Bells Palsy

On 8th December 2010, I woke to find a peculiar sensation in my face. I couldn’t spit, and could feel a tightness in my right cheek. I looked in the mirror and to my horror saw my new face. My mouth had dropped on the right side as had my right eye. My nose had twisted and I was unable to speak properly. This all took place within about 30 minutes. I decided that I should visit the Doctor that morning and went to let Val know that I would not be going to work. She took one look at my face and insisted that I spoke to the NHS Direct Out of Hours service. Their thoughts were that I could be suffering a Stroke and advised that I should get to the Hospital as soon as possible.

On arrival at Luton and Dunstable Hospital, I was seen very quickly and underwent several hours of investigation for the possibility of a Stroke. The tests were inconclusive and I was admitted overnight. On the morning of 9th December, my condition was diagnosed as Bells Palsy; whatever that was. I was very quickly discharged from hospital and left to my own devices.

I spent the rest of that day researching Bells Palsy. I found out that it is a condition that has no known cause and certainly no cure. In general 85% of cases clear within about three to four weeks, and of the other 15% most clear within about six months. Rarely, Bells Palsy may take several years to clear and in exceptional cases may never clear up. Technically, Bells Palsy is paralysis of one side of the facial muscles due to damage to the seventh cranial nerve. I found the website for the Bells Palsy Association, they have an excellent forum with all the information that a sufferer or their family could need.

The next day I visited my Doctor’s surgery. She was horrified to hear that the Hospital had failed to prescribe the recognised steroids and antivirals. The theory is that each day that the patient has to wait for these drugs lessens their chances of rapid recovery. So now I had steroids, antivirals, eye drops for daytime and eye gel for nighttime. I also had a stock of drinking straws, a couple of cups with spouts similar to babies cups, and an eye patch. I also found that a copious supply of tissues or kitchen roll was a pre-requisite to catch the dribbles. I couldn’t speak properly and in my eyes looked “like a freak”.

This was a Friday and by now I was completely confused and started to realise that, temporarily my life had changed. I had been advised to take the next couple of weeks off work and as Christmas was approaching it was decided that I should not go back to work until the New Year. Fortunately, Christmas had already been decided to be a quiet affair, just the two of us so no problems there.

Following Christmas was a different matter. We were on the working party for the New Year caravan rally and suddenly realised that we had to face everyone. By now we had agreed that wherever possible we would turn the Palsy into a subject to laugh about. I was determined not to let it get me down. Part of the New Year celebrations is the traditional fancy dress night and we were determined not to miss out. It didn’t take long to decide on the costume; Quasimodo and Esmeralda. What a decision, we were so lifelike I won Best Individual, and we won Best Couple. That evening had it’s drawbacks, there was a band and I found that the Bells Palsy had made me more sensitive to certain pitches especially at high volumes. I could not stay in the hall during the act.

New Year, new hope.

Back to work after the New Year was interesting, I had not been out in the dark since the Palsy struck. I now had to drive to and from work in the dark. The first morning’s drive was one of the most frightening that I have ever had, I soon realised that; even though I had taken the patch off for the drive, I could not see anything to the right as my right eye refused to work properly. My boss was great and arranged for me to only work during the hours that allowed travel during daylight hours. In the middle of winter, those hours were not long. It helps to work for an understanding employer.

Since this time I have undergone physiotherapy, part of this treatment was Electro Muscular Stimulation (EMS). This had to stop due to possible eye problems. I found that the sight in my right was deteriorating, this was confirmed by the Optician. Another visit to my Doctor brought about an emergency appointment at the Eye Clinic at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. They found that the muscle controlling the eye had weakened and that explained the blurred double vision that I was experiencing. The Eye Clinic have been wonderful and I have had many appointments since then. I have also had regular facial and head massages, which bring immense relief. I am pleased to say that by mid June I could finally close my eye and since then my sight has improved dramatically.

With the eye and other effects of the Palsy, I had become rather afraid to travel especially into major cities as I was worried about the effects of dust in the air. Because of this I missed several important meetings in London.

Despite the condition, I have for the large part of it remained positive and tried to treat it with some humour. This has been aided by a great team of guys at work who have managed to humiliate and ridicule me every day. Thank God that we do not practice Political Correctness for even one second of the day. They have even found that Huck Off!!! is the new Fuck Off!!!

My ambition now is that by the time of our holiday in August I shall have sufficient strength in my lips to once again drink without the use of a straw. Shame really, because the beer has a much greater effect on the back of the tongue than the front.

