My Experience with Bells Palsy All Things Galindo

This page chronicles my experience with and recovery from Bells Palsy. Ill continue to add my most current Bells Palsy Post (BPP) to the bottom.

For links to helpful Bells Palsy-related sites, check out my Bells Palsy Information and Resources page.

Last modified on 2011-02-27 15:20:57 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

Hi, Im David. Galindo.me is my personal blog. I was diagnosed on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 with Bells Palsy, a paralysis of the facial nerve. The result is that its pretty much impossible for me to control the muscles on the right side of my face. In the few days since this appeared, Ive researched several different informational sites and read others stories of their experiences with Bells Palsy. Among the many tips, suggestions and advice was the recommendation to document my progress with pictures. I figure I can do that here on my blog. That way, I can hopefully measure my improvement and share my frustrations and achievements. Also, if someone else with this condition comes along and reads this, maybe it will provide them with some helpful information.

Here is a picture taken of me last Sunday, April 6th. I was hiking the Wind Cave trail at Usery Pass in Mesa, Arizona.

Heres a not-so-brief timeline of my past week:

I have a slight headache in the morning, but the weather is great and the hike at Usery Pass is a lot of fun. Other than the headache, I feel great. Later in the day, I begin to notice that when I eat, I am losing my sense of taste on the right side of my tongue. It also kind of feels like that feeling after you burn your tongue on hot food, sort of numb and tingly. It is about this time that my headache comes back and the area at the base of my skull, behind my right ear, starts aching and feeling sore.

Its springtime here in the desert, with everything blooming like crazy so I figure maybe its allergies (which I dont normally have), dust or the dryness that is causing the headache. I take some ibuprofen, which seems to help, and go to bed.

Back to work on Monday. I work in the training department for a large domain registrar and hosting company in Arizona. Pretty much a normal day. Busy, with lots of projects going on. Again, Im feel pretty good most of the day. Near the end of today, the headache and aching return and Im feeling pretty worn out.

Wrapping up the final touches on a pilot project at work. A lot of time working at the computer with earphones in, listening to Pandora and NPR. Ive got plans to meet some friends for happy hour at B-Dubs (aka Buffalo Wild Wings) after work, between 5 and 5:30pm.

I show up at happy hour, eat a dozen wings and have two Blue Moons (its a beer). The loss of taste and numbness in my tongue seem a little more pronounced. I stay for a couple of hours. Before I leave, Im laughing at someones joke and I notice the muscles on the right side of my face are kind of sluggish. Im starting to think maybe I have a sinus infection or something. I go home, watch American Idol and go to bed.

I wake up in the morning and my face doesnt feel right. My right eye is dry and kind of goopy. I make some coffee and I find Im not able to drink very well. While getting ready for work, I look in the mirror and noticed that my right eye and the right side of my mouth are drooping down. This is when I start to get a little scared. Ive been seeing several commercials lately about recognizing the signs of a stroke and its the first thing that comes to mind. I finish getting ready, and brush my teeth, with obvious difficulty spitting out the toothpaste. I decide to go Urgent Care before going to work.

I get to Urgent Care, explain what Ive been experiencing and that I think I might have some kind of sinus infection or maybe pink eye. The doctor looks at me and says, Im almost 100% sure youve got Bells Palsy. He does some other tests to eliminate a possible stroke or other condition.

This usually clears up on its in 8 to 10 weeks. Eight to ten weeks. Thats two to two and a half months. Not what I was expecting. Theyre not sure what causes Bells Palsy, but its probably due to some kind of trauma or infection to Cranial Nerve 7.

I go to work, and as you can probably guess, Im pretty self-conscious about how I look. Im trying to talk to people with the good side of my face, and I feel the obligation to explain whats been going on. Most people say they wouldnt have noticed if I hadnt pointed it out. More on the experience at work later.

Ive been prescribed an anti-viral medication, five times a day for the next ten days. I also need to follow up with my regular doctor next week. Since my right eye doesnt close on its own, I have to use artificial tears to keep my eye moist letting it dry out can damage the cornea. In addition to the artificial tears, Ive purchased an eye patch to wear whenever the eye gets tired. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to let out my inner pirate. Arrrggghhh!!

