Coping With Bell's Palsy

So, after reading a couple of stories, I should probably back-up a few days on my situation. Some of this info may/may not be related to the Bell’s Palsy that I now have, but it’s worth noting because it’s been a crazy week and there seems to be a lot of unknowns about BP! Last Wednesday, July 1st, I had my second visit with my chiropractor to get my adjustment to help with a back injury I sustained on June 22….later that night, when out with friends we enjoyed some tasty pizza. The next day it felt like I had burnt my tongue but it was very faint. The next fews days went by and I was fine (so maybe I did just burn my tongue?). On Sunday, I woke up and as far as I can recall, felt fine until I went to the gym in the afternoon..while driving to the gym, my left eye felt weird like I didn’t have as much control over it and couldn’t close it completely. When I got to the gym, I took a drink of water and it tasted awful….still wasn’t sure because I felt fine physically. I went into the locker room and that’s when I noticed that something was wrong. My left side of my face was paralyzed. Some people I talked to suggested Bell’s Palsy, but I still was not sure. At that point, I thought it could have possibly been from my adjustment from the chiropractor because of the nerves in my neck/spine and the adjustments. I had my next appt. the following day, Monday July 7, so I waited to see him. When I got to the chiropractor’s office and informed him of the problem, he was just as surprised as me, and after taking vitals, and not being able to rule out if my symptoms were neurological or vascular, we both decided against an adjustment and I was off to the ER! I received a cat scan while in the ER to rule out a stroke/vascular damage, and the results were negative. I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. The doctors think I could have Lyme Disease as BP is a symptom of Lyme Disease They took blood samples and I should find out this weekend if it’s Lyme Disease. If I don’t, then I have no idea what caused this. I was prescribed Prednisone to help reduce the inflammation of the nerve, and Doxycycline for the Lyme Disease (in case I do have it, best to start treatment now). The doctor at the ER said that unfortunately it can take from 2 weeks to 2 months or longer to recover from BP. Nothing really hurts, but it’s really annoying. My eye has been bothersome off and on during the day. I keep applying the artificial tears and just bought some sunglasses that I can wear throughout the day to hopefully help out a bit. Eating, and drinking can be a pain in the butt, but fortunately for me, the droop in my face is VERY minimal almost to the point that you can barely notice it unless I point it out, or talk for a while. Since Monday, after it had been determined that I did not have any vascular damage, I was able to resume my chiropractic adjustments (the back is feeling great!). It is suggested that the appropriate chiropractic adjustment could help treat Bell’s Palsy. You can search this online (search: Chiropractic Bell’s Palsy) to research more. I don’t know if it will/wont help, but I am trying it because I am treating my back problems. I don’t know what to make of all of this, but I just hope it gets better soon and I fully recover with no relapses. I hope this helps, and best of luck to everyone.