After feeling a slight pain beneath my right ear for almost a week, I woke up yesterday morning with half of my face paralyzed. I told my wife that it felt like I'd been numbed by the dentist while I was asleep. My speech was slurred, I couldn't blink my right eye and couldn't raise my eyebrow, cheek, mouth, etc. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary (i.e., motor skills and balance were fine, etc.). I still had a little bit of the aforementioned pain (it would come in waves and would extend up toward my temple or down my jaw line - at its most intense I would give it a "7"), so my wife suggested that I go to the ER.
After they took my vitals (my BP was 172/122 when I checked in
), ran a battery of tests, conducted an EKG and CT Scan, they concluded that I have Bell's Palsy. ER doc said that, in his 25 years of practice, the theories for what causes Bell's have been all over the place. After five hours in the ER (the nurse told me before my diagnosis that, even if it's a dischargeable diagnosis, they still wouldn't be allowed to let me go because of my blood pressure - which we eventually got down with the help of some tiny pill), they sent me home with a script for Prednisone and an anti-viral. I have a follow-up visit with my primary physician tomorrow morning.
Have any of you (or family member/friend) had this? I realize it'll just run its course, but the thought of having to sound as though I'm drunk for weeks or months is [figuratively] killing me. On top of that, I can't eat anything (dinner last night consisted of a smoothie and then some ice chips). And, I'm not sure if it's the Prednisone, but the dry mouth is severe. I can't drink enough water. If you had it (or know someone who did), how long did it last for you? Looking for a little hope here!
Anyway, thanks for letting me cry on The Dungeon's shoulder.
Further reading: Bell's Palsy
After they took my vitals (my BP was 172/122 when I checked in
), ran a battery of tests, conducted an EKG and CT Scan, they concluded that I have Bell's Palsy. ER doc said that, in his 25 years of practice, the theories for what causes Bell's have been all over the place. After five hours in the ER (the nurse told me before my diagnosis that, even if it's a dischargeable diagnosis, they still wouldn't be allowed to let me go because of my blood pressure - which we eventually got down with the help of some tiny pill), they sent me home with a script for Prednisone and an anti-viral. I have a follow-up visit with my primary physician tomorrow morning.Have any of you (or family member/friend) had this? I realize it'll just run its course, but the thought of having to sound as though I'm drunk for weeks or months is [figuratively] killing me. On top of that, I can't eat anything (dinner last night consisted of a smoothie and then some ice chips). And, I'm not sure if it's the Prednisone, but the dry mouth is severe. I can't drink enough water. If you had it (or know someone who did), how long did it last for you? Looking for a little hope here!
Anyway, thanks for letting me cry on The Dungeon's shoulder.
Further reading: Bell's Palsy
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