My head and the area behind my ear are still aching on and off. With ibuprofen, eye drops and my eye patch, Im off to bed.

I must have rolled over while I was sleeping during the night and slept on the eye patch. When I woke up, the area around my eye was a little swollen and there was this nice ring around my eye from the patch. Ill have to be more careful with that going forward.

Today at work, it seemed that the loss of muscular control became a little more pronounced while Ive been speaking. Bs and Ps are the letters that seem to cause the most problem.

I had a couple of training sessions that I was scheduled to facilitate. All I could do was suck it up and work through it. The people I work with have been incredibly supportive. Thats one thing that I think is most important. Having a few people to confide in when the confidence and optimism takes a dip. Considering everything, it was a really good day.

About the same as yesterday. There are moments throughout the day when I seem to feel small improvements. My right eye is much more sensitive to light so I have a couple of the fluorescent bulbs removed from the overhead lighting to dim my office a bit. Ive been wearing glasses while working at the computer and that seems to help as well. Still, I find myself getting fatigued quickly and I end up going home early today. Im hoping with the weekend to rest and recuperate that Ill feel better by Monday.

Here I am this morning with my first pictures since this all started. My goal is to take the same series of pictures throughout the recovery process. Hopefully I can see some progress soon.

Straight face: 04-12-2008

Smile: 04-12-2008

Eyes Closed: 04-12-2008

Raised Eyebrows: 04-12-2008

Ill ask my doctor when I see him what level of paralysis Im experiencing.

Im still deciding how often to post progress pictures but probably not daily. Its kind of like the saying about a watched pot never boils. I dont want to be discouraged by not seeing improvements fast enough. I also think about those that are trying to lose weight. If you look at the scale too frequently it can be a de-motivator. So , with that, maybe once or twice a week.

Aside from that, Ill share more as often as I can. The appointment with regular doctor is Monday morning and well see what he recommends.

Last modified on 2011-02-28 03:13:44 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

For the last four or five days, Ive been coping with my Bells Palsy. This is Day 5 and my 2nd Bells Palsy Post (BPP-2). The whole process up to this point has been exhausting and at times, frustrating. Still, Im feeling optimistic and hopeful. I should probably be resting more and thats something Im going to work on in the days and weeks ahead.

That being said, I still want to get out and do stuff. I was invited to breakfast this morning with friends at the Hanger Cafe. The restaurant is close to home and is at Chandler Municipal Airport. I had a good and easy-to-eat breakfast of scrambled eggs, potato cubes and bacon strips.

After a breakfast, I was able to take a short flight in the friends plane. It was windy and a little bumpy but definitely a fun flight. Now, you may be thinking that this sites [former] name, Flyinggalindo.com, implies that Im a pilot. I am not. The story behind that is a longer story than I intend to tell right now. However, I actually was a Flying Galindo today. AND as seen in the following pictures, I was ACTUALLY FLYING THE PLANE!

OK, so it was me basically making small turns and keeping the nose of the plane level but I was FLYING!

So, here I am, 5 days into Bells Palsy and still able to have a good time.

Last modified on 2010-02-21 17:26:02 GMT. 3 comments. Top.

Today is Monday and a visit to my primary care provider. Last Wednesday, when I woke up with this facial paralysis, I went to a local Urgent Care center for my initial Bells Palsy diagnosis. I was pretty happy with the service and attention there, but I still felt I should make an appointment to see my regular doctor fairly soon. So this morning, before work, I went to my appointment.

My doctor is a pretty cool guy. He happens to be from Michigan and from my home town of Tecumseh. It was about ten years ago , after an unfortunate mountain biking incident (translation: crash and bruised ribs), that I was referred to his office. Anyway, he has a good way of telling me everythings gonna be cool while compare stories of our last visits to the mittened-state.

So today was no different. We went over what had been happening over the last week and he recommended a slightly different course of action to help my recovery go a little smoother. Still, its a matter of time and patience. Because Ive got complete paralysis on the right side Im still looking at several weeks. The good news is: he told me not to worry; that Im going to make a full recovery. Then Ill be able to do things like this again!:

Oh, I took more progress pictures today. I think its too soon to notice any difference so Im not going to post those here now. However, check this one out:

Nice look, huh?

