Hello everyone. I'm not usually one to join support groups, but then again, I've never had any health problems. I'm 8 weeks into Bell's palsy, approx 30% recovered, and wanted to share my experience so far. I'm a 56 yr old male, been very active my entire life (cardio, weights, and hard work). But two years ago I made the decision to be a full-time caregiver to my 88 yr old father who had a stroke. I fed him an ultra- healthy Diet and physically he's had no problems (mentally another story). I kept his blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol levels under control the entire time; unlike the nursing home I pulled him from, where he was rushed to the emergency room several times for skyrocketing bp and Sugar levels. I must say, the educational protocol for licensed dietitians must be overhauled from what I've witnessed. They feed elders in nursing homes and hospitals a very un healthy Diet based on outdated dietary info.

Anyway, I firmly believe the stress from my situation with my dad is what brought on the Bell's. Researchers are still debating whether a virus is an underlying cause. In my case, that's a fact. I believe the constant stress activated the dormant herpes simplex 1 (a lesion appeared on the tip of my tongue), which in turn damaged the nerves further. I began experiencing a chronic headache that radiated from behind my right ear, across my face, behind my eye and jaw. This went on non-stop for 3 days. I'd never had headaches my entire life, so I knew something was going on. NSAIDS did nothing for the pain, which kept me wide awake every night. I was painfully exhausted. Then one evening I was out with a friend playing pool. The next thing I knew, I was having trouble blinking my right eye, my tongue felt numb, and as the evening went on, my speech began to slur (he thought I was getting drunk!). I thought I was having a stroke, which I'm sure many of you also thought. But I kept discounting stroke because there was no weakness on that side of my body and my mind seemed as clear as ever. So I went home and tried to get some sleep. In the morning, total paralysis on the right side of my face. My sister rushed me to the emergency room, where within 15 minutes they said they thought it was Bell's. I'd never heard of it before, so asked if that was "better or worse than a stroke?". I was told it was temporary and so let out a huge sigh of relief. I was prescribed the usual prednisone and acyclovir. But on arriving home I spent many hours researching Bell's on the net and ended up tossing the steroid prescription in the trash. I'm not recommending anyone else do that, to be clear. It was a personal decision. My research led to me develop my own protocol, which I will now share. The nerves are obviously damaged in Bell's, so I researched all nutrients that are beneficial to the nervous system. To reiterate, it was my personal decision to go this route. Everyone must come to their own conclusions after their own research. I am not recommending anyone ignore their doctor's orders.

Here's what I've taking for the past 8 weeks including brand names:

1. (NOW) Sublingual Methyl B-12 /5000mcg /2 tabs 5 times/day
(This has been studied in Bell's cases)

2. (Kal) Niacin 500mg twice daily

3. (LEF/Life Extension) Complete B complex twice daily

4. (LEF) Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg twice daily

5. (LEF) R-Lipoic Acid 240mg twice daily

6. (LEF) Optimized Folate 1000mcg twice daily

7. (LEF) Super Omega-3 Plus 2 capsules twice daily

8. (SR/Sports Research) Vit D-3 5000 IU twice daily

9. (SR) Astaxanthin 12mg twice daily

10. (SR) L-theanine 200mg twice daily

11. (VS/Vitamin Shoppe) L-lysine 500mg twice daily

12. (VS) MSM 500mg twice daily

13. (VS) Cayenne 445mg twice daily

14. (Jarrow) N-Acetyl-Cysteine 600mg twice daily

15. (Doctor's Best) Benfotiamine 300mg twice daily

16. (NanoLifeTonics) Liposomal Curcumin 250mg once daily

17. (LivOn Labs) Liposomal Vit C 1000mg once daily

That is the complete list of nutrients I've taken for 8 straight weeks. As I mentioned, I'm approx 30% recovered, which is on track with the average recovery time using steroids (5 months). I no longer have to tape my eye shut at night. My speech in only slightly slurred and I can crack a minimal smile on the effected side. I've had no ongoing pain from approx 4 days after paralysis. My face appears to be completely normal until I smile. I've kept my spirits up by having the attitude that "It is as it is" and joking that I'm the phantom of the opera!

I must add one very important factor in the healing process. Stress is obviously the main suspect in Bell's palsy. Even if a virus is an underlying factor, the virus itself is activated by stress. You must identify the stress in your life and either deal with it more effectively, or get rid of it completely. In my case, my dad had gotten progressively worse to where the stress was causing my own health to diminish. Sadly, I had to make the decision to take him back to the nursing home. If you can't distance yourself from the stress, you must find other tools to deal with it. I would highly recommend free meditation videos found on YouTube. They have guided meditations for stress or you can simply listen to soothing sounds while making sure you are completely relaxed. You can do this first thing in the morning and again in the evening. It's important to relax your nerves!

I hope my report helps at least one person :)
Doug