Update 23rd August 2011

Well the holiday is over, and unfortunately I am still unable to drink without a straw. I am experiencing increasing tightening of the cheek and lip muscles and this is causing me concern. I am also now experiencing severe Synkenesis; this is where movement of one part of the face causes a corresponding uncontrollable movement of another muscle. For me this means that when I am eating my affected eye fully closes and starts to water profusely. Obviously this is going to take more time…

Update 7th December 2011

It is now almost four months since the last update. There is still progress, but as expected it has slowed. I had my first appointment with the wonderful Sally Glover at Birmingham at the beginning of November. She showed me her favoured and successful massage techniques, which seem to be working. I should explain that mostly my face needs retraining and reshaping; and Sally’s techniques are designed to get the muscles to mould back into shape. I certainly have noticed a lessening of the tightness in the affected side of my face. I still need a straw to drink hot liquids, although I don’t seem to have a problem with cold drinks.

The next appointment is early January when I shall start on the Botox treatment. I am looking forward to that as Sally has told me that I should then start to really feel some loosening of the muscles.

Update 8th December 2011

Well, this is the first anniversary of the Bells Palsy and amazingly, today I have been able to drink without a straw. It happened at work in a team meeting and I was forced into it as there were no straws left in the canteen and I had forgotten to put one in my pocket. Now I feel that there is progress.

Update 23rd September 2012

It has been over nine months since the last update and that is largely because there have been no real milestones. There has been plenty of progress and the Botox treatment has been a main contributor. That treatment coupled with the facial excercises from Sally Glover and the magnificent facial massages from a local Chinese expert, Lisa have been the drivers in the progress. In fact the progress has been so marked that I had an appointment with Sally at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Friday and we both agreed that the rebuild was as good as it could get. I now have a face that no longer shows signs of distortion and is pretty even.

The feeling of tightness that I have experienced since the onset of Bells has almost disappeared. I can still detect the speech problems, but I am told that they are not so easily detectable by others. I also now feel so much more confident.

In conclusion, Bells Palsy is a nasty condition, which can affect anyone of any age. It affects approximately one person in five thousand in the UK. If it ever affects you the please take the following steps:

• Get to the Accident and Emergency at your local hospital; it could still be a stroke.
• Once you are released, get to your GP. Time is of the essence here especially for prescription of the anti-virals and eye treatment.
• Avoid physiotherapy with a local physiotherapist who is not conversant with the condition. Especially, do not allow any electronic stimulation as this can cause harm to your broken nerves.
• Check the Bells Palsy website (http://bellspalsy.org.uk/) for their excellent advice.
• Get your GP to refer you to a Specialist Therapist who is known for their work in this field. The details are on the Bells Palsy website.

Update 6th November 2012

A few weeks later and I am still pleased with the progress that was made with the help of Sally Glover at Birmingham, but am resigned to the fact that my face will never be the same again. I occasionally get pains in the lower ear and neck area and find this frightening as I then think that the Bells is returning.

 

Found today that there have been a couple of articles about Bells Palsy recently on the BBC  News website; see the links below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20206297

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20123449

Update 26th November 2012

Well, they say that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but Bells Palsy obviously does. I say this because it has happened to me this morning. The timing was about the same, I was in the bathroom shaving and noticed that my right eyebrow and eye had dropped considerably. There was also a tightening in the muscles on the right hand side of my face. I asked Val and she agreed that there was a change. Anyway, foolishly, I decided to carry on and go to work. That was a big mistake, the weather was atrocious with heavy rain and cold. By the time I got to work my face was extremely tight and the pains in the side of my head were unbearable. Fortunately, my boss responded immediately and got me home. I phoned for an appointment with the Doctor, aware of the importance of keeping away from the Hospital. Saw the Doctor later in the day and she confirmed that it was another, albeit mild, onset of Bells. She was able to prescribe the Antivirals and Steroids immediately so help was at hand.

Friday 21st December 2012

I spent the following two weeks off work; as expected the Bells, even though it was mild had left me feeling completely tired out. During this time Val and I had a long and serious talk about our situation and thoughts of retirement. We had planned to retire in October 2013 and had recently brought this forward to May 2013. We agreed that it was time to get out of the stress of work and start to change our lives. As a result of this I spoke to my Boss and he has agreed that I can take my retirement on 1st February 2013. As Val works at a Nursery school, she has decided to stay on until the Easter Holiday.

The progress with the Bells has been excellent and I am pleased to report that my face feels as though it is about back to where it was in September. In fact it may even be better than that. I have an appointment with Sally Glover late January, so shall wait to see what she has to say.

Christmas is coming, my most hated time of the year (Bah Humbug) followed by the 5 day party for New Year (Hooray!!!) Let’s hope that 2013 is a better year.

Update 6th February 2014

Well 2013 was certainly a better year for the Bells Palsy and, whilst I can still feel it and can notice the effects on the right side of my face, it is much easier. I am less self conscious of people looking at me or noticing the difference. The mild winter has helped as the muscles do not tighten as much when it is warmer. I have developed Blepharitis, which is a condition that affects the lubricant that is released to the eye when you blink, but this is minor and just requires regular artificial tear drops.

I feel that we can now plan a life where Bells Palsy is no longer a prime consideration.

See photos here