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I just noticed I have bells palsy. what is going on?!

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Posted 1/7/2015 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
As I was walking down my stairs I noticed one half of my face felt heavier. I looked in the mirror and one side of my lips are lower down and harder to move, although they still do move. And my eye is a bit more... open on that side as well.

Is it bells palsy if you can still move it at all??!! Why is this happening to meeeeee!!!! Nooooo!!!! The last 2 or 3 weeks it's just been one thing after the other..
Posted 1/7/2015 9:22 PM (GMT 0)
I never had the full on Bells Palsy, but I did have tingling, nerve pain on my left jaw/cheek area - this is around the time I realized that it my issues couldn't be a pinched nerve in the neck..as that jaw/cheek wasn't in the nerve path.

I would think it's a Bells Palsy issue you're having - there's most likely degrees of it - definitely discuss this symptom/sign with your Dr. at your appointment.
Posted 1/7/2015 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
something isn't right, your symptoms seem to be getting worse. I know I haven't been posting on your threads, but I have been reading them. so sorry you are struggling so much! what meds are you on again?
Posted 1/7/2015 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
oh gosh! Im sorry! Bells palsy for me started with my eye becoming watery and a strange tingling sensation on my tongue.

I got bells palsy about a year and a half after I was bitten by two ticks. I was also treated with a lot of abx for TB months after the bite. Now that I piece the puzzle together, I realize all the abx I took for TB for 6 months rattled something up in me and caused my Lyme to activate and that's when I got bells palsy. It was pretty scary my whole left side of my face paralyzed. My eye wouldn't blink completely and my mouth drooped. Thankfully after 2 weeks it got better and my face healed pretty nicely - though I do have a crooked smile. I remember going to a doctor for the bells palsy and he offered me steroids for it, thankfully I declined it. I feel with lyme that could have made things worse.

maybe you are a having a large die off and its just becoming toxic?
Posted 1/7/2015 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
I ve had Bell's palsy twice in my life and both those times were about 50 years ago. It was complete paralysis of the right side of my face. Saliva was drooling out of the corner of my mouth. It was difficult to eat without food spilling out from that side. Eye lid did not blink automatically and when the eye became dry, i had to move the lid up and down to get water to the eye. It was awful. I went to see a doc at that time and his take was: You have Bell's palsy, and it is a disease that the odd person gets. We do not know what brings it on or what cures it, but mostly it goes away by itself in several weeks. In this prognosis, it did go away in 2 weeks and so when it hit the second time it hit. I did not worry, and it went away. So when my mom got it too, i just passed on the good news not to worry. Little did i know at the time that it was Lyme acting up at that time. Sigh.
Posted 1/7/2015 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on a mess of supplements. For abx I'm taking 250 mg azithromycin and 300 mg rifampin. I'm just starting out in treatment. I tested positive for everything I was tested for hahaha. Ugh...

I'm so sick. This is just the pits. At least I'm in an alright mood. I think there is something up with my detox. I've been doing all the same stuff. I think all of the stress got to me and is finally effecting me after my grandpa passing away. It's been a long month. I seem to be having a die off reaction too... ugh. Which goes along with detoxing.

So ya. I think I need a lot of rest. Tea water healthy snacks and some good TV shows and books for the next 2 days or so. I should be in pretty good shape by the end of the week I hope.
Posted 1/8/2015 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
My first thought was the stress you went through after loosing your grandfather likely brought it on. I hope you can relax. You might ask your doctor if Tulsi tea would be ok for you to drink since it can help relax you. Do ask before you try just in case it might not mix with things you're taking. Allow yourself to grieve too since that will help you get through your loss.
Posted 1/8/2015 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks garden peace. Rest is what I really really need and things just keep happening. One of my closest friends just had her new baby and he couldn't breath so he's in the nicu. 4 days later her 18 month old collapsed and is in another nicu. I love those kids and her so much. It made me cry when I heard the news. She has no white blood cells and the doctors have no idea what to do for her. It's making me feel sick to my stomach. Her prognosis isn't good at all...
Posted 1/8/2015 2:45 AM (GMT 0)
IHL, how much magnesium are you taking? magnesium is prescribed for adult's bell palsy.

