Belly's palsy's since birth

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Hello, everyone i have been living with bell's palsy since birth i never knew what it was until i became 18 years .i have always thought it was how i was born but i came across a doctor who saw me in the road and told me about it, then i read more about but my fear about it is that is it already to late to be cured cause i read about permanent damages its there anyway out?

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9 Replies

  • Posted

    since birth? oh my! ive had bells for 8months now definitely showing Signs of relief, I have more movement in my face, I know synkinesis is setting in, but to have this since birth? I don’t know about that. Everybody that tells me about Bell’s palsy says it will eventually heal. It will go away could take a long long time. But to have it since birth is very odd to hear.

  • Posted

    Have you gone to see other doctors or a neurologist for a second opinion?

    I'm surprised any other the doctors or nurse around your birth and follow up check ups wouldn't have noticed the symptoms associated with the damaged nerve. Your pediatrician/PCP never said anything after all these years?

    • Posted

      No i haven't i was told to take pesodine(steroid) but u gave up when I heard it should gave been administered at early hours

    • Posted

      According to my mum, they said it would go with time courses i couldn't open one side of my eye but later i could open both but still having no control over the eye nd mouth.

    • Posted

      doctors thought it was a deformity but said it would go away with time? Doesn't make much sense.

      Did they ever do any imaging? I would think they would be especially keen on doing so with you having it so young. It is very uncommon to get bell's palsy so young. I haven't even heard of bell's palsy in newborns since your post but I can see how it could happen from trauma at birth.

      I'm 26 and have had bell's palsy twice, once on left and other on right. Just recently met with a neurologist who I had a pretty in depth conversation about bells palsy with and he ordered imaging for me saying there's no reason for a healthy 26 year old to have bells palsy twice. He mentioned bells palsy is more common in people age 50+.

    • Posted

      Yes so i have heard, but i don't really know why. I haven't really had any medication thats why i think its kind of permanent .I was planing on following it up myself now that am older but the lack of adequate facilities here in Africa is much,so am planing on going to a general hospital to carry out a further checkup on it,to know how much damage has been done. If u would inquire much about it from your doctor it would be of much help .

    • Posted

      Some doctors believe it may be linked to the herpes virus which is why they check to see if there are any cuts or sores that could have led to the onset of symptoms and prescribe antivirals. Nothing has been officially confirmed that is the cause and doctors have given conflicting answers as to why. It is standard to treat bells palsy with antivirals and steroids though there is no scientific evidence that it has been proven effective in all cases. My neurologist said it is more common in diabetics and people that have low levels of certain vitamins. He mentioned B and D levels and folic acid. There were a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head. He said there is no way tell how long the bells palsy will last. He also said long lasting bells palsy could lead to synkinesis. Only an MRI would be able to tell the damage to the nerve and other issues, if any. He also told me about a case where an emergency room doctor told a patient he had bells palsy then when he went in to see the neurologist the neurologist told him he had been misdiagnosed. He said he had a stroke, not bells palsy. Because not all doctors have specific knowledge if neurological issues it is possible they misdiagnose which is why it is best to see a neurologist. I will be following up with mine later this week after he reviews the MRI that I will be getting tomorrow morning.

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