WTF? If you're like me, you woke up to a surprise of immense proportion: one side of your face wasn't working! "Holy shit" you said and hopefully you were in the doctor’s office immediately if not the emergency room. Why? First and foremost you want to make sure you're not having a stroke but let's just move beyond all that bullshit and get to the Bells Palsy diagnosis. Yep, that's what it is we think, we're not sure what causes it and you should be better in 3 months to two years. Yikes.

1. That’s Not My Face!
My Bells Palsy Experience
By Tom McCollum
WTF? If you're like me, you woke up to a surprise of immense
proportion: one side of your face wasn't working! "Holy shit"
you said and hopefully you were in the doctor’s office
immediately if not the emergency room. Why? First and
foremost you want to make sure you're not having a stroke
but let's just move beyond all that bullshit and get to the Bells
Palsy diagnosis. Yep, that's what it is we think, we're not sure
what causes it and you should be better in 3 months to two
years. Yikes.
I'm three and a half months in at this writing and I've seen
only small incremental improvements in terms of returning
nerve functionality. No matter what anybody says it's
probably a six-month sentence, minimum. That said, I wish I
had it to do over again--I would have approached things
differently knowing what I know now. It's all about
inflammation you see and the current medical protocol
speaks to that but in the most conservative way. The doctor
will prescribe a steroid like Prednisone and an anti-viral
medication, probably Aclyovair (don't freak out, yes, its a
herpes virus medication). However, there is so much more
you can do to attack the inflammation or... you could just lay
back and accept the six month (plus) sentence of having a
fucked up face: drooping lip, eye that won't close or produce
tears, a forehead that looks like you've botoxed half of it and if
you're case is a bit more severe: a loss of taste buds and a pain
behind your ear. Lovely, huh?
Anyway, get your meds from the doctor and also INSIST on a
B12 shot immediately and plan on getting one each week until

2. you're well... one of the most important things you can do for
the nerve inflammation. Google it and don't miss a single
week. As a side note, if there is one of those storefront Any
Lab Test Now places in your town, you can walk in without an
appointment and get a B12 or BLipo Complex for $25 and $35
respectively. I recommend the latter. Don't try and substitute
an oral B12 methyl tablet as you're just NOT going to raise
your levels quick enough to fight the inflammation and nerve
support.
Also, get your ass to a chiropractor immediately and tell them
what's up and get an adjustment with special emphasis on
your neck. Google it––it helps relieve pressure on the swollen
nerves that are causing your problem. DO IT.
From the chiropractor, go immediately to an acupuncturist! I
know, I didn't believe in that bullshit either but the
alternative is being conservative and accepting the six-month
sentence. Remember, this is all about an aggressive attack on
the nerve inflammation and acupuncture has shown to lessen
inflammation. By the way, the Chinese have their own
philosophy related to Bells Palsy--something about wind in the
channel and being related to the pancreas or some damn
thing! My acupunturist also does Cold Laser Therapy (Google
it) on my face. Don't ask me, but what have I got to lose?
Unlike me, if you can get to it early you have a chance of
mitigating the swollen nerve sheath and getting the nerve to
function again within a few weeks. If not, the nerve gets
destroyed and you are relegated to a much more protracted
period waiting for the nerve to re-generate and that can take
months... trust me--I'm living it!
What else can you do? All of the above routinely AND
supplements! Make sure you're taking plenty of vitamin D--at
least 3-4000mg a day: it won't hurt you and will only help.

3. Most importantly, load up on Curcumin-Tumeric: a natural
anti-inflammatory. I take 6 a day.
Bottom line: Be aggressive as hell in terms of an early attack
on the nerve inflammation and maybe, just maybe you can
recover in a matter of weeks, realistically 3-4. Otherwise,
you're in for a long haul. Yes, it can be depressing. You'll be far
more focused on how you look than others really care about
but that doesn't make it any easier. If you're like me you're
vanity will be challenged like never before! Yes, it can even be
depressing at times but keep your chin up--nobody likes a
whiner! The good news is that it really doesn't affect any
other activities. I continue to exercise like a madman and I
remain positive that I'm closer to the end than the beginning.
Bells Palsy usually affects people between 15 and 45. I'm 59,
so I take my affliction as a compliment! A few more health
facts about me if you're curious: no family history of anything
of consequence. I have low cholesterol and a blood pressure of
115/75. As I said, I exercise 6 days a week including cycling,
running and weights. I maintain a reasonably healthy diet
and have been a regular supplement-taker for years: multi-
vitamin, D, B, Ubiquinol and regular morning protein shakes.
In the for-what-its-with category, I am 6'1" tall and weigh 180
pounds and heretofore the picture of health! Shit happens
and I would encourage you to get over it, not worry about the
randomness of Bells Palsy and spend your time aggressively
fighting the nerve inflammation--it could severely shorten
your recovery time!
Last and what is really amazing is the six degrees of
separation I've experienced with Bells Palsy even though I
had never heard of it until I woke up with it that morning in
mid-March 2015. You'll likely experience the same thing.
People you know that know somebody or they've actually had

4. it themselves. Lots of celebrities have had it including George
Clooney and it seems that he turned out OK! I've also run into
random people that had it at the same time as me, including a
nurse at the doctors office that walked into the room to take
vitals and her lip was drooping and her eye looked funny and I
said, "are you making fun of me?" and we both had a big
laugh! As a side note, she had taken 6 months to heal and
about the time she got over it the doctor's office required her
and the other nurses to get a flu shot which is normal
procedure for health care practitioners and the flu shot
brought her Bells Palsy back with a vengeance and when I
met her she was 12 months into her second episode! Suffice it
to say I won't be getting a flu shot this year--I'll take my
chances.
Good luck and keep smiling (at least on the good side).