[hollowone]

I haven;t been active on this board in recent weeks mainly due to the fact that life has actually been quite fair.

Anyway, I must announce that three weeks ago, I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, a partial paralysis of one side of the face (my left) caused by inflammation of the nerve crushingg it against the tunnel through the skull under the ear.

The backstory;
I had nasty earache appearing out of nowhere appearing on thursday night; so bad it woke me both thursday and Friday night. On the saturday, the pain was unbearable, like someone punching me repeatedly in the ear. I thought it might have been an ear infection or something more serious. I went to the A and E drop in, and was seen to just over an hour after. I found on that day I couldn't close my left eye properly, nor could I smile properly, something was wrong. I told the doctor about everyting, I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, prescrubed a short course of steroids, which made the pain under the ear go away and has stopped the inflammation completely

Social issues
At the time when I noticed I couldn't make the normal facial expressions, I was thinking 'shit, people will think I look wierd'. The thing is, it hasn't actually affected me as badly as I thought it would. The upper left lip is the most severely affected part of my face that has affected my speech.

Fortunately, my case was mild and treatment was started promptly. I hear that some people get paralyzed completely and some people get it so bad, they think it's a stroke. The good news is it's recovering. My speech is slowly returning, I'm able to blink again with a bit of effort.

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome;
The Tuesday after the weekend I went to the hospital, the ear pain started again. What's more I noticed a rash in my ear. This got me concerned since every article I read on Bell's Palsy mention something called Ramsay hunt syndrome (this is caused by the virus causing chicken pox and shingles). This differs in that the pain is generally more severe, there's a rash and swelling in the ear and, it takes longer to recover and can leave more permanent effects. This got me panicking. I looked-up Ramsay Hunt syndrome and the ear rash, to my horror, all the pictures of rashes in every article looked the same as mine (I did not sleep well that night, the thought of permanent paralysis).

I made a doctors appointment straight away. I mentioned I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, and I told her that I was suspecting I had Ramsay hunt. She inspected the rash; my worst fears were confirmed. I was prescribed anti-viral medication. The Doctor made another appointment. I'm pleased to say that the medication worked, it's made the pain go away, the rash has gone, the swelling has gone. I was worried that it may have been too late, but fortunately, the steroids I had been prescribed stopped the inflammation that could have done the real damage. The doctor noticed an improvement on that second appointment, Ramsay hunt syndrome is so rare that my doctor said she'd only seen one case in her entire career.

The good news is the condition is improving. My lower left lip is now back online, I'm now just about able to blink, though I still have to tape my eye shut at night. My speech is returning.

It's scary how things like this can happen. This condition has no obvious know cause or triggers. Things happen unexpectedly. It really is a wake-up call as to how important life and good health is. Don't take it for granted.

Hasn't affected me as badly as I thought;
I was really scared at the time that I might never be able to go out, people might think I'm drunk, that I've had a stroke, that I'm ********. Truth is, it hasn't been that bad at all, I've just used my hand to help me open my mouth. If any comment has come up I just say I've had Bell's palsy, a partial paralysis caused by a viral infection. Easy. During the time I've had this condition, it's quite surprising how I've not really had any negative judgements made, or assumptions such as being drunk made about me.