I too began to feel my left side a bit heavier a few weeks ago and when I smiled I could feel that the left side of my mouth would not open as much. It is a scary feeling to say the least. So I started to do muscle exercises and massaging my left side. I also started to eat more legumes which are high in magnesium. After a week or so I noticed that it started to go away. The massages with my fingers felt so good too. It has been a couple of weeks that the symptoms went away. Sometimes in the morning when i get up it feels a bit numb but after massaging it it goes away.

As far as your friend; white blood cells are created in the bone marrow. Has she been checked for cancer? If all checks out then it might be worth considering that toxins in her system or her body is fighting some type of infection that it is killing off the white cells. You need to encourage her to detox the way we do and to assist her immune system by loading up on antioxidants, better her diet (more protein, folic acid, vitamin C, etc), and consider herbal supplementation to enhance her immune system and encourage the bone marrow to grow more white cells.

Oh, before I forget, she should avoid sugar like the plague – sugar compromises our immune system and competes with vitamin C binding sites on our white blood cells, so no sugar!

She could benefit from Green tea, Cat's Claw, Monolaurin and of course things like dandelion root and Milk Thistle to detox as well as Epsom Salt baths.

Here is your chance to coach someone on how to get better. What a great opportunity to help her out and share your knowledge. It will also help you forget about your illness a bit.

Post Edited (Healing98) : 1/7/2015 8:03:43 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/8/2015 3:37 AM (GMT 0)
The sick little girl is only 18 months old. She is in the pediatric intensive care unit in the best hospital in our state. She is hanging on by a thread. Her little body is giving up. They have checked her for everything and can't figure it out.

So many awful things are happening to the people I love the most in the world. It's a lot more than my heart can handle. I am completely devastated. It's making me feel sick to my stomach... I just can't believe that all of this is really happening.
Posted 1/8/2015 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
One day at a time is all you can do, sometimes one hour at a time is the best you can do. Trying to calm down 24 hrs a day is very stressful but you have to steal some peace for an hour here or there. Hopefully you can sleep well, that gives you a break. Im so sorry your life is this way now. Just keep pushing on it has to get better someday.
Posted 1/8/2015 4:04 AM (GMT 0)
As we talked about in a previous post, I've recently developed Bell's Palsy for the 2nd time. I had it back in 2012. It started about a week after I went on antibiotics (Doxy). My doctor said he thought maybe the ABX that was the cause because of it attacking the bacteria on that nerve.

I've had it for almost a month and I'm only about 30% better. It really sucks. I still can't blink my eye or keep it closed (I put ointment in my eye and tape it shut when I sleep). I can't smile, and my taste buds are off quite a bit. I also experienced extreme headaches and facial pain (fortunately those have lightened up but only recently).

I hope you get better IHL...I know you have a lot going on but if this is a result of treatment, it probably means you are on the road to recovery.
Posted 1/8/2015 5:04 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, that's such a difficult thing your friend is going through with both kids having serious problems. I can't imagine going through that. I'm sorry it's hitting you hard too, but that just shows that you are a loving, caring person. Try not to let it impact you too hard...easier said than done I know. I'll pray for them.
Posted 1/8/2015 1:22 PM (GMT 0)
My LLMD noted Bells Palsy in me during our first appointment. It was so mild that neither I nor my family noticed it until I repeated at home the cheek-puffing he had me do in his office. I then had an explanation for the post-novacaine-type feeling I'd had in the lower part of the left side of my mouth.

My PCP knows I'm dealing with Lyme yet wanted to Rx steroids which I adamantly refused. She did recommend finding exercises to do online which is something the LLMD didn't mention.

There have been times since then that the left side of my face has gone numb....and sections of other parts of my face. I also felt weakness in the left corner of my mouth to the extent I'd wondered if I was drooling at all. Most recently, I had a frozen feeling on the left side of my face.

Based upon what I've been learning through research, Bell's Palsy indicates that a nerve has been affected by Lyme and we are feeling the results of endotoxins being released in that area.

