post-op facial paralysis

[Mhicks26]

Hello,
I have been post op for 3 and a half years now.  My facial nerve was damaged and I still do not have feeling along the right side of my mouth and tongue.  I also have no taste on the right side of my mouth, this comes in handy when I am eating something I do not like!    Anyway all of a sudden my eye has decided to become dry again, and I am having more facial tingling, it is now affecting the right side of my nose and my cheek bone.  Has anyone had this problem.  My last MRI was in August and they said it looked ok.

[Raydean]

With any change in symptoms or increased symptoms it's always best to check with your doctor.
The noticeable changes could be due to the long term facial paralysis,  With loss of tone there is a constant downward pull on the skin. (gravity issues),  More of the eye may be exposed leading to more noticeable dry eye.  It's important that you stay on top of things by also seeing a eye doctor
regularly as he/she recommends.  It's also important to regularly see your dentist due to the 5th nerve damage.  The lack of salivia and lack of feeling can lead to increased dental problems.
Please check with your doctor regarding the problems and to see what's out there that may help

You might want to consider investing in a good pair of sunglasses, wrapp around style and a good pair of safety type glasses.  The sun, glare and wind is very hard on a your eyes when there is facial paralysis.  Chet never leaves home without them.

Best to All
Raydean

[centimeter]

  The latest issue of the "ANA Notes" has an excellent front page article re: facial paralysis.
  C

[lifeisgood]

Hi,
I was told to do facial exercises by my doc as well as the ANA in their facial nerve pamphlet.
I want to share the info I learned yesterday while visiting Jackie Diehls at the Facial Retraining center in Madison, Wisc.  She advises NOT to do facial exercises during the first year post treatment AT ALL.  Rather, wait for the nerves to regenerate, get assessed by a professional and then start the appropriate treatment.
I developed synkinesis 10 months post surgery and visited Jackie to find out how to get my facial "balance" back.  My muscles are OVER working on the affected side.  The good news is at rest, my face is very symmetrical. We are currently working on a 30 day stretching and self massage plan on the affected side of my face to loosen up the extremely tight muscles.  We will then work on specific exercises for my face.
Please pass this info on to anyone interested.

[delta210]

My name is John and I was diagnosed with Acoustic Neuroma, about a couple weeks ago.  I can tell you that I am scared.   Is facial paralysis in inevtiable?  is it temporary?   

[alwaysanonymous]

John, not everyonr gets facial paralysis, however it is very common especially with large tumors. Facial paralysis can e temporary or permanent. Usually depending on your age-if you're older it wouldn't come back as much as it would if you were younger. There are certan devices out that are said to shock the face back into place. My dad tried one because he has facial paralysis(I never got facial paralysis)and it didn't do much. But there has been a big change in how he can move his face and the normality of his face since right after the surgery(he is abot4 and 1/2 years post op and is 54 right now). If you were not scared I would think you weren't normal. Just know that you will get through this and we members here are here to help you and I'm sure your family and friends are going to be very supportive.

[iowaboy]

My name is John and I was diagnosed with Acoustic Neuroma, about a couple weeks ago.  I can tell you that I am scared.   Is facial paralysis in inevtiable?  is it temporary?   

John,
I think the biggest fear is waiting for the treatment (surgery or radiation, etc.) and that is torture. I had my AN surgically removed about 3 weeks ago and I am feeling better each day. I have some problems, but I hope they are temporary. Keep your chin up and just be glad that you have had it diagnosed, and can get help with it. I am experiencing facial paralysis but hopefully it is temporary. The day after the surgery my face functioned normally, which was a good sign. The next day it did not. The doctors attribute that to swelling, etc. It may be some months before things get back to normal, and I'm condident they will. Good liuck to you and use all the support systems you can find because it does make a huge difference!