Ring Mah Bell......'s Palsy

[Taeryyn]

Well, half of my face is pretty much paralysed. It started on Friday, with my lip feeling funny. At least, I thought it felt funny. It was hard to describe.

On Saturday, I couldn't drink through a straw or whistle.

By Sunday night, I couldn't raise my eyebrow on the right side of my face, and it required effort to blink my right eye. Usually, blinking isn't a strenuous activity.

Sooo I went to a clinic yesterday at like 10, waited around for about 2 hours, and a nurse told me I probably had Bell's Palsy. Without much explanation, she sent me off to the regional hospital, where I waited 8 hours in the ER to be seen by a neurologist. Not my neurologist, but a gorgeous intern and a different neuro.

They did different tests (mostly making sure I had no numbness, weakness, or paralysis anywhere else), and told me, "Yup, Bell's Palsy. It could last a week, or it could last 6 months. Oh, and it'll probably come back randomly throughout the rest of your life."

I was extremely cranky by the time I got home last night (hadn't slept much Sunday night, didn't eat at all Monday, and had a massive headache for most of the time I was in the waiting room full of screaming kids), but...meh. I'm trying to look on the bright side.

Cons:
-It's a bit harder to speak clearly
-It's very difficult to eat noodles or drink through a straw
-I can't whistle
-If the past three days are any indication, the muscles that DO work are going to be strained from all the extra effort required, namely whatever controls my eye.
-Dry eyes and headaches
-I have to tape my eye closed when I sleep because it won't stay closed if I'm not conscious. Try peeling any sort of tape off your eyelid. It's not fun.

Pros:
-I could be Jean Chretien for Halloween. (Or, if anyone asks what's wrong with my face, I could tell them I'm preparing for a role as Jean Chretien in a play.)
-Alternatively, I could be Two-Face from Batman. It's pretty cool to be able to smile and frown at the same time.
-I could wear an eyepatch over my taped-down eye and sleep like a pirate.
-As far as random, possibly permanent, neurological conditions go, it's pretty harmless. This falls more into the "pain in the a**" category than anything else.

Wikipedia says I have a good prognosis:
"In a 1982 study, when no treatment was available, of 1,011 patients, 85% showed first signs of recovery within 3 weeks after onset. For the other 15%, recovery occurred 3–6 months later."

I like them odds.

Discuss:
-The War of 1812 Bell's Palsy
-Annoying medical problems
-Neurological problems
-How much it sucks to be stuck in the ER
-How much is must suck to work in the ER.
-Other "pro" things I can add to my list.  

[Surazal Dloc]

So basically it was a whole s**t load of waiting around for them to tell you there is nothing they can do? That sucks. And so does this Bell's Palsy. Such a random thing to happen. I mean its good its not like life threatening or something, but do you kinda wish it was? You know its like getting a paper cut, its nothing but it stings like hell and you're all "its just a tiny cut!" Like, I kinda feel like this is cuing me such a hassle at least it'd make sense if it was some sorta major injury something arather....

It's 3:38am and my brain has probably switched off for the night, I should too...  

[emmmahy]

Ow.

That sucks. DDDD:

How do you maage to freakin tape it? I'd simply tape it and leave it like that ._.  

[Taeryyn]

Well, I'm glad I got to see a neuro, since it is their specialty, and usually you have to book an appointment to see one, sometimes months in advance.

And it does suck to wait around for hours and hours, but there were a bunch of critical people who came in by ambulance all day, and it's not like I had to pay for the service. ^^;

@Emmma: Well...last night I tried that tape stuff that comes in a first aid kit, and it was a royal b***h to get off. x_X When I go to pick up my prescription (steroids for a week), I'll ask the pharmacist if they have any suggestions.  

[emmmahy]

Do the half-face thing on Haloween.

Then if you can't be bothered, put on a pirate eyepatch and don't take off the tape? /issrsbutisalsoweird  

[Taeryyn]

I only have to tape it when I'm sleeping, the rest of the time I just use eyedrops every once in awhile. I've always hated eyedrops, but they feel SO good now. xD My eye was like "omg yesssss"

If I get lazy, I'll either just stick on an eyepatch and say I'm a pirate, or wear a blazer with a Liberal party pin on it, and call myself Jean Chretien. He was a prime minister in Canada for about a decade. :3  

[Jafthasleftthebuilding]

Do the eye-patch and takes pictures.  

[Bassios]

When you were describing it to us in the IRC, I had a suspicion that it was Bell's Palsy. My next door neighbour had it, he's fine now. smile

Do the Two-Face thing, that'd be AWESOME. biggrin

 

[Lobo-chan]

Woah, that's seriously weird.
I mean, awesome that it's not life threatening or anything, but way to be a pain body!

So... Hmmm... Yeah, I don't really have any advice, though I vote on being Two Face for Halloween.  

[Taeryyn]

I am not really loving the two-face thing, to be honest. More work than I'm willing to do. >_> Will probably stick with the pirate. Or a mad hatter with an eyepatch.

I have to take steroids for the next 5 days, 8 pills a day. @_@  

[Lobo-chan]

Ech, pills suck. I was on antibiotics for like, 5 days and that was annoying enough.

And hatters are good. I love me a good hat heart  

[God-Raped-Me]

Well if anyone pisses you off and doesn't know what you have you could tell them it's contagious. That would keep them away!

Ooh ooh! You could do the whole comedy tragedy thing!

I would like to say congrats on being able to joke around about this and to look at things that will make this better for you! Stay strong Tae!  

[Taeryyn]

I'm bipolar and epileptic. x3 Bring it on, partial facial paralysis. D<  

[Kalstolyn]

Taeryyn

@Emmma: Well...last night I tried that tape stuff that comes in a first aid kit, and it was a royal b***h to get off. x_X When I go to pick up my prescription (steroids for a week), I'll ask the pharmacist if they have any suggestions.

There is this hypo-allergenic first aid tape for sensitive skin that you can find in the first aid aisle of most drug stores. I had to use it when band-aids started taking my skin off when I pulled them off twice a day to clean the stitches where they removed my leg tumour in February.  

[Taeryyn]

That's what I'm using. >_> It comes off my other skin just fine, but my eyelid is kind of a sensitive area.