Bels palsey (facial)

Hi im james 34, woke up 2 weeks ago with bp, couldn't believe it! Wife gave birth to my little angel 4 days later talk about emotional rollercoaster😂Had a bit of pain in my ear head and cheak clicking noise started last night like water is stuck in there. Got my appointment with ent Friday. Trying to be positive?very hard, didn't realise how vane I was, I've read some stories about this and I can't believe how many people suffer with this nice not to be the only one! any positives would help.

[shlmi]

Hi James! Firstly Congrats on the new baby

Secondly, ive had bp twice in consecutive years first left then right so they had me thinking all sorts, tbh my gps were absolutely horrendous--- tried to say my 2nd attack was just Anxiety, so they basically made me wait another 24 hours before i went back with an even more dropped face --- there is a forum if you search for it bells palsy uk forum or something i swear its a life saver and if youre on facebook there is a group too called Bells Palsy Support (group page) it really helps alot to even just read other peoples stories or if you have a symptom to realise youre not the only one as for my episodes i didnt have any support from professionals or family being told "ah you cant tell" is the most annoying part!! I got referred to ENT eventually after lots of complaining about a heart beat in my ear... They didnt do much about the bp tbh actually told me well youre just unlucky :/ but as a result i do have pulsatile tinnitus so i hear my heart beat but i get used to it - least i know im still alive cliche but the best thing to do is stay positive, if the pain is real bad my gp prescribed amitriptyline which helps the nerves relax as they work overtime trying to fix themselves, i took vitamin B complex as i heard it helped and also adopted a gluten free-ish diet as i read a study that showed gluten links to causing bells palsy ... There is no definitive cause - another annoying part! Hope youre recovery is quick (sorry about the long post)

[Hidden in reply to shlmi]

No probs about long message😊 got ent Friday,I'm lucky can close my eye just, blinking is not so good tho,speech isn't the best kids laughing at me eating 😂 gota laugh c hav good n bad days thanks for the info very helpfull👍

[lambl]

Hi James, congrats on the baby! I've had bp for 10 months now & got it when I was 8 months pregnant so I can understand the emotional roller coaster!! It's good you have an apt so soon, what I would say is also push your gp for a referral to the queen Victoria hospital ASAP as they have a specialist unit there in facial palsy. Unfortunately my GPs too were useless and I had to force them to refer me but by then synkinesis had set in. I'm now working with a therapist to undergo facial stretching & exercises, but they have said the sooner you can get there the better chance of recovery!

[Hidden in reply to lambl]

Yer will do thanks hope ur ok x

[Hidden]

Congratulations!

I had bells palsy for three or more months. Great news that you can close your eye now,it took me ages.

It has left me with a bit of tinnitus though which isn't too bad. When I feel stressed or tired it is noticeable on my face, one side drops. I did have pain behind my left ear which sometimes comes back though not as bad. We are all different.

Hope your recovery is quick

Ali

[Hidden]

Hi James Have you been given a course of steroids? That is the first thing they do to help reduce the inflammation of the nerve To be honest that is the only thing the GP's seem to do when diagnosing BP ! It's early days and hopefully it will clear up 100% but be prepared for a possible long slow recovery as nerve damage takes a fair time to repair I also had difficulty blinking and had a small weight put in my eyelid to help after about two years

Congratulations on your new baby

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Cheers x

[josephine768]

Congratulations for the baby! Yes James, the sooner you can get seen to the better. I think keeping positive is important, I don't know how other bps deal with it but some days I do get down about it and it does really really annoy me when people say 'you can't tell' because you can see it. But, I then have to remember that my health is otherwise good and my little boy is healthy so I can't get too sad about it. Good luck with everything! You have your lovely family to enjoy with your new arrival

[Hidden in reply to josephine768]

Thanks x

[Naomarie]

Congratulations on your new arrival!

I got bp at around 18 weeks pregnant in December 2014. I was fortunate enough to be given steroids and anti viral medication which the specialist consultant was very pleased about and aided my recovery.

All in all it took 11-12 weeks for my speech to come back and for me to be able to voluntarily close my left eye or blink.

Baby is now 11 weeks and I still find when I am tired I have a weakness/delay with my left side of my face. I really struggle with how it's made my face look as having a young baby and a 4 year old I am often tired!

As someone earlier mentioned the worst thing is family members saying that they can't notice. Fortunately my other half has learnt to be truthful. I hope one day to be completely back to normal but it could always be worse!

Good luck x