Michael developed Bell’s palsy
During November 2023 I had a wisdom tooth filled at the dentist on a Thursday, and a few days afterwards, I felt a little under the weather. Thinking it was just a lack of sleep I carried on. On the Monday I noticed that my eye felt different. Driving home from work that evening, my eye would not close and that night my face started to drop. Thinking it was the dental work, I contacted the dentist and they examined me and informed me that they hadn’t anything to do with this. No further signposting or support at this point. So thinking it could well be serious, I went to the local hospital. Having waited a while, the Doctor examined me and asked me to do a few facial expressions. I was firstly told it was a stroke! The doctor could not remember if it was a stroke or Bell’s Palsy which affected the forehead – and went to ask a colleague. Upon returning, she gave me the thumbs up and said “It’s Bell’s palsy, not a stroke. I was wrong.” I initially felt reassured knowing that I’d not had a stroke (although I didn’t have a scan to confirm this). I was provided with a 10-day course of steroids, and told that I would get appointments through the post for the eye clinic, ENT, and neurosurgeons – all at my local hospital. I attended the eye clinic in December, but the other two appointments were in January. The ENT gave me a leaflet about Bell’s palsy and advised me that I didn’t need to attend the neurosurgeon appointment; but I did, and I have another appointment coming up with them.
I work for myself designing kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, and would class my lifestyle as relatively “normal” – I don’t smoke and don’t drink a lot. Apart from my family, work is most important to me. Having Bell’s palsy hasn’t affected my life too much – I’ve carried on working and socialising as I did before, and if you asked my family they would say that I’m still the same as I was before. I’m not one to keep talking about it, and I’m happy that my face has quickly returned to normal.
I have since made good recovery, and my face is symmetrical again. However, I worry that if it were to happen again I wouldn’t know who to turn to – the GP, ENT, neurosurgeon? There’s no specific pathway of care and it makes it difficult to access the necessary support. I haven’t had any follow-ups or any appointments with facial palsy specialists, and feel that the right-hand side of my face still feels different, and when I yawn my affected eye closes harder than my unaffected side – so I do have some residual effects from the Bell’s palsy but I don’t have the support available to ask anyone about these and if there’s anything I can do to try to recover from them too.
I feel that care for facial palsy patients could be improved in the future by having a dedicated facial palsy department in each hospital, or a specialist where people could go and ask questions face-to-face once they’ve been diagnosed.
Disclaimer: Please note that views expressed are person’s own and should not be considered a recommendation of particular medical treatments, therapies or surgeries. We would always advise you seek advice from a health professional with experience in facial palsy who can assess your individual needs.