Bell's Palsy

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 1:59pm

Has anyone on here had this malady? It's hideous. The right side of my face is partially paralyzed. I can talk and could live with the whole thing except my right eyelid is paralyzed and won't blink. As I quickly found out, blinking is important. I am now sporting an eye patch that makes me look as though I'm in a really bad bus and truck tour of The Pirates of Penzance.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:12pm

I'm so sorry to hear that!

But no, I'm afraid I know only the name. When did it start?

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:17pm

I woke up Wednesday morning and thought I had had a mini-stroke, which would have been much worse.
Thank God I got my Julie Wilson Sings the Kurt Weill Songbook cd today in the mail to lift my spirits.

[tazber]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:18pm

Oh wow, that sucks nmartin.

I know nothing about this. Does it go away?

God bless Julie Wilson!

ETA: I just checked and it's temporary. I say make the most of it and go scare all the little kids at the local kindergarten.

Updated On: 1/15/10 at 02:18 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:19pm

I'm so sorry to hear about that!

Isn't this what Patti LuPone has as well? (I could be wrong but I thought I heard she suffered from it somewhere...)

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:21pm

The same Botox people now use for cosmetic reasons was actually developed as a way of helping people with Bell's and blepharospasm.

My Aunt Edie was one of the first patients to receive the treatment, decades before anyone used it for cosmetics. She had the opposite symptom--one eye blinked uncontrollably, but the conditions are related.

As your doctor about it.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:23pm

Oh! If Patti has it, I'm not so upset.
Taz, the nice thing is I teach school. When I go back Tuesday, it will be a good time. And God Bless Julie Twice. I saw her cabaret act one time upstairs at Bill's 90s and talked to her afterwards. I love her.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:24pm

This from Wiki is encouraging: "Even without any treatment, Bell's palsy tends to carry a good prognosis."

And there are treatments, as PJ suggests. I'm sure and your doctor are on top of it.

Still sucks, though. But it sounds as though you're taking it in stride!

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:25pm

Pal, what's so weird is if I uncover the paralyzed eye, it makes the good unparalyzed eye blink uncontrollably. I don't get it. As soon as I cover the affected eye, the good one stops going haywire.

[kate2]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:42pm

A family friend had this a couple of years ago. She couldn't read anything for a while and really had a hard time. However, you can take care of it rather quickly (obviously with the help of your doctor!)

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:48pm

Evidently, most people get rid of it in a couple of weeks or less. The strangest thing is three doctors have told me that no one really knows why it happens.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 2:56pm

Both my step mother and a good friend had it. My step mother e recovered completely, my friend has a bit of continuing pain when the weather gets too cold

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 3:01pm

Best friend had it a few years ago. It hit two weeks before we were to open a show. First doctor he went to said it would take weeks for it to go away. Then he found this acupuncturist who got most of his facial movement back in about 4 days. It was remarkable. Another friend developed it and went to the same acupuncturist and had the same short recovery time.

If you're in the NYC area, I can find out the guy's name and number.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 3:02pm

Son, thanks for the tip! I'll look into it in my area. I live in the Deep South.

[justme2]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 4:44pm

A friend at work had this happen to her. She ended up wearing an eye patch because of the one eye not blinking and constantly watering. Her's lasted about 3 months, and the symptoms kind of faded slowly over time.

Her doctor told her it was a neurological disorder brought on by acute stress.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 5:41pm

Justme, it's funny how you'll read that it's viral, stress related, etc. I think I already mentioned that the doctor I saw today said that really nobody knows what causes it. Also, thanks for relating the story of your friend with the eye patch. That's what I'm doing. Did she attempt to tape her eye down behind the patch or leave it open?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 6:08pm

A family friend had it years ago. All of her senior prom pictures were taken in profile.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 6:18pm

Orange, I can certainly understand why. I teach school, and I know this going to end up in the yearbook. No photos please!!

[blueroses]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 7:30pm

I'm sorry to hear this, but I know of two relatives and a family friend who had the same ailment and all had a full recovery. Keep this in mind...George Clooney had this years ago and look how gorgeous he turned out.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 7:41pm

Thanks, blueroses!

[justme2]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 9:20pm

She did not tape her eye down, but wore the patch the whole time. Her eye would start twiching, too. She was also given some kind of eye drops, as she was getting eye infections (no doubt from not being able to blink and protect her eye).

Her mouth was affected, too. Her speech was slurred in the beginning, but after about a month, that symptom started fading.

Good thoughts for you coming your way from SF!

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/10 at 9:59pm

Thanks, Just!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/16/10 at 12:05am

My dad had it in 2002 I believe, and gradually came back to normal operation after maybe 2-3 months.

Fun fact: Jamey Sheridan had to deal with a case of Bell's Palsy during his time on Law and Order SVU, so the producers wrote it into his character, complete with the eye patch.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 1/16/10 at 2:45am

oh man... sorry you have it... i got Bells Palsy when I was a junior in high school (1995) but I got a very mild version of it... i basically woke up one morning and the left side of my face was slightly paralyzed.. i couldn't close my left eye completely and could barely smile on the left side... it wasn't as bad as most people get it, but it did scare me... especially because the doctor said it happened randomly and could come back again at any time...

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/16/10 at 6:55am

Lasagna, I think mine may be mild too. I've had to tape down my eye. That's the only way I can function. I can relate to the smiling thing. My speech is ok though a little slurred. I can be understood.