I have done some fairly dangerous and scary things in my life, but I don’t think I have ever been quite as frightened as I was this morning. On Sunday I noticed that my left eye felt a little funny. I was having trouble closing my eyelid. I mowed the lawn earlier that day and thought maybe my eye was a bit swollen, just a little allergy and no big deal. The situation was the same yesterday and it worried me a bit. This morning when I woke up I was having trouble moving the entire left side of my face. Normally I don’t jump to the worst possible conclusion, but there is a history of strokes on one side of my family and I immediately thought of that. I knew that there were other explanations, including Bell’s Palsy, but I was having trouble not thinking stroke. My wife and I hurried off to the ER and after only a minute or two of waiting I was admitted. The doctors and nurses had me move my face several million different ways and then verified that my left hand and leg were working fine and diagnosed me with Bell’s Palsy(a shocking twist to this story, I know, especially after the thread title 
). I am now taking corticosteroids and an anti-viral medication. I didn’t have full paralysis, so hopefully the symptoms will completely abate in a week or two, but they could last, in part, for months or even for the rest of my life(though that is rare given my current condition). It is still scary, but absolutely nothing compared to how scary it was before I went to the ER. In hindsight I wish I would have just waited for my normal doctor’s office to open and went then, it would have saved me a lot of money, but I couldn’t imagine sitting around for a couple of hours hoping I wasn’t having a stroke or transient ischemic attack. Like I said, I don’t think I’ve ever feared for my life and well-being, and honestly how it would affect my loved ones, quite like this. I honestly don’t know many of you that well, but I kind of feel the need to vent and talk about it without worrying my family(they do know what happened, just not how I took it). I’ve lurked here for years and I know some of you have had health scares of your own, anybody want to tell me how it felt to know you could be looking at something that could end or tragically alter your life? Hell, I think I might just be looking for someone to tell me it’s okay to be scared.
It’s okay to be scared. It’d sure scare hell out of me.
My mom has Bell’s Palsy too. The first time it happened was about a year ago. I think the worst problem for her was that she couldn’t completely close her eye on that side and it would get dried out. Her symptoms slowly improved to the point where the face droop couldn’t really be seen anymore. However, just the other day it struck again. She called me from the emergency room and I couldn’t understand her because she couldn’t move her lips properly…yeah, pretty fucking scary. She’s having some pain with it this time as well.
Jeez, that wasn’t a very comforting thing for me to say. What I meant was, Bell’s Palsy totally sucks and you do have my sympathy. I hope you get better real soon.
Walking Dude, it** is** ok to be scared. If you had been having a stroke, time would have been of the essence. The first gallbladder attack I had scared the crap out of me, because I thought I was having a heart attack (symptoms can be very similar, and in fact I’ve heard it said that gallbladder can hurt worse, from someone who experienced both!) To me, you can’t put a price on your peace of mind.
I hope your Bell’s symptoms abate soon. Take care of yourself!
My wife had it once about 10 years ago. Was trying to swish mouthwash in the morning and it went squirting out of the side of her mouth. Half her face looked fine; the other half drooped as though all the muscles had been severed. It was bizarre and scary, but she recovered completely and it hasn’t recurred. Best of luck.
You did the right thing by going to the ER. If it had been a stroke, quick treatment might have been essential.
One of my friends had Bell’s Palsy and is now fine. You’re in good company. Here’s a People article about actor Jamey Sheridan’s experience. The article says that both George Clooney and Pierce Brosnan have had Bell’s Palsy.
It’s OK to be scared.
In fact, if having half your face paralyzed (even partially) didn’t scare you then I’d really be worried. This is a situation where the fear shows that your brain is still functioning properly. Fear that makes you seek out medical help for a medical crisis is actually your friend. In this case, the fear that prompted you to go to the ER was a GOOD thing, even if it felt really crappy at the time.
I’ve known several people in my lifetime who had Bell’s palsy. All of them recovered fully. I expect you to have the same good fortune though I will completely understand if you have trouble being equally optimistic at this point.
First off, my sister had Bell’s and recovered. She also has had chronic leukemia for about 30 years, which baffles the doctors, since she should by all rights be dead by now.
I read your last paragraph above as looking for our own stories, not necessarily about Bell’s. As for my own scare, it happened about 28 years ago when I was in the military. I was sitting at my desk and stood up to go do something and was hit with a wave of dizziness, sort of like the vertigo you get when you get up too quickly. As I made my way into the next room, it got worse. Then it got much worse, to the point where I had to grab onto something to keep from falling. There was nobody else in the building, and in a bit of a panic it didn’t occur to me to call 911.
Instead, I managed to stagger outside. Each movement brought on nauseating waves of dizziness and I was sure I was either having a heart attack or stroking out. I headed for the next building over, holding on the the walls and stumbling along like a drunk. Another teacher spotted me and came running over, then raced me over to the base hospital ER, where they threw me on a table and hooked me up to an EKG. All this time I was thinking that I’d never see my wife and kids again, and the panic nearly did me in.
Long story shortened: it turned out to be a particularly nasty ear infection. The fear was real, even if the emergency was not. Don’t feel too badly about being frightened. It’s normal and natural.
The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I was really fucking annoying. You were right to get treatment right way which helps your chances hugely. Most people fully recover and it never comes back.
It’s annoying as hell for those first couple of weeks though. It’s hard to bite food and drink and you have to sleep with your eye taped shut.
Oh god, bad ear infections are horrible. Though they mightn’t be life threatening, They do make you feel really bad. I had a ear infection like yours, and it took me three weeks to recover. I slept in a chair ( to stop the vertigo affect) and couldn’t move my head.
If I never get a ear infection again, it’ll be too soon.
I had it. I caused it.
I had been perscribed an antibiotic that I was supposed to take in the morning on an empty stomach.
Woke up very early and popped the pill and took a drink of water, rolled over and went back to sleep.
When I got up about an hour later my left eye was a little puffy and I had a little bit of a stopped up nose. After about an hour I blew my nose and out comes a half a dissolved pill! A couple of hours after that half my face went dead.
It lasted for three weeks…but I started getting some movement back at about 9 or 10 days.
It was scary but thanks to research on the intertubes, it seams most people get past it in less than a month. Best of luck.
My wife developed it the day after getting Norplant for the first time. The neurologist doubted there was a connection, but she wasn’t convinced and refused to get any more Norplant injections. Can’t say I blame her.
I have known two people who had Bell’s Palsy. Both recovered just fine. On was a dignified older lady. She was very embarrassed by the symptoms. The other was a high school student; the family was panicked until they found out the cause.
This is an outstanding forum for BP information, or at least it was when I was stricken a few years back. Check them out.
I know it’s a bit of a pile-on, but yes, Bell’s Palsy sucks. My husband gets it every so often - prolonged stress seems to be a trigger.
If it’s your first encounter, it can be terrifying as your initial thoughts are “I’m having a stroke!” But, if you can Act FAST, and you don’t seem to be having mental confusion or problems with your hands, chances are good that it’s Bell’s but if you’re the least bit unsure, get to the ER or call 911.
As a local hospital says: TIME IS BRAIN - you’ve only got a couple of hours to have much hope of reversing brain damage caused by a stroke. Similarly, early treatment helps Bell’s abate faster. The least time he noticed the one-sided smile, we were calling the doctor immediately for prednisone and valtrex, and he was back to normal within a week.
Look in the mirror and try to blink your eyes. If only one eye blinks, it’s likely Bell’s. If both eyes blink but you can’t move half of your face, it’s more likely to be a stroke.