Bell's Palsy ?

oldpop

oldpop

Member
Location
Inner Space
I am posting this for general chit chat. Anyone here that has had Belle's Palsy? I had it back in the middle ninety's. Scared the bejeezus one out of me. I woke up one morning and one side of my face was paralyzed. I thought I had had a stroke. I went to an ear nose and throat specialist and he diagnosed me.

That was the first time I had heard of it. he told me there was a one in a million chance I would ever contract it again. I have had it three times since. Each time it takes longer to straighten it out. I used to whistle like a bird. After the last time I had it I could not whistle anymore. That was about 3 years ago.
 

Last edited:
Hi old pop, I’ve had it twice, five years apart affecting each side of my face, as you say it’s very frightening as you think you’ve had a stroke, you are very unlucky to have had it 3 times

I was given steroids and, thankfully, it cleared up fully, I know a lady who was left with a permanent slight drop to the corner of her mouth

Hopefully neither of us get it again !

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bells-palsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370028
 

Hi OldPop, I had the Bells Palsy when I was 40 years old, that for me was
a painful bothersome time of 6 months. I was diagnosed by an ENT also.
The residual issues and drooping of the left side of my mouth a while, the
meds and Prednisone eventually helped even things out, but to this day I
still have a slight vulnerability in that exact area of the muscles and nerves,
which was the left side of my face.

I remember waking up one morning and my face was having pain on the left
side, mouth was already drooping, left eye would not close, I was so scared
and went straight to the doctor.

I have not had a repeat...

I do remember having just gotten over a bad flu and cold back then, and
then woke up with the Palsy.
 
Last edited:
My experience was similar to others here, except I went straight to the Western Hospital here in Toronto, to the Emerg. Stroke testing, medications, CT scan. Left side of the face, affecting the left eye, left side of the mouth and cheek. About 6 months of physio therapy, but I still have a crooked smile, and like someone else said, I canny whistle anymore. My Mother also had an episode of Bell's at around age 60. It may run in certain families.

From medical reading, I have learned that Bell's comes from an irritation/infection of one of the facial nerves. JimB.
 
I have had it 2 times on each side of my face. I was put on a regimen of Prednisone each time. I believe my mother had it at least once and my son had it a couple of years ago. The last time it took almost three months to resolve and I still have some residual muscle weakness. It is not visible but I can feel it when I squeeze my eyes shut. It may be hereditary. I do not know. Scary when you wake up with it the first time.
 
I've never had it but a cousin of mine did. It cleared up by itself. A friend also had it and it was obvious in her case.
:(
 
I was feeling the damp and cold one day. All day it was bothering me and after work I drove to the women's exercise studio. While there I felt a bit out of it, never liked to publicly exercise, so thought it was that. Then, all of a sudden I felt my left eye got weird and my face had fallen, too.

I got out of the studio as quickly as I could, couldn't talk properly, and saw the expressions on some of the other women looking at me. Drove 30 miles back to the house, kept looking in the mirror at my face, trying to push it back in place.

I couldn't talk properly, couldn't close my eye, and was drooling. I never considered going to the local hospital as it had a bad reputation. This was pre-internet days, so did not search to see what was wrong.

Once I got to the house, my youngest sister came in to talk with me and eventually I let her see. She was concerned and worried more than me. Having the open eyelid was an issue as I couldn't sleep for fear of scratching my eye surface

The situation cleared up by itself. I still get a watery left eye, dripping down my face, as some kind of reminder of the palsy. In recent years I have told my doctors and they said it may have been a mild stroke, but there's no telling for sure. Shortly after this palsy, a month or so, I had to have emergency surgery for a large abdominal tumor. Maybe there was a connection.
 
Owlivia said:
I was feeling the damp and cold one day. All day it was bothering me and after work I drove to the women's exercise studio. While there I felt a bit out of it, never liked to publicly exercise, so thought it was that. Then, all of a sudden I felt my left eye got weird and my face had fallen, too.

I got out of the studio as quickly as I could, couldn't talk properly, and saw the expressions on some of the other women looking at me. Drove 30 miles back to the house, kept looking in the mirror at my face, trying to push it back in place.

I couldn't talk properly, couldn't close my eye, and was drooling. I never considered going to the local hospital as it had a bad reputation. This was pre-internet days, so did not search to see what was wrong.

Once I got to the house, my youngest sister came in to talk with me and eventually I let her see. She was concerned and worried more than me. Having the open eyelid was an issue as I couldn't sleep for fear of scratching my eye surface

The situation cleared up by itself. I still get a watery left eye, dripping down my face, as some kind of reminder of the palsy. In recent years I have told my doctors and they said it may have been a mild stroke, but there's no telling for sure. Shortly after this palsy, a month or so, I had to have emergency surgery for a large abdominal tumor. Maybe there was a connection.
Click to expand...
Sounds scary. My son had it about two years ago and he still has some facial paralysis.
 
I knew someone who had it for a couple of weeks.
I never had Bell's Palsy, but I do know what it's like because I experienced something similar.
A dentist (the same one I posted about previously who did an incompetent root canal & put me in Intensive Care for 8 days with Sepsis) also caused another problem when he gave me the anesthetic. I could feel a burning sensation & it felt like the needle was going where it wasn't supposed to go. I held up my hand but he ignored me.
Later, after the anesthetic wore off, I still had a numb area on one side of my chin & lip. And I drooled & food sometimes would fall out of my mouth. I didn't want to risk another doctor making it worse. That lasted a year before feeling was completely restored.
 
Owlivia said:
I was feeling the damp and cold one day. All day it was bothering me and after work I drove to the women's exercise studio. While there I felt a bit out of it, never liked to publicly exercise, so thought it was that. Then, all of a sudden I felt my left eye got weird and my face had fallen, too.

I got out of the studio as quickly as I could, couldn't talk properly, and saw the expressions on some of the other women looking at me. Drove 30 miles back to the house, kept looking in the mirror at my face, trying to push it back in place.

I couldn't talk properly, couldn't close my eye, and was drooling. I never considered going to the local hospital as it had a bad reputation. This was pre-internet days, so did not search to see what was wrong.

Once I got to the house, my youngest sister came in to talk with me and eventually I let her see. She was concerned and worried more than me. Having the open eyelid was an issue as I couldn't sleep for fear of scratching my eye surface

The situation cleared up by itself. I still get a watery left eye, dripping down my face, as some kind of reminder of the palsy. In recent years I have told my doctors and they said it may have been a mild stroke, but there's no telling for sure. Shortly after this palsy, a month or so, I had to have emergency surgery for a large abdominal tumor. Maybe there was a connection.
Click to expand...
It is very unlikely that a facial distortion that was probably an episode of Bell's Palsy would be connected to an abdominal tumor. Two completely different body systems. Bell's Palsy results from an irritation of the root of one of your facial nerves, and as you yourself wrote, you STILL have symptoms to this day. How is your sense of taste, and smell ? I ask because those two things are long and lingering symptoms of a previous episode of Bell's Palsy. Source: Ten years as a Ambulance Attendant with Metro Ambulance here in Toronto, plus my own episode of Bell's in 2011. Unlike your self I went immediately to Toronto General Hospital Emerg, and had the full stroke protocol with a CT scan, Predisone by mouth and by IV, and a 12 hour observation period. Diagnosis? Bells Palsy. JimB.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top