The left side of my friend's face has kind of had a semi paralytic attack..?

I am not medically trained; I am not qualified to give

medical advice.

However, twice in my life I've been afflicted with

Bell's Palsey. One side of my face was "paralyzed" much

like you describe, which is why I'm writing.

This first happened 20 years ago, and the doctor told me

that the medical world suspected that it was caused by

a viral infection of facial nerves, and the swelling

caused the paralysis. At the time, my doctor suggested

that it would probably get better in about 3 weeks, and

that's pretty much what happened. Within a couple of

months, there was no trace of the paralysis.

The second time it happened was more recent, but the

explanation from the doctor was consistent. This time,

they gave me steroids and an anti-viral, but the doctor

suggested that he didn't really expect the medication to

make much difference. For whatever reason, my recovery

has been much slower. It took well over two months for

most functionality to return, but even now I have a

slight asymmetry to my smile, I can't move my left eyebrow

quite as much as my right, and I've pretty much lost the

ability to whistle :-)

I do consciously exercise my face in hopes that the

physical therapy will help, although it is "self prescribed"

and frankly I have no evidence that it has made any

difference.

In any case, if the doctor described your friend's

problem as "Bell's Palsey", then you might wish to visit

the web site in the reference below. It discusses

what to expect and what the current treatments are.

You are describing symptoms of Bell's Palsy. If she has seen a neurosurgeon, I would assume that specialist has ruled out a stroke. Read about Bell's Palsy at the link below:

Bells palsy is a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed. It's caused by trauma to the 7th cranial nerve, and is not permanent.

Bell's palsy is best described as an event - trauma to the nerve. As with any other injury, healing follows. The quality and duration of recovery is dependent on the severity of the initial injury. If the nerve has suffered nothing more than a mild trauma, recovery can be very fast, taking several days to several weeks. An "average" recovery is likely to take between a few weeks and a few months. The nerve regenerates at a rate of approximately 1-2 millimeters per day, and can continue to regenerate for 18 months, probably even longer. Improvement of appearance can continue beyond that time frame.

AND:

The paralysis causes distortion of facial features and interferes with normal functions, such as closing the eye and eating.

The onset of Bell's palsy is usually sudden. Many people wake up in the morning and find that one side of their face is paralyzed. Patients often fear that they have suffered a stroke, but Bell's palsy is not related to stroke. Milder symptoms include tingling around the lips or a dry eye, and usually progress quickly, reaching maximum severity in 48 hours or less.

An interesting fact: George Clooney had Bell's Palsy as a teenager and made a complete recovery.

it definitely sounds like bells palsy, which is thought to be a virus hence the medicine they gave her. they actually do not know the exact cause of it or any way to prevent it. it is very common, and can re-occur at some point in the persons life too. there is really nothing you can do to make it go away faster, taking the meds as soon as possible and getting eye drops if the eye wont close ( since the cornea can get scratched easily like this ) and wearing an eye patch if needed , which can be purchased at any drug store. the effects of the palsy can last for months or years , some of the effects may even become permanent unfortunately, but most do clear up in time...so tell you friend it is a common illness, and will most likely clear up in time, to be patient because only time will help now.

Most likely bell's palsy. Even with the anti-viral and steroids (which I'm guessing are her prescriptions), recovery can be slow. My husband recovered fairly quickly, but it was probably 4-6 weeks start to finish for him. Others can take longer.

With BP, you don't really have any exercises to do. Not in the early stages anyway. Massage can be done, but there's nothing you need to do except wait!

There was an excellent site that I went to for info on this: http://www.bellspalsy.ws/

I'm not a doctor, but the symptoms sound like Bell's Palsy (def'n: A unilateral facial muscle paralysis of sudden onset, resulting from trauma, compression, or infection of the facial nerve and characterized by muscle weakness and a distorted facial expression).

Check out the following websites for mor information.

Could be Bells Palsy. This usually does clear up though. I think your friend should get a second opinion. If it was a stroke they should have gone to the emergency room right away. Don't let another day go by without another opinion, remember Doctors are practicing, they really are not God.... Best of Luck!!

If it's just one side of her face, it's most likely Bell's Palsy. I know a couple of people who have it and it effects their facial expressions. It's a form of paralysis that most people do not recover from.

Learn more at the site below.

It sure sounds like Bell's Palsy. Half the side of your face is paralyzed. My niece and grandmom both had it. It can take quite a while to recover from, but both of my family members did well.

sounds like Bells Palsy; I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling, but I know it will cause one side of the face to sag and be paralyzed. As far as I know, this is curable.

You're describing the symptoms of a stroke. I would get several other opinions and tests to find out what's going on here.