It's quite the challenge to keep up with the die-off. My infection was relatively recently acquired and I still can't keep up with the die-off symptoms although I'm doing much better than I had been.

And, yes, stress makes everything worse.

You've been through so much, IHL, and continue to face new challenges. Please take good care of yourself.

Godspeed
Posted 1/8/2015 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
This year I went to bed and hid and pulled the covers over my head every chance I got. I was in survival mode and literally many days taking it minute by minute, forget about day by day. I too have been surrounded by personal connections and devastations, but the worst was my son, at least for me. I am like you though, I get so attached, it tears me apart too. My "adopted mom" is caring for her very best friend in life right now and it's the last person she has from her life who is dying... she lost mom, dad, husband and now the person who is like her sister and it's eating away at her. She has been there and praying for Andrew and I and our family so hard all year, these things are all so unfair. Esp. young children. I have spent many years reading and searching after I lost my parents and two babies, to try to make sense of life.

I have learned it just to learn lessons, good and bad, reach out to others and try to make their life better, and try to get through it. Some people are just old souls and have challenged themselves with a tough life plan before they got here. The ones running around partying and carefree, those are the young souls.

We need to try to learn the lessons from the hard times, everyone has a life plan, long or short and their presence in someone else's life is to help that person fulfill their own life plan. It's all full circle, and really the pain is only for those of us left behind. Those who leave and cross over, they are in a beautiful, loving place and watch over us, but don't necessarily wish they were back here!

I'm rambling, I'm having a time of it this week myself with Andrew. I will pray. My heart breaks for you and your friend - I'm not sure I believe in miracles anymore, but then again, I did not commit my son to a permanent life in a psych facility and rode it out with him and watched him heal, so maybe there are miracles. The old days we would have had to commit him!

Please hang in there, love and hugs, LMC mom
Posted 1/8/2015 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks know you all so much. Your support means the world to me. I never thought I would get so much out of a group of 'strangers'. I wouldn't be able to do this without all of you!

Everyone needs someone to listen to them. You guys are my outlet. I'll get through all of this. I wish I took comfort in the notion that everything happens for a reason, but i don't know if i believe in that anymore.
Posted 1/8/2015 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
sorry you are going through such a difficult time. Stay strong and hopeful. Things will get better for you and your friends daughter. Try to never lose sight of hope, even when things are dark.
Posted 1/10/2015 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
IHL—
I hope you are coping better today. So sorry to hear about your friend's babies—let us know if you have an update.

You are completely overloaded—I'm with Chapelle—all these individual sx are signs your body is really struggling. Please stay in close contact w/ your LLMD and keep track of things that are happening as well as possible. Now that your fiancé is returning to work, more will be required of you but you're at risk for getting worse if you continue to be overwhelmed. Is there anyone who can help you? Is there a hospice-type organization you can call upon (I'm told they now offer services that go far beyond end-of-life care)? If you can do NOTHING else, just try to slow down the pace of everything you do and get as much rest as possible.

Ironically, I woke up at 3am with the lower left side of my face around my mouth feeling very strange—not overtly numb or tingly but it's not normal, I know that. I have no idea why but I got up and brushed my teeth. Perhaps I wasn't entirely awake. But it's 11am now and no change. Interesting… I spent the entire afternoon at the hospital yesterday with a port problem and it looks like they're going to have to replace the port, which will set me back 2 months so I'm very upset and stressed about it… so it's not a surprise that something happened.

Hang in there IHL and keep posting—

-p
Posted 1/10/2015 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Oh no Pirouette! That's awful news :( I'm so sorry. Was it placed wrong? Did you ever get it adjusted or whatever?

I am totally overwhelmed. And as far as getting worse- doesn't everyone when they first start treatment? Isn't this supposed to happen? I thought it meant that my treatment was working. What is scary is that I'm on extremely low doses, and I feel this sick. What happens when I have to go up on doses?? I don't know if I can handle it. Maybe I'm going to be one of the ones that it does take years to get better.

My body is telling me how sick it is. Nothing is functioning right.
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