Bell's Palsy and stress and anti-depressants

[Cookyblue]

Hi, I got Bell's Palsy 3 months ago - I am making a reasonable recovery but left with synkenesis and neck pain etc. I believe it was caused by stress. I have been feeling quite down and really worried about getting this again sometime. Does anyone have any views on anti-depressants and if this might keep stress/emotions under control and therefore may prevent this happening again.

[Vane91]

Hi, I had BP over 3 years ago at 27 years old and I thought I would never be happy. I suffered w/ depression before BP and never took medication. Every-time my affected side hurt, my neck, face and or head hurt I would freak and stress because the worse fear I had was to get it again. 3 years later my affected side still does hurt sometimes, my face still gets tense and I’m still not able to move it 100% and I survived!! I feel BP woke me up!! Like yeah you got this dreadful thing happen but you are still alive!!! I’m alive!! Now and then when my face acts up in a way that might have had startled me before I now take a different approach and tell myself that my body is somehow trying to correct itself, correct my face!! Stress is a silent killer and negativity attracts the worst thoughts!!

Just a little advice that helped me cope with this was learning to stop meditating on something negative, it only robs you!!

[Cookyblue in reply to Vane91]

Thank you Vane91, that’s a great reply and very true! I hope you are doing well.

[Mrs_Ballroom]

More than likely you don’t have BP. I’m not a doc but the palsy specialists I work with say that if it lasts longer than 6mo it’s not BP. I had Zoster Sine Herpete, Shingles w/o a rash. I was put on antivirals for 1yr by Michael Reilly, MD at MedStar b/c shingles can easily come back, reinfect or infect the other facial nerve!!!! Stress does bring this on. I was in a very anxious and angry place when mine came on.

My PT, Jodi Barth at The Center For Facial Recovery needles out the fibrosis making it easier to retrain my facial function.

I hope you’re doing better than me! 🙏🏼 All the best.