Coping With Bell's Palsy

First of all, I would like to offer encouragement to all of those experiencing Bells Palsy It’s a scary situation to wake up to. I am a 27 year old woman that has had a number of Bells Palsy episodes. I remember the first time I had Bells Palsy, I was seven. I woke up and ran into my parents room on the first day of spring break excited about 9 days off from school. My mom noticed my face was not working correctly right away and told me to smile, then smile at my dad. The look on her face was terrifying but I had no idea what was going on. My Dad calmed her down because they were trying not to scare me. All I remember was going to the pediatrician and them calling it “truckers ear” and saying it usually only occurs in adults.

They told me it could be caused by an inner ear infection and that I should not sleep with the windows open or underneath a fan. I was prescribed prednisone and facial exercises to stimulate the nerves. Every night I made a series of strange faces while my mom promised me my face would be back to normal by the time I went back to school. Luckily the Monday I returned, it was no longer noticeable. I do remember my vision was a little blurred for a few weeks following. My second occurance of Bells was at the age of 9. Then a couple more times by the time I was 17. It seems like the occurances were 2-3 years apart. My memory is foggy but I think the second time I had Bells, I was referred to an ears, nose, throat specialist and recieved some kind of electric nerve stimulation to my face. All I remember is a cold metal thing pressed to my face and the doctor telling me to alert him when the contraption started to hurt. As he adjusted dials, my nerves would twitch uncontrollably. He also made me close my eyes and stick out my tongue. He placed a piece of candy on one half of my tongue and told me to tell him the flavor. It was a lemon drop and I could not taste it. Until that point I hadn’t realized my taste was affected.

In junior high I woke up with Bells Palsy again, and this time is lasted a couple of months. I tried not to smile and seemed to keep my hand or a notebook over the afflicted half of my face. When I got to high school and had another Bells Palsy occurance, I was referred to a pediatric neurologist for further examination. I was subjected to an MRI and a variety of silly tests (ie. stand on one leg, touch your toes, etc. ). I think the doctor was checking my balance, but it seemed more like a sobriety test. It was a University Hospital so I had to honor of performing for a number of his medical students. At that time, the doctor suggested removing a bone from my inner ear to increase the room in my ear canal and possibly prevent the nerve from pinching off when inflamed. I did not feel comforable with the procedure, so I just followed the regular prednisone, B-12, and facial exercise regimen. I have been very fortunate, as much of my facial mobility has returned. I have since lost count of how many times I have been diagnosed with Bells Palsy, and how many times it was on the right side of my face as opposed to my left.

I have been told an inner ear infection, stress, or fatigue are all triggers. So when I feel my face start to droop, my nerves start to twitch or an eye that blinks slower than another, I immediately head to the doctor to try to kick the problem before it begins. My adult Bells Palsy episodes occurred in 2003 and a few years ago. In fact, I am currently on prednisone because my facial nerves on the left side started twitching and my eye is a little droopy. Luckily, none of my adult cases are as severe as those in childhood.

I consider myself fortunate for having been blessed with a loving and supportive family that never made a big deal about my sporatic facial paralysis. They taught me to keep doing my daily routine without making facial paralysis all of my identity. I will admit, sometimes I wanted to stay home and hide from the rest of the world because the paralysis seemed so obvious. When in reality, if I wasn’t eating or smiling, my droopy mouth was hardly noticeable.

I appreciate those who have posted their stories on this site. I am pleased that there is more information on the subject of Bells Palsy now than there was 20 years ago. I would like to know if anyone has heard of people having Bells more than a couple of times. Is the herpes outbreak theory a possible reason I’ve had so many occurances?