Bell's palsy (facial palsy) is characterised by facial drooping on the affected half, due to malfunction of the facial nerve (VII cranial nerve), which controls the muscles of the ...
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Palsy Pain 11 years later
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I developed Bell's Palsy 11 years ago, at age 19, in the left side of my face. The only medical treatment I received was electro muscle stimulation therapy and a two-week round of prednisone. Then, there really wasn't much known about the problem. The remaining 10 years have been self-treated with over-the-counter Advil. This is largely due to the fact that when I mention my problem to any doctor they want to drop a hint that it is a mere headache or a 'mind over matter' circumstance. I've also had one imply I only sought pain medication, rather than treatment for Bell's Palsy.
The short of my recovery story is this: The therapy helped some, but prednisone made me gain 50 pounds, which I have since lost. I stopped receiving treatment from a neurologist around age 21. He said I was '87 percent' healed and likely would not be any better than I was at that moment. However there have been marked changes in the years that followed. It is still obvious I've had Bell's. My eye won't close when sleeping all the way, it tears up when I eat, and I can't whistle. LOL My mouth also tends to 'smile' on the left side when I blink with my left eye. I've learned to control some of these things on a good day when my face doesn't hurt or feel sore. On a more serious note, even 11 years later the pain in my face is still excruciating at times. A small area, about the size of a dime, above my left eyebrow will hurt so badly every week or two that it causes severe anxiety (or a fidgety feeling) if I don't take Advil early enough, once the pain starts. Sometimes Advil just isn't enough, so I sleep it off in an effort to relax the muscles, which feel cramped. I have come to refer to it as a 'face ache' because it's certainly not a headache. This is very obvious pain between the skin and bone coming from nerves or muscles. My question here is, do any of you still have severe pain so many years later? If so, what have you done for it? When Advil just isn't enough, are there prescriptions out there I could ask my doctor about? Obviously, the affected area must be inflamed since Advil generally does the trick, but it seems like Advil doesn't work as well as it used to. Posted on 07/22/08, 03:07 pm |
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My husband has the "face ache" too, but he is just 3 weeks into his syndrome. This is the way his doctor explained it to him.
If you had a broken leg, you could take Vicodin or Tylenol with codiene or some other pain medicine because you have an actual injury. With bell's palsy, it might feel like your ear is cut off, but it really isn't. However the nerves are sending signals to your brain that your ear IS CUT OFF. So, what they did with my husband was put him on a seizure medicine called Neurotin to block the signals from the nerve to the brain. My husband has never had a seizure disorder, so taking this medicine was kind of scary for him. However, it DOES help the pain. The only problem is that the medicine makes him sleepy and we are tying to figure out a good dose that will help the pain but not make him sleepy. Maybe you could ask your doctor about Neurontin. Also, google it and put in " post herpetic neuralgia" and I think it will explain it better than I can. I hope that you feel better because 10 years with pain is just too long. TAke care. 
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Is it just me or why don't they give an Antibiotic. I tried prednisone. I had to stop taking it bcuz I had was allergic to it. The side affects where so bad I was admitted to the hospital. I was just diagnose 3 wks ago with bell's my face is dropping I have no trouble with my eyes. I still having all the symtom's like my eyes still hurt I get headaches allot. I feel twitches now and then more on my right eye. Does your stomach get upset. I have notice I have lost my love for food. and I afraid to eat my stomach get's upset then I get all this other symtoms like something suck in my throat and a burning pain across my chest. My doc say's it heart burn. I been just taking asprine or drink some tea with camomile. To calm me down and relax me. I hope this one day will be just a memory.
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tootie56: Thanks for the advice and most of all the encouragement.
During my initial treatment, I was on Neurontin until I read it was difficult on the liver. It was prescribed to me for pain which, at the time, was behind my ear when lying down. While I have not considered Neurontin in recent years, I appreciatre the reminder. I'd almost forgotten taking it. The regular, tearing pain that still exists above my left eyebrow seems to have only existed for the past three to five years, not from the beginning. It's almost as if that 'spot' beneath the skin, about the size of a dime, is what keeps me from further healing. Your suggestion of post hepatic neuralgia looks like a definite possibility the more I research. I will definitely bring it up to my family doctor in a visit soon. I haven't been treated specifically for Bell's in almost 10 years. I've often wondered though if this continued pain isn't associated with weak muscles trying to move. A few years ago when the pain began to limit itself to the area above my eyebrow, I regularly noticed slight increases in the ability to move muscles around my eye and nose. Sometimes I have refused to take pain relievers just to see if working through it would make those muscles stronger. Sometimes, although I know that sounds crazy, it appears to have worked. But sometimes the pain is just too much, as I mentioned in a previous post. Obviously, I'm a happy guy and don't want to discourage other Bell's Palsy sufferers. It has not limited my life over the last decade thanks to God and constant support from my family even today. People with Bell's Palsy should know there are varied degrees of the illness and while it's frustrating and scary at first, it does get better. Besides, life goes on regardless and some people think a crooked smile is sexy. Look at Elvis! LOL :)
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wishingonastar: It sounds like you're getting discouraged about Bell's, but like I mentioned in my previous post with tootie, don't get too down and out.
It gets better and if you're already having muscle twitches, it sounds to me as if you're on a high road to recovery. Hopefully, your doctor will explain more to you about use of antibiotics, which is something I've never personally considered, but who knows. It might work for you. When you get something like Bell's Palsy, it seems like anything is worth a try once and there are definitely no stupid questions. One thing I've learned is while research is out there, actual knowledge by physicians on a local level about the problem is extremely limited. This appears true moreso for severe cases such as mine was beause general rule is usually that it will get better on it's own. I wish you all the best and don't forget to do facial exercises to help strengthen those muscles that keep twitching. To answer your quesstion about prednisone and upset stomach, the anser is 'yes' it did. Maybe that could be the reason for your 'heartburn' as well?
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