, just seems like I found another rule

 

[STINNETT]

My mother and sister have both had that before, and they got over the symptoms fast.

Good luck dealing with it, hope it passes quick.

 

[Metaltastic]

...and taping my eye shut at night so it doesn't dry out.

How barbaric!

 

[grywolf627]

Yeah dude, you have to because you can't shut your eye, and it will dry out and cause serious damage to the cornea.

 

[Zack Uidl]

Best wishes bro

 

[SocialNumb]

Oh my man. Hope this passes for you quickly. Be well.

 

[lilhermiejobo]

I agree... Be well, man.
I believe in divine purpose for everything, not necessarily understand it all, though.
Hopefully you'll be able to find positive meaning through all this and it wont just be a waste of life-time.

 

[spioraid]

As another update for ya guys (it gets better!)

Turns out the Bells Palsy is a reaction to me having Lyme's Disease. So chalk that up to my ever growing list of things that are happening. Ironically I've spent all 21 years of life having not once stepped into an ER but have done so 3 times in the past month. I think I'm falling apart!

Thanks again everyone for the support!

 

[Kadmium]

And they brought him, on a stretcher, a man who was sick of the palsy. And they cried unto him, "Maestro, this man is sick of the palsy." And the Lord said, "If I had to spend my whole life on a stretcher, I'd be pretty sick of the palsy, too!"

Best wishes to you dude, and I hope you get better soon.

 

[sparkyness]

Bass player out of Def Leppard had Bells Palsy....have no idea how I know that.

Closer to home: my mum had it. Took around 3 months to completely disappear. She's been completely fine since it happened 4 or 5 years ago.

 

[grywolf627]

As another update for ya guys (it gets better!)

Turns out the Bells Palsy is a reaction to me having Lyme's Disease. So chalk that up to my ever growing list of things that are happening. Ironically I've spent all 21 years of life having not once stepped into an ER but have done so 3 times in the past month. I think I'm falling apart!

Thanks again everyone for the support!

Yeah, I was reading that it can be caused by Lyme disease. But how on earth did you get that?

Just keep with the treatments and facial exercises. Get well, and good luck bro.

 

[spioraid]

I do American Civil War re-enacting...so lots of camping out in the woods. It's most surprising to me because I've been bitten by ticks many a time and know by heart the list of side effects to look for and never saw one side effect. Guess I got a sneaky strain or something.

And yes Kadmium, I love that sketch. Great stuff!