I bought the eye patch last week. Its been really helpful when Ive needed to let my eye rest and to keep wind and dust out of my eye. I think I mentioned before about the drying of my eye due to it not blinking or closing fully. After putting some artificial tears in the eye, the patch (along with a small gauze square underneath) makes it a lot more comfortable.

So you think Id be dying to wear this cool pirate-looking thing out in public, right? No, not really. Ive been pretty self-conscious about it. Until today, I either wore my reading glasses or just held the eye shut to help with the discomfort. When I tried to use the mouse at my computer with my right hand AND hold my right eye shut you get the picture. I was all twisted up. I finally broke down and started wearing the eye patch at work today at work. It was still a long day, but it was easier to bear.

More than ever, Im learning humility and to be humble.

Last modified on 2010-02-21 17:31:01 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Today was dry day here in Arizona. Here are the current readings here in Chandler:

See the time and temperature? 80 degrees at 7:25 in the evening. See the humidity? 9% Thats dry.

Now, you may be thinking , Yes thats dry, but you live in the desert. Why do you bring it up?

Normally, its fairly dry. But this is REALLY dry. Everybodys been complaining of dry eyes and dry sinuses. For me, Ive been sneezing a lot and had to take extra special care of my eye today. In addition to that, its really windy today which only aggravates the situation. My eye patch and the gel eye drops really helped today.

Aside from that, not much else to report today, but Im doing ok. Ill write more tomorrow on where Im at with my BP.

Well, I think Im going to relax and finish watching American Idol. And Vote for Jason Castro -hes of Colombian descent, like me. Got to support the heritage right?

Last modified on 2010-04-18 17:29:36 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Its been a week since I woke up and found my face wasnt working quite right. In that week, Ive learned a lot about this condition called Bells Palsy and I continue to learn more. Ive found theres this world-wide community of people suffering from it. Still, its surprising that outside of that community, not many people are aware of Bells palsy. Or if they are, there are a ton of misconceptions, both good and bad.

The most important things Ive learned are that having a positive attitude, being patient and just giving things time to heal are really the best and only course of action. In some ways, thats contrary to the way that I normally functionI tend to try to find ways to fix or mend things. That alone is teaching me something greater than I probably could have learned otherwise.

Today I drove to my companys Scottsdale office to facilitate some testing classes Ive been coordinating. The commute is 35 to 50 minutes depending on traffic. I sometimes like these drives before getting in front of a group because I get to spend a little more time listening to music. Music has always been important to me and one of my favorite bands, Journey, was in the CD player this morning.

Now, those that know me, are aware of the fact that I occasionally like to do a little karaoke now and then. And those that know me REALLY well, know that one of my more important hobbies is writing, singing and recording my own songs in my spare-bedroom studio.

In the last week, with the way my mouth was, or rather, wasnt working, I havent really felt like singing a note. This morning on my drive to work, with Journeys Dont Stop Believin playing loud over the speakers, I sang for the first time in 8 days.

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It felt a little odd at first, trying to form the words and the hearing in my right ear getting boomy at times, but it went ok. All in all, it was a good release.

Before leaving for work this morning, I took the following pictures. I added a couple of profile pictures to illustrate my smile on both sides. I think that I notice a difference in how people react depending on the side they see first. Others tell me thats not the case. To be honest, Im really not sure.

When I look at these pictures and compare them with my earlier post, things look much the same as they did then. One small but optimistic sign is that it appears my right eye is closing a little more. Thats a big deal when you understand how much time Ive been spending making sure my cornea doesnt dry out or get damaged.

Tomorrow, Im going to share pictures of what Im beginning to call my Bells Palsy Survival Kit. I love Ziploc bags. They rank up there with Velcro and Nougat!

Last modified on 2010-02-24 05:30:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My temporary facial paralysis brings on some additional issues. My right eye doesnt fully close on its own and stay moist. My sinus on the right side has the a similar drying problem. Same problem with my lips. Here are a few things that have become part of my daily maintenance kit and travel nicely in a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag:

Thera Tears Lubricant Eye Drops, Saline nasal spray, Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm, tissues, Eye patch, Gauze pad (for under the eye patch).

