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Bell’s Palsy & Type 2, advice please

B

Bellebo

Member
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8
Hi all, I’m posting on behalf of my mum who has type 2 diabetes. Since last night the right side of her mouth has felt numb and doesn’t move, when she tries to smile only the left side works/moves, and the same thing is noticeable when she talks too and she can only eat on the left side of her mouth. She also has drooled a bit out of the right side of mouth. Also her left eye seems to be doing most of the blinking, and she cannot close the right eye without closing the left eye at the same time (she can close the left eye independently of the right eye however).

I was worried at first that it might be a stroke but she can lift her arms and stick out her tongue and doesn’t have the other symptoms of confusion, slurred speech etc. So after googling we think it is Bell’s Palsy and also found that it can be related to diabetes.

Does anyone on here have any experience with Bell’s Palsy? If so was it due to diabetes and did it get better? And if it got better how long did it take and did you have treatment for it?

Note: Mum was reluctant to phone the doctor as she was worried they would ask her to come into the surgery and is scared of the covid risk, however she will call them if still like it on Monday
 
Hi @Bellebo and mum, welcome to the forum!

While Bell's palsy is of course likely, I'd urge you not to take any risk with possible stroke symptoms.
Why not call 111 for advice? You can always ignore their advice if you choose so.

Wish you both all the best, and please let us know how she is!
 
I agree with Antje.

please do NOT try and diagnose/treat either Bells Palsy or a stroke.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bells-palsy/
If it is a stroke, then early treatment makes a huge difference to the outcome.
If it is Bells Palsy then there are treatments to prevent the affected eye from drying out and treatment within 72 hours of onset is important.
There have also been cases of covid where peripheral facial nerve palsy is the first symptom.

Please ring 111 and follow their guidance. They will send out an ambulance if they consider it in your mother’s best interest.

The outcomes of each of the 3 conditions mentioned above improve with the appropriate early treatment.
 
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I'm sorry, but this is a potential stroke. 111 is the wrong approach. You need to be phoning 999 immediately and getting an ambulance. This is serious, and every second counts

Hopefully it isn't a stroke but getting Google to diagnose is really not Sensible

I hope it is nothing, but this is what out NHS is for!

I lost my father through stroke. He was diabetic. This is not a time to not worry the doctor
 
I had Bell’s Palsy, I think there are several possible causes, inflammation of the nerve that goes through the ear, causing a short circuit.

Anyway it’s best to see a doctor to get something to reduce inflammation. I took lots of B12 to help my nerves. Definitely need an eye patch. Took me about two weeks to recover
 
Was there any update on this? I hope at the very least proper advice sought
 
Thank you all for your replies it’s much appreciated. My mum is much the same this morning, although when she went to bed last night she had to force her right eye closed with her fingers and it would only stay closed if she laid on her right side. Which seems to be a classic Bell’s Palsy symptom and I read that if someone has a stroke they can still blink/shut the eye. I know googling isn’t a substitute for seeing a doctor though and I understand the importance of getting it checked out and if it is Bell’s Palsy it’s better to get treatment within 72 hours. I have tried encouraging my mum to ring 111, she’s really worried they will send out an ambulance as a precaution though and wants to avoid going into hospital because of the covid risk. She says she will ring the doctors on Monday morning of it stays the same
 
Covid risk... Sigh. Sorry, its just the same reaction my parents would have had, just assume it's okay and don't want to bother the doctor. My dad had a full blown stroke and they didn't phone the ambulance immediately. (My brother was there, it was fast though) But then that turned out differently. So not wanting to scare you, sorry if I did, it's obviously personal to me

I really do hope it is bells palsy, but you don't have to have every symptom for it to be a stroke. But I do hope it's okay. But seriously, we cannot diagnose, nor can Google. 111 and 999 are there for a reason. Thing is, bells palsy from the very quick read I had will respond to treatment better earlier too.

Best wishes to you and your mum
 
just some notes from my experience.

Make sure you get her an eye patch, seriously, otherwise she may rub her eye against the pillow when sleeping. Get good eye drops as well. It will become seriously irritated. start this right away.

The goal is to get that damaged nerve firing again as soon as possible, otherwise the nerves on the opposite side of her face will start to partially take over, which causes all kinds of weird issues.

I was prescribed Prednisone to get the inflammation down fast. So, you do need to take action and get ahold of her doctor. I loaded up on B12 as well.

I was able to recover 100%, like it never happened, I wish your mom the same.
 
Hi @Bellebo. Both my mum and a friend have had Bells Palsy. Again not wanting to scare you, but my mum delayed getting help and whilst she did recover, it was a very long road and she was told that had she seen a dr and got medication straight away, it wouldn't have been as bad.
My friend got help straight away, was put on to prednisilone, and recovered well in a much shorter time. As others have said, please urge your mum to get help today. If they send an ambulance she can get checked out, and they can't force her to go to hospital, but if it's bells palsy or a stroke, she needs help today.
 
@bellebo Many years ago, my mother had Bells Palsy. She was a stoic soul and never wanted to bother doctors. We got her to the GP after coaxing for a couple of days and she was immediately referred to the local general hospital.

She was left under no misapprehension that if it had been left later than it was, any chance of a full recovery would have been minimal.

Please call 111 in the first instance and get help -it's important for you both...

As an aside, I called 111 3 weeks ago as my heart was racing - tachycardia in fact. They were great, attentive and understanding.

Let us all know how she's doing, but please if you haven't done so already, get that help!

Sending you both all best wishes.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions, I really appreciate it, I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to reply.
My mum went to the doctors today and they have diagnosed her with Bell’s Palsy and have prescribed a steroid (prednisolone) and an antiviral
 
I'm glad it was only that. Best wishes to you and your mum.
 
Hi there
My mum, a type 2 diabetic had bells palsy once. We were really worried that it w a a stroke initially, but thank goodness it wasn't.. we managed to get her to the gp that day. She had steroids, eye drops, etc.
Gp said as she went in straight away recovery would be quick
She was pretty much back to normal writing a few weeks
Well done to your mum for getting seen
Hope she recovers soon
 
Had she had the covid vax? its a fairly often reported adverse effect.
 
Hi

The discussion on the likelihood of the Covid vaccines leading to a higher incidence of Bell’s Palsy is a valid one, but not on this thread, please.
 
Hi to you

I had the above condition and I was given steriods to treat it which cleared it up I am also
Type 2 diabetic.

Sparklebright62

And
 
I developed Bell's palsy during the first lockdown - my GP was very annoyed that I hadn't called immediately as treatment for stroke works better if started straight away. He did several tests to make sure it was not a stroke.

Luckily mine was BP not a stroke so no treatment just time. Some sites recommend exercise but it may be that done too soon it can make it worse. If she does want to exercise make sure you are using a good physio site (ie someone with real qualifications for treating BP)
Evidence that exercises help at all is very limited: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7136559/

I only had a mild attack, and it has mostly resolved now, just a bit of drooping when I'm tired.
 
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