– PLEASE READ BELOW FOR MORE INFO –

Note: I had this app on my phone, the idea is you take a photo every day, and it compiles it into a video. I started this, but got bored of it really quickly and forgot about taking a photo most of the time. But then I got Bell’s Palsy, so I decided to continue with it to track my recovery. I didn’t plan to put this on YouTube, but I thought it might help some of you guys who have just got Bell’s to see that you will recover!

MY CASE:
I’m not sure how I got Bell’s Palsy, but I think it might be related to sleeping on the sofa and having the arm against my neck, possibly damaging the nerve. I was 26 btw.
That evening I felt some discomfort in my left jaw. The next day I had severe acute head and neck ache. I didn’t know what was wrong but I knew it was not a normal headache, It was extremely painful and it only affected the left side of my head. This pain continued for another 2 days. Then on the 3rd day, I laying down on the bed, and suddenly felt my face go numb. I went straight hospital.

5hours wait in A&E, after a few tests later they ruled out a stroke and told me I had Bell’s Palsy. That night I could still whistle but my face felt a bit numb
The next morning I woke up hoping I would be fine again. My heart sank when I realised it was much worst, and I could not whistle any more. (it takes a few days to set it properly)

I was given steroids and anti viral tablets (Prednisone), I think I took them for about 10 days. (research doesn’t prove much about this pills)

The next couple of days was just coping the effect of Bell’s Palsy.
- I could not keep water in my mouth because i couldn’t seal my lips. Drinking was done through small sips. I did not want to use a straw.
- Eating was also an issue. Smaller bites so that food wouldn’t fall out! Food would get stuck between my cheek and gums, so I would have to push up through my cheeks to get it out! I did lose a lot of weight during this period.
- Taping my eyes shut at night because I could not close my eye iids (I continued doing this for 9 months. There is still a small gap, but I couldn’t be bothered to carry on!)
- Using eye drops to moisten the eye because I couldn’t blink. Manually blinking by pulling my eye lids down. My vision also blurred abit.
- My left ear became really sensitive to noise. London tubes and buses are extremely loud and painful when you have a sensitive ear! (had this for about 6-8 weeks)
- Sharp acute pain in the left side of my neck and head was still there (continued for about 5-6 weeks). I had to always sleep on the right side of my head.
- I couldn’t talk properly. I couldn’t pronounce my P’s, B’s, F’s etc and general talking was difficult and had to talk slow. I had push my cheek up with my hands to talk properly.
- I could not SMILE like I used to! That was a fucker. Because only my right face could move, my smile was exaggerated and looked weird.
- A collapsed nostril.
- My sense of taste and tear duct were ok though.

That first small twitch under the eye was a great feeling! You can feel the nerves and muscles trying to work. Then after a few more days the twitches will become stronger and stronger. Your cheeks will begin to move.

I was offered acupuncture by a friend, but opted out as I didn’t quite trust it. But after it started healing.

The neurologist was pretty useless. Had to wait till mid Nov (3 months later). I seemed to knew more about the condition then she did. She said the same thing “There’s nothing we can do, you just have to wait for it to heal”. I pushed for another blood test to test for lyme disease. That was negative.
She told me I might want to consider cosmetic surgery to correct the blinking or smile. This never crossed my mind.

Currently now, i still can not raise my eye brow, and my full smile is not quite there. Also my left eye it slightly smaller then my right one when I laugh. I have Synkinesis. when i close my eye, the cheek moves up. Therefore in the morning when i wake up, i normally have a smile crease on my cheek. I still can’t whistle properly, only a very faint sound.

The odd thing i noticed was that during 5-6 months, my smile and cheek look like it was normal again. but few months after (and same today) that it went weaker. I measured this by the number of teeth it was revealing.

If you have any questions, please shout!

MY TIPS?
- You have to keep busy living. Do what you would have done without Bell’s.
- Do you facial exercises! I got abit slack in between, but keep it up
- I started taking Vitamin B-12 tablets. not sure it they really helped, but guess it doesnt hurt right? I still take them occasionally now.
- Take care of your eyes. use artificial tears and tape that eye shut at night! Manually blink them and don’t let them dry out.
- I didn’t change my diet. I was still drinking alcohol etc. But did eat less due to the eating issues. So remember to eat up.