In addition to these, at night I use: Thera Tears Liquid Gel Eye Drops (longer lasting for overnight use), more gauze and medical tape to close the eye over night. I admit it becomes a chore at times but these are things that have helped me feel a little more comfortable

I try to take my lunch to work a few days a week. It only takes a little planning and usually ends up being healthier, more cost-effective and satisfying anyway. Right now, the right side of my mouth doesnt open as wide or control food in the same way. Having smaller, bite size options seems to work best:

Having straws and a good napkin come in handy as well. I cant wait until I can eat a big messy slice of pizza again.

Last modified on 2008-04-19 22:44:48 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Today is one week since my first set of pictures. I thought it might be interesting to compare where Im at today side-by-side with those I took last Saturday morning.

Im not going to analyze them too much. For me, I know that most of the improvement is with my right eye. Its closing just slightly better which really helps with keeping it from drying out.

The pictures in the right column were taken Saturday, April 12th, 2008, with the exception of the side profile smiling photos. I decided to start adding that perspective on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008.

The pictures in the right column were taken today, Saturday, April 19th, 2008.

Its still really dry here in Arizona, but you cant beat the temperature:

If youre someplace where its cold right now, dont be too jealous. Were just a few weeks away from daily triple-digits!!

Last modified on 2008-04-24 03:40:48 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Its been three days since my last post and four since my last set of pictures. With the busy week Ive been having, I took a couple days off working on my computer at home. The good news is: Im starting to get some movement back. It started as a twitch around my right eye Monday morning.

Im feeling the ability to show a little more expression. However, I realize at the end of each day how much energy my body is using to recover and regenerate this nerve thats been damaged. For anybody reading that has experienced this, you can probably relate. Ive been pretty tired at the end of each day where I cant wait to get home and just close my eyes for awhile. Today was no exception, but Ill take being tired if it means Im getting better.

Guess what Monday happened to be? My 39th birthday. The improvement may have been small, but for me, was quite an impressive gift.

As before, the pictures in the left column were taken Saturday, April 12th, 2008 (except the side profile smiling photos).

The pictures in the right column were taken this evening, Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008.

More pictures

Last modified on 2010-04-18 18:14:41 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Today is two weeks since my first set of pictures tracking my recovery from Bells Palsy. Im really glad I decided to take the pictures, even though I admit it was really hard for me to look at them at first. At the most difficult moments during the last 18 days, I was able to compare and notice the slight changes in the pictures. This made it was easier for me to keep my spirits up.

The muscles around my right eye are starting to respond more now. The right side of my mouth is turning up just ever so slightly which is helpful when youre trying to smile. I went to wedding last night and, though I felt fairly good, it still feels awkward when I know that emotions like laughter and happiness dont appear like they should. The sense of taste on the right side of my tongue is still subdued (best way I can describe it). Im hoping that comes back soon because food in general has tasted bland since this all began. My speech is pretty close to normal. However, the last couple of hours in the evening I started feeling really fatigued trying to say certain words. It reminds me that I still have a way to go.

Todays pictures were taken after spending quite a bit of time working on my blog and its template. I notice my right eye in the eyes closed shot is slightly open Im going to have to let it rest for awhile after I finish this post.

The following pictures in the left column were taken Saturday, April 12th, 2008 (except the side profile smiling photos).

The pictures in the right column were taken this afternoon, Saturday, April 26rd, 2008.

Last modified on 2010-04-18 18:17:07 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

As I walked into my office yesterday afternoon, a co-worker, after not seeing me for a day, exclaimed David! Your face is back! Prior to having Bells Palsy and the way we playfully joke with each other at work, a comment like that would probably have been followed by a witty punch line. This time however, it was sincere. And it was nice to hear too.

The word on the street is that my smile is returning to the right side of my face. All the things that make a smile possible mouth turning up, squinting of the eye, raising the eyebrow are returning to normal, a wrinkle at a time. Who would have thought wrinkles were a good thing? I do now.

After three weeks, I think the following pictures are a significant milestone. Im doing my best to take natural-looking photos. If it looks like Im smirking I apologize.

Pictures in the left column were taken Saturday, April 12th, 2008 (except where noted on the side profile smiling photos).

Pictures in the right column were taken this morning, Wednesday, April 30th, 2008.

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My Experience with Bells Palsy All Things Galindo