Just diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy...anyone else ever deal with this?

what treatment did they give you?

xlev2 wrote:

what treatment did they give you?

An anti-viral and prednisone.

Yes, I had a case of it around 10 years ago. It was just the result of a bad cold that turned into an inner-ear infection that put pressure on a facial nerve. I went to bed with an earache and woke up unable to move one side of my face. I could only eat soft foods for a couple weeks and tended to make a mess when I did so. I had to remember to blink my eye manually so the eyeball didn't dry out. People thought I was dead serious when I was making a joke because I had no facial expression on one side.

Every case is different, but it took me about 10 months before I could whistle again. It took about the same time for talking to be mostly unaffected. Basically, it's nerve damage, and the only treatment is physical therapy and patience. I still have some after-effects, like my face feeling slightly numb when I'm tired, and some involuntary eyelid movement when I talk.

I wasn't running seriously at the time, but I can't think of anything that would have affected running. Maybe remember to blink the affected eye frequently.

George Clooney had Bell's palsy as a child.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clooney

Yikes...sorry you had to deal with it that long. The doctor told me my symptoms should start going away in a couple weeks, with almost everything back to normal in a month. I can’t imagine dealing with this crap for 10 months.

I was warned about the eye issue also, and given eye drops and an eye patch to wear at night to make sure I don’t scratch my eye.

Thanks for the response.

You got the appropriate treatment and you presented early--did all you could to improve prognosis.

Here are a couple items to read thru. Will help you gauge prognosis. I was not able to cut and paste --sorry--google it

House-Brackmann classification of facial nerve dysfunction

https://sunnybrook.ca/uploads/FacialGradingSystem.pdf

Do you have a dog named Farfel?

My dad had it. He didn’t last long. It killed him off pretty quickly but it was fairly painless.

I've had one episode of Bell's Palsy. Happened back in 2004. I remember it clearly because it happened about 3 weeks before my wedding and my soon-to-be wife was worried my drooping face would ruin the wedding photos. Anyway, I had the standard treatment (same as yours) and the symptoms lasted for about a week or so and then functioning returned pretty much back to normal. The doctor wasn't able to identify what caused the incident. I haven't had any episodes since, although I have noticed that my ears have been more sensitive to the winter cold since that time. Can't verify that the sensitivity is related in any way to the BP. I wasn't a runner back then but don't think it would have impacted that activity much at all.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Droopy Face wrote:

I've had one episode of Bell's Palsy. Happened back in 2004. I remember it clearly because it happened about 3 weeks before my wedding and my soon-to-be wife was worried my drooping face would ruin the wedding photos. Anyway, I had the standard treatment (same as yours) and the symptoms lasted for about a week or so and then functioning returned pretty much back to normal. The doctor wasn't able to identify what caused the incident. I haven't had any episodes since, although I have noticed that my ears have been more sensitive to the winter cold since that time. Can't verify that the sensitivity is related in any way to the BP. I wasn't a runner back then but don't think it would have impacted that activity much at all.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Glad to hear that a relatively quick recovery is possible. Do you happen to remember how long you took the prednisone? The doctor gave me a five day course, and I was wondering if that’s enough.

Albert Riser wrote:

After feeling like one side of my face was filled with Novocain for the past two days, my wife convinced me to go to the ER this morning. I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. It’s not notacable externally unless I smile (the affected side basically doesn’t move) or wink (I can’t close the affected eye by itself). However, I’m having all the other standard symptoms that make this condition unpleasant to deal with.

Has anyone here had Bell’s Palsy? How long did it take for your face to return to normal? Were you able to run with no issues?

Thanks for your help.

I had it about 5 or 6 years ago on the right side of my face. Like others have mentioned, I had a cold the week before, so the doctor speculated that the virus might have caused the facial nerve to get inflamed. Same treatment as others too: prednisone (can't remember exactly for how long but I think about a week) and valcyclovir. From what I've read online, prednisone has been clinically shown to have a benefit. The antiviral is just because it can't hurt and it might help.

I couldn't move that side of my face at all for about 2 months. During that time, I was determined to not let it make me skip any runs or even workouts, and it didn't. I even ran a 1/2 marathon PR during that time. However, I had to stop wearing contacts and wore my glasses when I ran to help keep the wind out of my eyes. I even bought some prescription sports goggles, but didn't end up wearing them much because they were too distracting while I ran. I did have to use a lot of artificial tears, and remember to reach up and blink my eye manually to keep it from drying out. Also, I had to tape my eye shut at night to keep it from damage (I used two strips of tape in an X, so that eye looked like cartoons of dead people) and tried not to rip my eyelashes and eyebrows out but definitely lost a few.

After a couple of months, it started to come back. Twitches at first, but eventually I recovered about 80-90% after a few more months. Some things are still not completely right. My face and smile are a little asymmetrical, and my right eye twitches when I chew. Apparently when the nerves regenerate/recover, they can rewire a little incorrectly. When I swallow a drink, my right eye closes involuntarily. It's most noticeable when I'm tired, or when I try to smile really big. So I've sort of learned to smile for photos in a way that it isn't as accentuated as it can be. One thing I always notice in race photos is that when my face is really relaxed and my mouth is hanging open (typical mid-race photo in other words), one side of my mouth droops open more than the other, so it kind of looks like I'm sneering.

