Onset of Symptoms: I started to have a severe earache, sore throat and swollen gland on left side. My head felt really fuzzy and somewhat dizzy. Since I had a problem with sinus congestion that caused an earache and sore throat in Dec. 2003, I thought that I was suffering the same thing. A strong decongestant took care of it rather quickly in Dec., so I started taking a decongestant that I had. I often suffer from migraine type sinus headaches, in fact I had suffered from them for 3 days the week before. It all made sense to me. Sinus problems again.

I was also suffering from twitching of my left upper eye lid area. But that didn’t alarm me either. I had experienced that before over the past few years also.

If I didn’t get some relief with the decongestant, I would go to the doctors for a prescription.

Spent the day on the couch trying to rest and snuggling with 2 of our cats The dogs were a little too excited to have me home and wanted my attention. Sorry, puppies, all I could do was try to sleep it off.

Couldn’t get any sleep that night with the pain of the earache and sore throat.

I was feeling worse. The ear ache was really intense, couldn’t get any sleep and I was so exhausted. It was difficult to walk. My head felt so fuzzy, which I figured must be from the pain. The sore throat was unreal with the gland swollen and tender to the touch. It hurts so much when I swallow. I gargled with salt water. No help, in fact it made it worse. Continued taking the sinus medication, but got no relief. Started vapor treatments. No relief, it just made the sore throat worse. I remember thinking that I might have strept throat. It was going around at the end of the school year. In 25 years of teaching and being expose to strept throat thousands of times, I had never gotten it, but I wondered if maybe I did this time.

Left side of my face looked a bit swollen, too. This sinus thing seemed to be getting worse.

My husband noticed me walking a bit wobbly and asked if I was feeling ok. I told him that I had a bit of a sinus thing going on. (Ever since I was very young, I have been hiding and downplaying any illness I was experiencing. It was a good thing that I wasn’t working, because I probably would have tried to work anyway. It would have been a very bad idea!)

I asked him to check to see if he thought I had a fever. Our thermometer broke a while back and I never replaced it. He said that I didn’t feel warm. I figured that was a good sign.

I woke up and KNEW that I had to go the doctors. I was able to get an appointment for that day. I let my husband know that I was going to see the doctor, and he said something like, “oh , is it that bad?” I’m adding this because, it wasn’t that my husband wasn’t attentive, it was me and the way I deal with pain and illness. I have such a high pain tolerance that he often doesn’t have a clue that I’m not feeling well. I try my best not to show it. And, often I do that very well.

Fortunately, my doctor’s office is very close by. With the pain and dizziness, I wasn’t in any shape to drive. I am usually seen by a very competent Nurse Practitioner, and that is who I was seen by today. I explained my symptoms, got examined and we discussed my sinus condition that I had in Dec.2003. Diagnosis: No infection, just probably some pressure being put on my Eustachian tube again from severe congestion. The N.P. said the ears looked clear. Throat was clear, too and strept was ruled out. Prescribed sinus meds and off I went, to get well. WRONG!

That evening, there was no hiding the pain as it radiated like shock waves across my face and down my neck. I winched in pain and at times it brought me to tears. My eye was twitching again, but I didn’t think much of it. I was so tired. I hadn’t slept much at all in the past 2-3 days. My throat and gland hurt so badly that it was difficult to eat. All I wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up better.

My husband was so worried. He knows that it takes horrific pain for me to show it. He knew this was BAD!

I was in bad shape, it was difficult to get out of bed to move to the couch. I was taking decongestants and trying everything I could think of to get relief. My head felt so strange, my throat so sore. The pain was so intense and I couldn’t tolerate the TV being very loud. The dogs barking nearly sent me through the roof! I hadn’t been this ill for 10 years. I kept thinking, I need to get over this soon!

Then around 2:00, I felt a little better, so I got on the computer to check email. My left eye began twitching wildly for about 10 minutes. I didn’t think anything of it, it had happened before over the past few years. It was more frequent this past 2 weeks, but it must be because of the sinus condition. Then my eye felt really strange. I couldn’t blink, I couldn’t close it. This was very strange. What was happening?

I remember thinking that perhaps I was having a reaction from taking medication. I was in so much pain and so foggy about everything that perhaps I had taken too much? I thought that if I could lie down for a while that it would go away.

Then the left side of my mouth began to tingle and feel strange, as well. I looked in the mirror and could see that my face was a bit crooked. Was I having a stroke? It was a bit frightening, but I kept telling myself that I had over medicated my self and all would be ok in a few hours as the med left my system.

It was about 3:00 and I called my husband to tell him that something was going on and if he could leave work a little early, I’d appreciate it. He came home as soon as he could and was disturbed by what he saw. He wanted to take me to the doctors right away, but I said that I wanted to wait and see if it would be better the next morning. Denial?? Just a little!

The pain that evening was so bad, I couldn’t eat, sleep. The shooting pain brought me to tears.

Patched my eye closed and tried to sleep.

Didn’t sleep much. Woke up, my eye was the same and my mouth felt like it was shot up with Novocain. My face was distorted and I was in such pain and so dizzy. I knew I had to go to the ER.

As soon as the ER doctor saw me coming down the hall to the exam room, and before examining me, she said I had Bell’s Palsy. She explained what it was, the plan of action and probable prognosis. On examination, she said that my ears were clear, no sign of infection or lesions. Along with Acyclovir and prednisone, she prescribed antibiotics and an ear ointment, just in case an ear/sinus infection was brewing. She also told me to get artificial tears and to patch my eye closed at night. She told me rest was very important.

I was relieved that it wasn’t a stroke or medication reaction, but concerned since I was given a 6wk to 3 month sentence. There goes my summer and my immediate plans to get in shape, and probably our trip to Montana.

Went home and my husband started researching BP on the web. Found some very informative sites. A few mentioned Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. I remember commenting that I was so glad that I didn’t have that.

My husband and I decided that I should have a MRI and any other tests to be sure that I didn’t have a brain tumor or something more serious that was causing the BP.

My husband, who works in the healthcare field, started calling anyone he knew that could help to find the best neurologist to see for BP. He got the name of a neurologist and made me an appointment for 6/21/04. We had to use the influence of another doctor to get squeezed in or I would have needed to wait for a month!

I contacted my doctor and told them that I had BP on my left side and to order me a MRI. Got that scheduled for 6/19/04.

My husband just took control in order to get me the best care available. He was so distraught to see me in such debilitating pain. Thank heavens I had him to do those things for me.

I also decided that I needed to go to an ophthalmologist because my eye was causing discomfort. The ophthalmologist looked at me and asked, “How long have you had Bell’s Palsy?” Then he told me that the artificial tears that we had gotten at the drug store weren’t going to be good enough to prevent cornea drying with BP. He then prescribed a thicker gel for the day and a very thick ointment for the night. He was very experienced with BP. He made the comment, “If Bell’s Palsy is the worst thing that happens to you in your life, think of yourself as lucky.” Strangely enough, my husband and I had discussed that exact sentiment while in the waiting room.

Having so many friends and family members who had suffered terminal cancer or other tragedies, Bell’s Palsy seemed to be nothing. We could handle it. And, I knew that I was very lucky to have my husband to support me.

Noticing what appears to be swelling of the left side of my face. Still no sleep…the pain was too intense.