Hi i got diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia in 2006 then with bells palsy a little over 6 months ago. So i just wanted to find out if TN might have caused my bells. Thanks
Bells palsy & trigeminal neuralgia - Facial Palsy UK
Bells palsy & trigeminal neuralgia
I have BP.. There is a theory that stress can cause BP. The stress from any chronic pain I think would apply. My thinking, is that BP is caused by a virus and like any other virus you are more prone to get it, if you are stressed.
I've heard also, they call anything (like paralysis to the face) BP if they don't know the cause. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of help for people with long term BP. I don't think doctors care enough, because a majority people heal from it on there own.
Sorry for taking a few days to respond, I have been checking with our Medical Advisory Board for you. They say they suspect they are not causally connected, normally when patients have Bell's palsy and facial pain they come on concurrently. However, they say it is worth being aware that there are some pathological processes that could independently cause both conditions so you should be reviewed by your local neurologist if not already done so.
Mine is the opposite way round - palsy followed by neuralgia. The ENT doctor said he thought there was a viral cause to BP so thinks it's post herpetic neuralgia. The BP wasn't too bad but the pain in my ear is quite unbearable. I'm taking amytripiline for the pain and it has only been 4 weeks so maybe I'm just expecting too much too quickly!