Coping With Bell's Palsy

I got Bell’s Palsy the day before Labor Day this year and read the posts on this site a few days later. They seemed primarily negative, I figured because most people who recover don’t post their story. So I wanted to be sure I posted my experience here if things improved, and they most certainly did.

I first realized something was wrong while waiting to meet a friend at a golf course the morning before labor day when I yawned while looking in the bathroom mirror. The right side of my face seemed strange looking. I didn’t think too much of it and continued with my golf plans. As the day went on, I started to notice things like a slight change/loss of taste, half frozen lips during a whistle, smiling issues, and blinking issues. It got progressively worse as the day went on, and I started to think I had a stroke The right side of my face was basically “dead”, and I had never heard of Bell’s Palsy. It must have been a stroke I thought. My wife called my doctor who told us that I probably had Bell’s and to go to the walk-in the next day. After the doctor visit, I began steroids and antibiotics (prednisone and doxycycline) and awaited the results of blood work. I eventually learned that I had Lyme’s disease, which led to the Bell’s Palsey.

The first two weeks were simply awful. Going to work every day was a nightmare. The awkwardness and social embarrassment were nearly unbearable. It seemed like my entire personality had changed overnight, because it was as if suddenly I had a new face, one I didn’t like. The doctor at the walk-in told me things would start to improve in a day or two, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. My regular doctor said it would be more like 2-3 weeks, and he was right on the money.

The third week began to show rapid improvement. My wife and co-workers told me they were seeing daily improvements, such as the smile returning, improved blinking, the cheek coming up, etc. I was taking pictures of myself every day to monitor the progress, and that third week was huge improvement.

Within 4 weeks of diagnosis, my smile was basically back to normal, blinking was full again, taste was completely back, and I felt like myself again. My wife was quite relieved, as I was not fun to live with under the spell of Bell’s Palsy. I just wanted to post this to let everyone out there know that improvement and recovery are definitely possible.

A couple tips: Don’t delay a visit to the doctor with symptoms of either Lyme’s disease (extreme fatigue, achy joints and bones) or Bell’s. Catching them quickly will do wonders. I was a fool and ignored the signs of Lyme’s for at least a week, which is probably why I got Bell’s. Also, find positive stories like mine while you’re going through this. I remember the anguish and the fear of the unknown that I felt - hearing a positive story in the midst of it can do wonders for your mindset.

Good luck!!!