Bells Palsy

Bells Palsy, is a paralysis caused by damage to cranial nerve VII. It causes paralysis on one side of the face and is harmless but for the damage it can do to ones psyche.

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This girl is not me, but is a good example of bells palsy.
I had bells palsy twice in the span of a year! I consider myself lucky to not have permanent drooping as I have seen people who have had permanent damage from multiple attacks.

I think that my bells palsy is brought on by stress as both times I was under great duress. However it doesn't always happen when I am under great stress because so far A&P has not caused a relapse...Altho I am cautious when I say this, as I have only just begun this 2 semester odyssey!
I woke up after a very very stressful night and got ready for lunch with a girlfriend. On the way to lunch I noticed while applying lipgloss that I couldn't seem to rub my lips together to smooth it over. I was puzzled and thought maybe I never had been able too. I had a good lunch and as far as my friend can remember, I looked perfectly normal. That evening my daughter said something funny to me, and I happened to pass by a mirror as I was smiling and I was HORRIFIED! I thought I was having a stroke! I rushed myself to the ED and they calmed my fears with a CT scan and sent me on my way with prednisone. Prednisone is a steroid and I believe is critical to a good recovery. I dont know if it was the steroids but one thing that stood out markedly while I was recovering was I was obscenely tired! I slept so much! I also remember how upset my little girl was at the time, she would cry when she saw me and say she was so sad my smile was broken!

The second time I was struck, I felt very very tired that day and I awoke from a nap and could feel a certain numbness in my face! I again rushed to the ED and managed to get on steroids very quickly. The drooping was not as severe this second time, and I believe the quick steroid treatment is credit to that.

Sometimes when I am tired my eye blinks slower than the other one and people can notice they seem to be out of sync but otherwise my face looks pretty good considering!

We are headed out of muscles and into nerves so I thought it was a good time for this story! I am interested in finding out more why this may have happened to me and the mechanism behind how the nerve damage causes the paralysis although I am finding a better understanding with what I know about the muscles now and neuromuscular junctions!

There are no pictures of me with bells palsy, I was embarrassed and didn't leave my house for weeks the first time it happened. I try to pay attention to how I feel and I have a days supply of prednisone just in case it happens again! That way I can quickly start meds and prevent severe drooping!