But whatever ... at the end of the day it is an inconvenience but not life changing. I guess it could be a lot worse if my income depended on how my face looked or functioned, e.g. a TV anchor or a brass musician, as opposed to a desk job where it makes no difference how symmetrical my mouth is. At least that's how I rationalized it. And like I mentioned, it didn't negatively affect my running at all.

I get that it can be distressing though, especially when it's new like it is for you. Best of luck managing it.

Thanks for the very detailed response. I’m sorry you had to go through all this as well, and that you still have some lingering affects. Did you have any drooping on your face? Right now, I have numbness, I have to concentrate to blink my affected eye, and my smile is ridiculously crooked, but if I am just talking or doing nothing there are no signs of Bell’s Palsy. I’m hoping it doesn’t progress any further, and since my initial symptoms started on Tuesday evening, the doctor doesn’t think things will get worse. We’ll see. Hoping for the best.

Thanks again.

Albert Riser wrote:

Thanks for the very detailed response. I’m sorry you had to go through all this as well, and that you still have some lingering affects. Did you have any drooping on your face? Right now, I have numbness, I have to concentrate to blink my affected eye, and my smile is ridiculously crooked, but if I am just talking or doing nothing there are no signs of Bell’s Palsy. I’m hoping it doesn’t progress any further, and since my initial symptoms started on Tuesday evening, the doctor doesn’t think things will get worse. We’ll see. Hoping for the best.

Thanks again.

I didn't really having drooping in the side that was affected. I've seen pictures of people where it looks like the affected side of their face kind of "melts" down, but fortunately that didn't happen to me. What did happen is that the muscles in the unaffected side pulled my mouth over in that direction, because the affected side didn't counterbalance the normal muscular tension. Remember that Olympic gymnast who made the "not impressed" face when she didn't win gold? Kind of like that with the good side pulling things away from the affected side.

I didn't have any numbness like what you get with a trip to the dentist. I could touch my face and feel the touch the same on both sides. Apparently there are different nerves that control sensation vs. motor. Mine only affected the motor nerves.

Also, mine all happened within the first day, if not 1/2 day. I first noticed it in the early afternoon, and by that night I couldn't move my face at all. It didn't get any worse after that. At first I thought I might be having a stroke, so I was doing things like side planks and standing one leg at a time to see if there were any differences from one side to another. But I called an ER doctor I know and he said if it was just my face, then it was in all likelihood Bell's Palsy and therefore not an emergency ... just get to a doctor the next day if I could to get the prednisone/antivirals prescribed. From what I've read, it usually develops pretty quickly to whatever it's going to be. So yeah yours probably isn't going to get any worse.

If you can actually blink your eye by concentrating, then yours fortunately isn't as bad as it could be. I literally couldn't move my "blink muscles" at all, no matter how hard I tried. I had to pull my eyelid down with my finger all the time to get moisture to my eye. Fortunately, it seems eyes are relatively durable, because with things like running and forgetting to pull down my eyelid, I probably didn't get as much moisture to it as I should have. But its fine now. I was able to start wearing contacts again maybe 4 or 5 months after it first happened too. But you do need to protect it from things like flying bugs while you're running and accidentally jabbing it with your thumb while you're asleep.

One thing that I discovered, is that when I had it, a number of people told me that it either had happened to them, or someone they know. When it first happened, I thought I was only about the 2nd person I knew who had gotten it. But it turned out to be more common than I realized. Even a couple of other runners told me it had happened to them. Also, I also have a tendency to notice people who have a minor asymmetry in their mouths/faces, and feel a kinship of sorts with them, even it never gets mentioned, because I know that's probably what caused it.

Again, best of luck with it.

my MIL had Bell's. Took her about 2-3 months to fully recover. Slow process. Recovery time is highly variable. Some fully recover in 6 weeks, others take 6 months. You should know most recover either fully or almost fully.

Very interesting.

My wife and I are actually visiting my parents and family for Thanksgiving (definitely making this process more annoying), and between all of my relatives they could only think of one person they knew who had it. The doctor told me it’s pretty rare (fewer than 200K per year). It’s nice to hear from others who delt with it.

Numbness is definitely my biggest issue right now. I’m having a really difficult time eating due to just how numb the affected side of my tongue and lips are. In fact, if I try to stick my tongue out, it goes to one side like those dogs whose tongues always hang out of their mouthes. It looks as ridiculous as my smile.

dsadsfd wrote:

George Clooney had Bell's palsy as a child.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clooney

Another well-known person who had Bell's Palsy is Rick Savage, Def Leppard's bass player:

Everything everyone said about Bell’s palsy above is correct.

However, if your tongue deviates to one side when you stick it out you DO NOT have Bell’s palsy.

Go to ER immediately and show them your tongue movement. Request a CT scan of your skull base.

Bell’s palsy is weakness or paralysis of cranial nerve VII when we can’t find any other explanation for the weakness. It does not involve other cranial nerves.

You are describing weakness of Cranial Nerve VII ( facial movement), cranial nerve XII ( tongue movement), and cranial nerve V ( sensation to lip, face, and tongue). Do not let anyone tell you you have Bell’s Palsy - you do not. They are correct in saying that you have cranial nerve VII weakness. That is a symptom. The diagnosis is NOT Bell’s palsy.

I was diagnosed with Bell's palsy about six years ago. They told me it goes away within a few months 75% of the time. Mine never did. A year ago I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and now they're not sure if I ever really had Bell's palsy. I had radiation treatments for two months and that has stopped the progression. (Knock on wood) I don't want to scare you, but if you start having double vision see a neurologist. More than likely you're going to be all right.